The UK’s elite juniors and paratriathletes were racing in Llanelli, South Wales on Saturday (16 May), with the latter vying for spots at the ETU European Championships and ITU World Championships.
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>>> Britain’s pioneering approach to elite paratriathlon training
The elite juniors started off the proceedings on Saturday morning featuring Britain’s top under-20 performers. Athletes raced over the sprint distance in order to decide who will be put forward for ETU European Cup and Championship selections.
Top of the class in the junior elite women’s race was British Junior Duathlon Champion, Kate Waugh. The 16-year-old saw off competition from NYP Tri’s Bronwen Owen to finish in 1:05:47 over the sprint distance course. Owen was just over a minute adrift of Waugh, crossing the line in 1:06:56, with Olivia Matias taking the final podium spot with 1:07:04.
Jimmy Kershaw led from the start of the race and put in a strong all-round performance to win in 58:11. Ben Dijkstra had to settle for second on this occasion, the recent London Mini Marathon champion coming home in 58:35. Bronze went to James Teagle in 58:51, rounding off an all East-Midlands podium.
Paratriathlon
Paratriathlon was in the spotlight from 4pm, where athletes were looking to finish in the top two of their category in order to be put forward for selection for the ETU European Championships and ITU World Championships.
ITU World Champion, Alison Patrick, guided by Hazel Smith, won the PT5 title pushed along by competition from international medallist Melissa Reid. She managed a solid victory in very windy conditions that made tandem riding a challenge for the new pairing.
Alison said: “Hazel and I had a really good swim and bike and just tried to keep it steady on the run today. We were first out of the water, which I’m really happy with, and I felt strong during the bike. I can’t wait for the rest of my season now.”
PT4 world champion, Lauren Steadman achieved a convincing win and British title. The former Paralympic swimmer used her speed to her advantage against Clare Cunningham to gain an early lead and held on to finish 6 minutes clear in 1:12:32.
Lauren said; “I really enjoyed it and felt strong the whole way. I was expecting at some point to feel it start to hurt, but I had a good swim, pushed hard on the bike and then ran it home.
“With great race locations like Geneva, Rio and Chicago to come this year, there’s going to be some great competition ahead and hopefully it will push me even further.”
George Peasgood put on a fine display to win the men’s PT4 category in 1:07:18. He said; “It was a cracking race. I wanted to get away on the swim and just hold it as best as I could.
“My swim has improved a lot over the last six months with me training in Loughborough. The bike has always been my favourite discipline and the run is where I usually get caught, so it was great to hold on to it today and pick up my first national win.”
In the men’s PT1 race, it was world silver medallist, Phil Hogg, who won the battle between himself and Joe Townsend. Derby’s Hogg finished two and half minutes ahead of his close friend and rival in 1:09:02.
Elsewhere, Russell White took the men’s PT3 title in 1:19:31 and Chris Goodwin claimed men’s PT5 in 1:11:12. Women’s PT1 went to Lizzie Tench with 1:35:48 and PT2 gold was picked up by Emily Harris.
For full results of the British Triathlon Junior Gateway event, head here. And for the Paratriathlon event, visit here.
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Did you race in Llanelli? Let us know in the comments below!
The UK’s elite juniors and paratriathletes were racing in Llanelli, South Wales on Saturday (16 May), with the latter vying for spots at the ETU European Championships and ITU World Championships.
Advertisement
>>> Britain’s pioneering approach to elite paratriathlon training
The elite juniors started off the proceedings on Saturday morning featuring Britain’s top under-20 performers. Athletes raced over the sprint distance in order to decide who will be put forward for ETU European Cup and Championship selections.
Top of the class in the junior elite women’s race was British Junior Duathlon Champion, Kate Waugh. The 16-year-old saw off competition from NYP Tri’s Bronwen Owen to finish in 1:05:47 over the sprint distance course. Owen was just over a minute adrift of Waugh, crossing the line in 1:06:56, with Olivia Matias taking the final podium spot with 1:07:04.
Jimmy Kershaw led from the start of the race and put in a strong all-round performance to win in 58:11. Ben Dijkstra had to settle for second on this occasion, the recent London Mini Marathon champion coming home in 58:35. Bronze went to James Teagle in 58:51, rounding off an all East-Midlands podium.
