Africa Triathlon

With just one sleep until the season opener, Emma Moffatt (AUS), Aaron Royle (AUS), Laurent Vidal (FRA), Gwen Jorgensen (USA), Mario Mola (ESP) and Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) chat about the 2014 Mooloolaba ITU Triathlon World Cup. We’ve made it easier than ever to follow your favourite athletes in their first race of the season on triathlon.org/live. Find out when they’re racing here.

Emma Moffatt (AUS)
On racing in Mooloolaba:
“I got asked the other day how many times I have raced here at Mooloolaba and the answer was nine (9) years. For the last nine years it has been how I have started my season. It is on one of my favourite events.”

“It’s a two (2) hour drive from the Gold Coast so it’s perfect for me. I get my family here to watch and the home crowd support is amazing.”

On the format & field:
“This year, being a sprint distance, it’s a different way to start the season, but I think it’s going to be a very exciting race.”

“There’s a tough start list as you can see, so it’s going to be a tough race.”

On training:
“I did the recent IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong, more of a training race to get myself ready for the season. It’s very different racing.”

“Since Geelong I have been focused on the speed and trying to get rid of the half IRONMAN legs, so we will just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow. I still have a little while to go until the World Series which starts in April, so that will be my main aim in April.”

On qualification on the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games:
“It is very exciting. Triathlon wasn’t on the line-up in the last Commonwealth Games in India, so to have the opportunity to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games is an amazing feeling and that for me will be the main race of the year – something that I really hope to go well in and make Australia proud.”

Aaron Royle
On being selected to represent Australia at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and trying to push into the top 10 in the world rankings:
“It is a big year coming up with the Commonwealth Games, but also there’s the World Triathlon Series coming up that I want to go well at, which kicks off in about three weeks, so it’s a busy couple of months coming up.”

“The Commonwealth Games only come around once every four years and being Australian and knowing how big it is in Australia, it’s one of the only times triathlon gets broadcast live free-to-air to our nation.”

“Qualifying for the Commonwealth Games last year in London has given me the time to prepare well for this season and the Commonwealth Games and know I don’t have to rush things.”

On competing against five of the top ten ranked men on Saturday:
“I got my butt kicked here in 2011 and it really opened my eyes to this kind of racing, so hopefully I can turn it around and put on a better performance at my second Mooloolaba World Cup event.”

“I am looking forward to a good race tomorrow and have a very busy couple of months coming up.”

Laurent Vidal (FRA)
On competing in Mooloolaba:
“I really like coming here and racing here and I really enjoy being in the sunshine here, because it feels like a bit of a holiday.”

On listing one of his hobbies as electronic music composition:
“It’s something I have done for maybe for ten years and it’s something I do outside of sport. I have a synthesiser and all that on my computer and I enjoy it. (It’s not like I’m a DJ) I don’t go to bed at 6:00am.”

On stating that his proudest achievement ‘hasn’t happened yet’:
“To be honest I would like 2016 (Rio Olympic Games) to be my best moment, which is what I’m aiming for.”

On Saturday’s Mooloolaba race:
“I really like coming here because it’s a really good test and a really good preparation for the events coming up.”

Gwen Jorgensen
On being based in Wollongong and training with the Wollongong Wizards:
“The weather here in Australia is so nice; back home (in the USA) it is snowing. It’s also nice to have such great training partners who push you every day and really get you fit for the race season.”

On her form:
“I have been training really well, however training and racing are two completely different things, so tomorrow, being the first race of the season, it will be good to test and see how our race fitness is.”

“I have been working really hard on my swim and my bike so it will be interesting tomorrow to see where I am at with those.”

Mario Mola
On the key factor of his successful 2013:
“Last year I moved to the US with an international squad – we train and travel together. That was probably the main change that made a difference from 2012 and the past years.”

On the first World Cup event of the season:
“A win would be awesome. There are 70 guys racing for the same win and I am predicting a very hard run as there are a lot of really good runners in this field.”

“It’s the first race of the season for many of us so it’s going to be interesting to see how we go.”

Ashleigh Gentle
On Saturday’s race:
“It is really great to be here to start the season against these amazing athletes. It’s going to be a great test to see how we’ve been going and a really good lead up to the start of the World Triathlon Series in Auckland.”

On improvements to her swimming:
“The swim is something that I have been working on for years. I put in a lot of work last year and that was mainly due to the lack of running (due to injury), but it put me in a good position that I could really focus on my swim and bike, so that’s something I really want to do well in tomorrow.”

“To get a good start for me is usually the critical part of my race. If I can do that and be there it will obviously make the day easier. That is what I will be focused on.”

On her Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games aspirations:
“The Commonwealth Games is something I have been thinking about for a long time. “

“If I am able to get that spot on the Commonwealth Games team it would be a huge honour and to go over there with Moffy (Emma MOFFATT) would be a great experience and also lots of fun. It only comes around every four (4) years so it would be my first major team.”

“To make it would be a big thing. I am hoping I can do well tomorrow in Mooloolaba and in Auckland (in April) to secure a spot.”

The 2014 ITU Triathlon World Cup season opener is being held at Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. It is over the sprint distance of 750m swim, 20km bike ride and 5km run.  Due to the extreme surf conditions forecast for Saturday and Sunday, the swim leg has been relocated from the ocean to the Mooloolah River. The ITU elite women begin at 12:00 noon on Saturday with the elite men start at 3:00pm.