Triathlon: Sissons follows mentor Gemmell

Ryan Sissons. Photo / APN

Rivalries and friendships are set to be examined among New Zealand's male triathletes as competition intensifies for Olympic qualification over the next 10 weeks.

Rising 22-year-old Ryan Sissons will be pitted against his mentor and 2008 Olympian Kris Gemmell - while Gemmell will compete against good mate and double Olympic medallist Bevan Docherty. Clark Ellice, Tony Dodds and James Elvery are longer shots.

The London world series event, to be held on the weekend of August 6-7, will be the first opportunity Kiwi athletes have to confirm their Olympic place.

A top 10 place at that event will guarantee at least two Kiwi men and women (and up to three if they all finish in the top five) a spot at London.

Sissons - the recipient of a NZOC scholarship to prepare for the Games - seems a likely selection. He was the best placed of the Kiwis with 11th at last month's Sydney world championship series race.

He has also spent time training with Gemmell, a man who knows the highs and lows of Olympic selection, having narrowly missed qualifying for Athens in 2004 to Nathan Richmond.

"He [Gemmell] made mistakes and fortunately, with his help, I haven't repeated those," Sissons says. "He doesn't like to talk about Athens but he is still prepared to help others."

Sissons is addressing his flaws from his base with six other Kiwi triathletes in Sete, France.

"Swimming is my weakness. A lot of the time it is about luck, whether you get beaten up or pick a good start position. Often it is not about who is the fastest but who is best at handling themselves in open water."

Veteran coach Chris Pilone now has Sissons and Gemmell on his books - arguably New Zealand's best Olympic hopes unless Bevan Docherty can recapture form after suffering illness and injury. Pilone took on Sissons this year and has coached Gemmell since the Beijing Olympics.

They have a five-week training block booked in Font-Romeu in southern France after the Madrid world series race next weekend.

Pilone says both athletes have weaknesses to address, particularly if they are to continue New Zealand's triathlon success of three medals at the last two Olympics.

"Gemmell is frustrating to coach because he has a 'giving' type of personality. I have a lot of time for him because of his selfless nature in a training camp ahead of the Athens Olympics - after he'd missed selection. But sometimes he spends too much time helping people, which can work against him. I had to give him a blunt warning last year about talking to others because a young fella could take his place."

Pilone acknowledges Sissons struggles with the swim but is a superb runner. However, the key area he wants him to work on is the cycle.

"I doubt we'd see a decisive breakaway in a London race because the course is so flat. In one way that is a disadvantage for Ryan because, at just under 60kg, he can climb hills superbly but he's also vulnerable to breakaways because he is tactically inept. He needs to learn to go with the right riders and contribute energy only when it benefits him.

"I got Ryan to ride the Tour of Wellington this year to give him more of an awareness as to how races unfold."

Eight countries get to qualify up to three athletes at the Olympics. New Zealand is currently the eighth and last country on the men's list but will need to guard against dropping out of the eight at the cut-off date of June 8 2012.

At this stage Gemmell, Sissons and Ellice - who recently-returned from a six-month suspension - are the three best-ranked Kiwis on the Olympic list. Docherty would need to be picked on pedigree but a lot still depends on athlete fortunes over the next 11 months.

If no Kiwi qualifies at London in August, the best-placed finisher at the Beijing world championship final in September will be picked. Any other spots would be decided by the Sydney world series results next April.