Paratriathlon
Paratriathlon was in the spotlight from 4pm, where athletes were looking to finish in the top two of their category in order to be put forward for selection for the ETU European Championships and ITU World Championships.
ITU World Champion, Alison Patrick, guided by Hazel Smith, won the PT5 title pushed along by competition from international medallist Melissa Reid. She managed a solid victory in very windy conditions that made tandem riding a challenge for the new pairing.
Alison said: “Hazel and I had a really good swim and bike and just tried to keep it steady on the run today. We were first out of the water, which I’m really happy with, and I felt strong during the bike. I can’t wait for the rest of my season now.”
PT4 world champion, Lauren Steadman achieved a convincing win and British title. The former Paralympic swimmer used her speed to her advantage against Clare Cunningham to gain an early lead and held on to finish 6 minutes clear in 1:12:32.
Lauren said; “I really enjoyed it and felt strong the whole way. I was expecting at some point to feel it start to hurt, but I had a good swim, pushed hard on the bike and then ran it home.
“With great race locations like Geneva, Rio and Chicago to come this year, there’s going to be some great competition ahead and hopefully it will push me even further.”
George Peasgood put on a fine display to win the men’s PT4 category in 1:07:18. He said; “It was a cracking race. I wanted to get away on the swim and just hold it as best as I could.
“My swim has improved a lot over the last six months with me training in Loughborough. The bike has always been my favourite discipline and the run is where I usually get caught, so it was great to hold on to it today and pick up my first national win.”
In the men’s PT1 race, it was world silver medallist, Phil Hogg, who won the battle between himself and Joe Townsend. Derby’s Hogg finished two and half minutes ahead of his close friend and rival in 1:09:02.
Elsewhere, Russell White took the men’s PT3 title in 1:19:31 and Chris Goodwin claimed men’s PT5 in 1:11:12. Women’s PT1 went to Lizzie Tench with 1:35:48 and PT2 gold was picked up by Emily Harris.
For full results of the British Triathlon Junior Gateway event, head here. And for the Paratriathlon event, visit here.
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Did you race in Llanelli? Let us know in the comments below!
Record numbers of athletes headed to Snowdonia over the weekend for the 2015 instalment of iconic race the Slateman Triathlon, drawn by vibrant mountain landscapes, challenging quarry trails and a glistening, freshwater lake.
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>>> Slateman 2014 race action
Day one saw more than 500 triathletes embark on the Slateman Triathlon Sprint event. The first day also included the Slateman Junior race where over 170 youths participated.
On Saturday Andrew Nash and Ruth Purbrook emerged as individual winners of the men and women Slateman Tri Sprint, after storming around the course in a time of 1:10:29 and 1:21:06 respectively.
The sprint in Llanberis consisted a 400m Padarn lake swim, 20km bike leg – which took in the beast-climb that is the Llanberis Pass – and a scenic but demanding 6km trail run in the quarries above the race village.
Nash went on to dominate the field, winning with over 3mins to spare. Second place went to Kieren John, with Dan Gennazzini claiming third.
There was a shock in the women’s race as The Manchester Tri athletes who had dominated last years sprint were beaten into first place by Ruth Purbrook.
Purbrook produced a scintillating performance to finish in first place ahead of last year’s winner Pauline May (Manchester Tri) and Kate Morris who finished second and third place respectively.
The race was decided when Purbrook displayed her sheer power and quality in the bike leg were she produced a scintillating time of 42:08, over 2mins quicker than any other female competitor.
Slateman Full
After 500m of swimming, 51km on the bike and closing with an epic 11km trail run, it was 2014 winner Ewan Brown who emerged victorious in Sunday’s men’s race with an incredible time of 2:16:22. Brown beat Lewis Eccleston who finished in second place and Alex Foster, who finished third.
Last year’s women’s winner Suzie Richards also regained her Slateman Triathlon Champion title, although it wasn’t all plain sailing as Natalie Seymour pushed her all the way to finish line.
Richards’ unbelievable time of 2:36:54 proved to be enough to keep Seymour at bay who finished just 47secs behind. Slateman Savage sprint winner Ruth Purbrook finished in third to complete the women’s podium.
