Triathlon: Carter not ready yet to step off the course

Hamish Carter (left) and Bevan Docherty will repeat their Athens duel at the nationals. Herald picture / Mark Mitchell

Hamish Carter yesterday dispelled any suggestions he would quit triathlon after the Commonwealth Games.

On his way to Kinloch yesterday for tomorrow's national championship, Carter said retirement was not on his mind and that he is looking forward to this year's world championships.

"I'll definitely be competing for the rest of the year," said Carter. "The worlds are in Lausanne on a hilly course, which is what I like."

The world championships, scheduled for September 2, were last held in the Swiss city in 1998 when Carter finished fourth.

Before that Carter has other things on his mind, including tomorrow's race, which promises to be a replay of the Athens Olympics with gold medallist Carter and silver medallist Bevan Docherty again going head to head.

Carter has not raced on the lakeside course and will not check it out beforehand.

"I prefer to go into races like this with the course sight unseen," said Carter. "That takes out any guesswork."

Carter, like the rest of the Commonwealth Games aspirants, is building nicely to the March 18 showdown in Melbourne.

"If I raced the Commonwealth Games this weekend, I would be well-beaten," said Carter. "But that's where I want to be. I'll be giving it 100 per cent in a real flat out race knowing I will make a huge jump from this race to Melbourne.

"I don't expect anyone will be in the kind of shape we were before Athens. Our big races are later in the year so Athens fitted into that. We are now at the start of a very long year.

"I haven't raced - apart from the 5000m at last weekend's track champs - since last year's world championships [in which he finished fourth] whereas some of my rivals have raced through," said Carter.

Docherty, riding a high after his thrilling win in the ITU World Cup race in New Plymouth in December, has trained through and will be ready to race tomorrow.

"Bevan has worked really hard and has returned to the type of form he showed in 2004," said Docherty's coach, Mark Elliott. "It's well documented that he needed a long break after Athens, and it took us longer than expected to get back to those levels.

"Right now Bevan is in about the same level of fitness as he was for New Plymouth."

Determined to give the championships the status they deserve, Triathlon New Zealand has put up $12,000 in prize money.

Two of the three New Zealand males who will compete in Melbourne - Kris Gemmell is missing - will race, and all three women - Sam Warriner and 23-year-olds Debbie Tanner and Andrea Hewitt - are expected on the start-line at 11am for the 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10km run.