They were selected for the competition based on their results in qualifying races, Lucas getting through after winning his age-group race (55-59) in Ellesmere, Shropshire, and Pitcher finishing in the top five in the 25-29 age-group in the Wakefield, Yorkshire, event to qualify for his spot in the starting line-up.
Lucas has competed at this level on two previous occasions, in Madeira and Hawaii, but Pitcher, who qualified for Hawaii but missed the event, will be making his debut.
‘I’m really looking forward to going,’ said Pitcher.
‘My training has been going well,and I’m injury-free – so far at least.
I missed the Worlds last time because I also had the Commonwealth Games to compete in and I just couldn’t do both, so I’m looking forward to it.’ Lucas, supported by Mark Pickford Cycles and Education, Sport and Culture, said: ‘Having done the previous two triathlons, I know what to expect so there’s not the same feeling of trepidation as there was in the past.
But I’m out there with the world’s best so I want to do well.
‘I had to qualify to get to the final, so I feel I should be there, but the real competition is the one going on in my head, it’s the battle to last the course and get to the finish.’