Mark Palmer was the quickest athlete completing the legendary Kinetica Quarryman challenge with a sensational time of 09:14. Palmer was rewarded for his amazing effort with loads of Kinetica goodies!
Slateman Savage
This year saw the introduction of the Slateman Savage, in which competitors raced over both days in the Sprint and the Full distance races.
The winner of the Slateman Savage in the male category was Dan Gennazzini, who produced and extraordinary time of 03:50:28.
The winner of the Savage in the women’s category was Ruth Purbrook, who completed the eye-watering challenge in 04:02:58.
“Wow, what a weekend! The Slateman was the first ever event Always Aim High Events organised. In the first year we had around 400 athletes participating, so to see over 2,200 athletes come to Llanberis over the weekend is something to be really proud of,” said events director Tim Lloyd.
“The race action across the weekend was superb. All the winners were worthy of their titles. I want to reserve special congratulations to Ewan and Suzie who retained their Slateman Triathlon title; it really is a great achievement.
They’ve set themselves up nicely for the Sandman and Snowman to really kick on and challenge for the Always Aim Tri-series, which will see the champion fly to the beautiful Caribbean Island of Nevis and compete in the Nevis Triathlon.”
For full results head here.
(All pics: Mel Parry)
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Did you race the Slateman? Let us know in the comments below!
Record numbers of athletes headed to Snowdonia over the weekend for the 2015 instalment of iconic race the Slateman Triathlon, drawn by vibrant mountain landscapes, challenging quarry trails and a glistening, freshwater lake.
Advertisement
>>> Slateman 2014 race action
Day one saw more than 500 triathletes embark on the Slateman Triathlon Sprint event. The first day also included the Slateman Junior race where over 170 youths participated.
On Saturday Andrew Nash and Ruth Purbrook emerged as individual winners of the men and women Slateman Tri Sprint, after storming around the course in a time of 1:10:29 and 1:21:06 respectively.
The sprint in Llanberis consisted a 400m Padarn lake swim, 20km bike leg – which took in the beast-climb that is the Llanberis Pass – and a scenic but demanding 6km trail run in the quarries above the race village.
Nash went on to dominate the field, winning with over 3mins to spare. Second place went to Kieren John, with Dan Gennazzini claiming third.
There was a shock in the women’s race as The Manchester Tri athletes who had dominated last years sprint were beaten into first place by Ruth Purbrook.
Purbrook produced a scintillating performance to finish in first place ahead of last year’s winner Pauline May (Manchester Tri) and Kate Morris who finished second and third place respectively.
The race was decided when Purbrook displayed her sheer power and quality in the bike leg were she produced a scintillating time of 42:08, over 2mins quicker than any other female competitor.
Slateman Full
After 500m of swimming, 51km on the bike and closing with an epic 11km trail run, it was 2014 winner Ewan Brown who emerged victorious in Sunday’s men’s race with an incredible time of 2:16:22. Brown beat Lewis Eccleston who finished in second place and Alex Foster, who finished third.
Last year’s women’s winner Suzie Richards also regained her Slateman Triathlon Champion title, although it wasn’t all plain sailing as Natalie Seymour pushed her all the way to finish line.
Richards’ unbelievable time of 2:36:54 proved to be enough to keep Seymour at bay who finished just 47secs behind. Slateman Savage sprint winner Ruth Purbrook finished in third to complete the women’s podium.
Mark Palmer was the quickest athlete completing the legendary Kinetica Quarryman challenge with a sensational time of 09:14. Palmer was rewarded for his amazing effort with loads of Kinetica goodies!
Slateman Savage
This year saw the introduction of the Slateman Savage, in which competitors raced over both days in the Sprint and the Full distance races.
The winner of the Slateman Savage in the male category was Dan Gennazzini, who produced and extraordinary time of 03:50:28.
The winner of the Savage in the women’s category was Ruth Purbrook, who completed the eye-watering challenge in 04:02:58.
“Wow, what a weekend! The Slateman was the first ever event Always Aim High Events organised. In the first year we had around 400 athletes participating, so to see over 2,200 athletes come to Llanberis over the weekend is something to be really proud of,” said events director Tim Lloyd.
