Courtesy: USAT

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Cup series returns to North America on Sunday in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Meanwhile, in the United States, duathletes will be competing for national titles and world championship selection at the USA Triathlon Duathlon National Championships in Carlsbad, Calif.

There will also be major races in Muncie, Ind., and California.

World No. 1 Barb Lindquist (Victor, Idaho) is a favorite heading into Edmonton, but is sure to be challenged by her teammates, including Siri Lindley (Boulder, Colo.; world No. 3), who won her 2001 world championship title in Edmonton last year. The other U.S. women on the start list are Sheila Taormina (Livonia, Mich.; No. 7), Laura Reback (North Palm Beach, Fla.; No. 11), Joanna Zeiger (Baltimore, Md.; No. 12), Becky Gibbs (San Jose, Calif.; No. 27), Patrice Carroll (Knoxville, Tenn.; No. 83) and Amanda Pagon (Glenn Dale, Md.; No. 90).

The international competition should include Australia's Michellie Jones (No. 5) and Melissa Ashton (No. 10), Belgium's Kathleen Smet (No. 9), Brazil's Sandra Soldan (No. 13) and Mariana Ohata (No. 10) and a host of top Canadians led by Sharon Donnelly (No. 16) and Tereza Macel (No. 28).

In the men's race, Joe Umphenour (Seattle, Wash.; No. 24) and Hunter Kemper (Longwood, Fla.; No. 27) will lead the U.S. team, which is also scheduled to include Victor Plata (San Luis Obispo, Calif.; No. 47), Andy Kelsey (Cupertino, Calif.; No. 63), Brian Fleischmann (Jacksonville, Fla.; No. 68), Seth Wealing (Remington, Ind.; No. 185) and Greg Remaly (Bloomsburg, Pa.; no ranking).

Australia and New Zealand are sending powerful men's teams to Edmonton, including No. 1 Chris Hill (Australia), No. 2 Greg Bennett (Australia), No. 3 Hamish Carter (New Zealand), No. 4 Peter Robertson (Australia), No. 7 Bevan Docherty (New Zealand) and No. 10 Shane Reed (New Zealand). Canada could be led by 2000 Olympic gold medalist Simon Whitfield (No. 16), who is continuing his comeback from injury.

The race will be Olympic distance (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run) and draft legal.

For more information and a complete start list, go to www.triathlon.org.

There could be some surprises in the pro women's race Sunday at the U.S. Duathlon National Championships in Carlsbad, Calif.

Andrea Ratkovic (Norman, Okla.), the defending U.S. champion from 2001, has been battling Rocky Mountain spotted fever and isn't sure if she'll be able to compete. Last year's U.S. runner- up, Desiree Ficker (Potomac, Md.) has been battling a calf injury. That leaves room open for 2000 U.S. pro champion Marjan Huizing (Montgomery Village, Md.) among others. Last year's overall race winner, Lucy Smith of Canada, is also scheduled to start, as is Heather Fuhr, a Canadian who finished second overall last year.

In the pro men's race, Greg Watson (Newark, Del.) will be going for his third straight title. Other U.S. men to watch are Chris Tolonen (Seattle, Wash.), last year's runner-up, Travis Kuhl (Carthage, N.Y.) LeRoy Popowski (Forest Grove, Ore.) and David Boutillier (Webster, N.Y.).

Both pros and age groupers will be competing for slots on Team USA that will compete at the ITU World Duathlon Championship on Oct. 19 in Alpharetta, Ga. The pro race will be draft legal and consist of a 10K run, 40K bike and 5K run.

For more information, go to www.dannonduathlon.com.

On Saturday, Muncie, Ind., will host a full field of 1,100 athletes at the 23rd Muncie Endurathon, which will serve as the USA Triathlon National Long Course Championship. The race is considered the oldest half Ironman in the world and consists of 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike and a 13.1-mile run.

The 2002 field includes Australian pro triathlete Chris Legh along with 2001 champion Cameron Loos (Gainesville, Fla.). The women's field is scheduled to include 2001 champion Michelle Kitze (Kettering, Ohio) and 2000 champion Heather Gollnick (Hartford, Wis.).

For more information, go to www.muncieendurathon.com.

Finally, Crystal Cove State Park in California will be the site of Sunday's Pacific Coast Triathlon, a sold-out race scheduled to have 1,400 participants. The sprint distance race will consist of a half-mile swim, 12-mile bike and 3-mile run.

For more information, go to www.pacificcoasttriathlon.com.