The Hy-Vee Triathlon is the triathlon’s sport’s biggest payday with $700,000 on the line

But most of all, it's the Gunfight in the OK Corral for the last US Triathlon tickets to the Olympics By Timothy Carlson - IT senior correspondent In any other year, pre-race speculation about the Hy-Vee Triathlon BG World Cup in West Des Moines would center on which international stars were likely to win the $200,000 top prize for men and women. With ITU World Cup dominator Vanessa Fernandes taking the week off, a revived Emma Snowsill of Australia, the three-time ITU World Champion, is the women’s favorite (3-1). She will be challenged closely by newly crowed World Champ Helen Tucker (5-1), rising Aussie Emma Moffat (6-1), Great Britain's young prodigy Hollie Avil (7-1), other top Aussies Felicity Abram (8-1) and Erin Densham (10-1), with the U.S.’s defending champ Laura Bennett (9-1) right in the mix. Among the men, 2004... [read full story]