What to expect for the up-coming Hy-Vee ITU World Cup

(BEIJING, June 19)-- As the seventh stop of the 2008 BG Triathlon World Cup series, the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon World Cup will be staged for the second straight year in Des Moines, the United States, with the race course relocated to West Des Moines due to the serious flooding problem currently affecting downtown Des Moines.

Emma Snowsill, Australia's three-time world champion, will return to the BG Triathlon World Cup women's series for the first time after her win in Ishigaki on April 13. She is certainly a gold-medal favorite for the coming event. Snowsill will be joined by her compatriots including the future Olympians Erin Densham and Emma Moffatt, both of whom finished among top five at the recent Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships.

Laura Bennett of the Untied States will return to defend her title, joined by her teammate Sarah Haskins, who has captured a silver medal at the world championships. Haskin and Sarah Groff will compete for the final spot on the U.S. Olympic roster, while Julie Ertel, with her ticket to Beijing guaranteed, looks forward to a higher finish than her 14th placement last year.

The men's race will be highly competitive. The list of potential components for the top prize starts with Rasmus Henning of Denmark, winner of last year. His challengers include Bevan Docherty, the 2007 runner-up who also claimed Silver at the world championships.

The Canadian squad will be well represented by Olympic champion Paul Tichelaar, who has been newly selected on board of the Canadian Olympic team. There will also be current world No. 3 Tim Don of Britain and his teammate, Alistair Brownlee, who has just captured the under23 world championship.  

Squad USA will be a ten-person team comprising of Hunter Kemper and Andy Potts, both of whom will go all out for the final ticket bound for Beijing. Other triathletes on Team USA include Jarrod Shoemaker and Matt Reed, both with their Olympic spots secured.