How to watch World Triathlon Cup Arzachena and more fun facts

As Olympic qualification heats up before the June 21 deadline we’re seeing athletes with Olympic aspirations either racing hard to earn valuable qualifying points or using World Triathlon racing as a chance to tune up before this summer’s Olympic Games. Tomorrow we’re going to see the 2021 racing debut of two-time Olympic gold medalist Alistair Brownlee taking on the hottest short course athlete on the planet right now, Kristian Blummenfelt at the World Triathlon Cup Arzachena in Italy.

Triathlon fans can tune in to watch the racing live on TriathlonLive.tv. The women’s race starts at 10: 30 AM local time (4:30 AM EST) while the men head off at 3:30 PM local time (9:30 AM EST).

Here are a few things to keep an eye on in tomorrow’s racing:

1. Blummenfelt going for a three-peat: After stunning wins in Yokohama and Lisbon, the Norwegian is in the hunt for a third straight title in three weeks – a true hat-trick.
2. Brownlee likes racing in Sardinia: Both Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee will be competing tomorrow. Alistair seems to do well in Sardinian races – he won the Cagliari World Cup in 2019 as he launched his run for a fourth Olympics, and took third in Arzachena last year.
3. And then there were three: The American and British men will be in the hunt to try and qualify a third man to the Olympics – that means that Tom Bishop (GBR), 35th, needs to have a good race to move up into the top 30 of the rankings, and Kevin McDowell (USA), one spot behind Bishop in the standings, can ensure the American’s can send three men to Tokyo by adding a fourth man to the top 30.
4. Hometown favorite: Italy’s Verena Steinhauser was third in Arzachena last year is a strong cyclist, which should bode well for the challenging course in Arzachena.
5. Will there be trois? France is trying to qualify three women to Tokyo – Sandra Dodet is ranked 35th right now and hopes to have a strong race to move up in the standings to add a third Frenchwoman in the top 30.
6. US$60,000 prize purse: The men and women will each be splitting $30,000 among the top 15 in the race, with the winner taking how $7,500.