“The race action across the weekend was superb. All the winners were worthy of their titles. I want to reserve special congratulations to Ewan and Suzie who retained their Slateman Triathlon title; it really is a great achievement.
They’ve set themselves up nicely for the Sandman and Snowman to really kick on and challenge for the Always Aim Tri-series, which will see the champion fly to the beautiful Caribbean Island of Nevis and compete in the Nevis Triathlon.”
Despite hot and humid conditions, British pro Joe Skipper put in the race of his life at Ironman Texas last Saturday (16 May) to claim third place, posting the third-fastest Ironman bike split in history – 4:10:07.
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The men’s race started with Todd Skipworth (AUS), Barrett Brandon (USA), and Ben Hoffman (USA) taking the early lead on the swim at Lake Woodlands. It was Todd Skipworth (AUS), Barrett Brandon (USA), Faris Al-Sultan (GER), and Jeremy Jurkiewicz (FRA) who entered T1 first however, just slightly ahead of Hoffman and Andreas Raelert (GER).
By the halfway point, Hoffman’s strong riding put him back at the front, with Lionel Sanders (CAN) and Joe Skipper (GBR) behind him. Sanders and Skipper eventually bridged the gap to Hoffman, putting their race-best bike splits to use, with Skipper taking the lead shortly afterwards.
Once out onto the run, Sanders chiseled away patiently at Skipper’s lead, but it was Matt Hanson (USA) who upped the pace and took the lead after the halfway point, with Skipper holding fast and Sanders eventually struggling from the heat and fading.
Hanson’s course-record 8:07:04 landed him the win and a ticket to the Ironman World Championship in October, as Skipper finished in second and Ronnie Schildknecht (SUI) working his way into third.
Women’s race
2012 Kona champ Leanda Cave (GBR) and 2013 Kona runner-up Rachel Joyce (GBR) led the swim from the start, with Katy Blakemore (USA) joining the leaders 15mins in to the swim. Into the canal, the three leaders had a minute on the rest of the field.
Out onto the rolling bike course, Joyce and Cave played cat and mouse up until around the halfway point, when Angela Naeth (CAN), blazed to the front. Naeth barely managed to hold off Cave through the end of the bike, beating her into T2 by only a few seconds. Joyce entered 2:10mins back, losing a minute in the last 10mins of the bike. Corinne Abraham (GBR) stole the show on the bike with her race-best 4:40hr split.
Naeth headed out of T2 onto the run first with Cave following. Abraham started the run with a 3:30min deficit off the leaders, with Rachel Joyce almost five minutes back. Naeth and Cave ran shoulder to shoulder until mile five, when Cave began to falter and Naeth seized the opportunity to pull away – a lead she’d go on to extend by about two minutes. Cave held strong for second while Rachel Joyce managed to fend off a fading field behind her to take the final podium place.
For full results head to www.ironman.com/texas.
Did you race Ironman Texas? Let us know in the comments below!
Despite hot and humid conditions, British pro Joe Skipper put in the race of his life at Ironman Texas last Saturday (16 May) to claim silver, breaking the course bike record along the way with a 4:10:07 split.
The men’s race started with Todd Skipworth (AUS), Barrett Brandon (USA), and Ben Hoffman (USA) taking the early lead on the swim at Lake Woodlands. It was Todd Skipworth (AUS), Barrett Brandon (USA), Faris Al-Sultan (GER), and Jeremy Jurkiewicz (FRA) who entered T1 first however, just slightly ahead of Hoffman and Andreas Raelert (GER).
By the halfway point, Hoffman’s strong riding put him back at the front, with Lionel Sanders (CAN) and Joe Skipper (GBR) behind him. Sanders and Skipper eventually bridged the gap to Hoffman, putting their race-best bike splits to use, with Skipper taking the lead shortly afterwards.
Once out onto the run, Sanders chiseled away patiently at Skipper’s lead, but it was Matt Hanson (USA) who upped the pace and took the lead after the halfway point, with Skipper holding fast and Sanders eventually struggling from the heat and fading.
Hanson’s course-record 8:07:04 landed him the win and a ticket to the Ironman World Championship in October, as Skipper finished in second and Ronnie Schildknecht (SUI) working his way into third.
