TRIATHLON - Top-20 finish may be enough for Sam

By her own standards it was hardly a stellar performance, but a top 20 finish at the World Cup triathlon race in Cancun, Mexico this morning may still be enough to boost Northlander Sam Warriner up the ranking order.
Warriner finished 12th well off the pace of winner American Julie Ertel. But she may yet bank enough ranking points to slip past her Australian rival Emma Moffatt to No.2 on the world rankings list.
So despite registering one of her most lacklustre times this season, the decision to compete in Mexico may yet be deemed a success.
The only reason Warriner leapt back onto the world circuit was to try and finish her season with the highest ranking she could achieve.
Portuguese star Vanessa Fernandez has an iron-fisted grip on the No.1 spot thanks to her world championship win and a string of world cup victories this season.
So Warriner, Moffatt, Australian Emma Snowsill and Kiwi Debbie Tanner have been wrestling for the minor ranking spots all year.
But as Warriner was the only top 10 ranked female athlete in the field at Cancun, her efforts should reward her with an 18 point boost to her ranking, and enable her to sneak past Moffatt into the No.2 spot.
The ranking boost, if she can hold onto it until the end of the world cup season, will result in an upgraded paycheck in the mail.
But the demands of a cut throat world cup scene were noticeable in the race this morning. Warriner had been on a break from her ruthless training regime until she decided to attack the world cup circuit again.
Her focus had previously been on qualifying for the Beijing Olympics. That achieved when she raced in China six weeks ago, Warriner is now fine tuning her Olympic training plan.
"Everything from now on is about getting ready for the Olympics next year. World cup points won't matter so much next season because it will all be about getting ready for one big race, so in a way this is my last chance to really aim at a world cup ranking season," Warriner said.
In Cancun Warriner was off the lead pace almost from the starter's gun for the swim leg, was left in the chase pack on the cycle, then cruised on the final run leg.
The conditions in Mexico were hot and humid, which is exactly what Warriner is anticipating in Beijing for the Olympic race in August next year.