Thanks @UKRotor @boardman_bikes and @endura for giving me great kit that helped me get the bike course record and 2nd pic.twitter.com/2aMmlSriN9
— Joe Skipper (@joe_skipper88) May 17, 2015
Women’s race
2012 Kona champ Leanda Cave (GBR) and 2013 Kona runner-up Rachel Joyce (GBR) led the swim from the start, with Katy Blakemore (USA) joining the leaders 15mins in to the swim. Into the canal, the three leaders had a minute on the rest of the field.
Out onto the rolling bike course, Joyce and Cave played cat and mouse up until around the halfway point, when Angela Naeth (CAN), blazed to the front.
Naeth barely managed to hold off Cave through the end of the bike, beating her into T2 by only a few seconds. Joyce entered 2:10mins back, losing a minute in the last 10mins of the bike. Corinne Abraham (GBR) stole the show on the bike with her race-best 4:40hr split.
Naeth headed out of T2 onto the run first with Cave following. Abraham started the run with a 3:30min deficit off the leaders, with Rachel Joyce almost five minutes back.
Naeth and Cave ran shoulder to shoulder until mile five, when Cave began to falter and Naeth seized the opportunity to pull away – a lead she’d go on to extend by about two minutes.
Cave held strong for second while Rachel Joyce managed to fend off a fading field behind her to take the final podium place.
For full results head to www.ironman.com/texas.
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Did you race Ironman Texas? Let us know in the comments below!
Despite hot and humid conditions, British pro Joe Skipper put in the race of his life at Ironman Texas last Saturday (16 May) to claim third place, posting the third-fastest Ironman bike split in history – 4:10:07.
Advertisement
The men’s race started with Todd Skipworth (AUS), Barrett Brandon (USA), and Ben Hoffman (USA) taking the early lead on the swim at Lake Woodlands. It was Todd Skipworth (AUS), Barrett Brandon (USA), Faris Al-Sultan (GER), and Jeremy Jurkiewicz (FRA) who entered T1 first however, just slightly ahead of Hoffman and Andreas Raelert (GER).
By the halfway point, Hoffman’s strong riding put him back at the front, with Lionel Sanders (CAN) and Joe Skipper (GBR) behind him. Sanders and Skipper eventually bridged the gap to Hoffman, putting their race-best bike splits to use, with Skipper taking the lead shortly afterwards.
Once out onto the run, Sanders chiseled away patiently at Skipper’s lead, but it was Matt Hanson (USA) who upped the pace and took the lead after the halfway point, with Skipper holding fast and Sanders eventually struggling from the heat and fading.
Hanson’s course-record 8:07:04 landed him the win and a ticket to the Ironman World Championship in October, as Skipper finished in second and Ronnie Schildknecht (SUI) working his way into third.
Women’s race
2012 Kona champ Leanda Cave (GBR) and 2013 Kona runner-up Rachel Joyce (GBR) led the swim from the start, with Katy Blakemore (USA) joining the leaders 15mins in to the swim. Into the canal, the three leaders had a minute on the rest of the field.
Out onto the rolling bike course, Joyce and Cave played cat and mouse up until around the halfway point, when Angela Naeth (CAN), blazed to the front. Naeth barely managed to hold off Cave through the end of the bike, beating her into T2 by only a few seconds. Joyce entered 2:10mins back, losing a minute in the last 10mins of the bike. Corinne Abraham (GBR) stole the show on the bike with her race-best 4:40hr split.
Naeth headed out of T2 onto the run first with Cave following. Abraham started the run with a 3:30min deficit off the leaders, with Rachel Joyce almost five minutes back. Naeth and Cave ran shoulder to shoulder until mile five, when Cave began to falter and Naeth seized the opportunity to pull away – a lead she’d go on to extend by about two minutes. Cave held strong for second while Rachel Joyce managed to fend off a fading field behind her to take the final podium place.
For full results head to www.ironman.com/texas.
Did you race Ironman Texas? Let us know in the comments below!
Despite hot and humid conditions, British pro Joe Skipper put in the race of his life at Ironman Texas last Saturday (16 May) to claim silver, breaking the course bike record along the way with a 4:10:07 split.
The men’s race started with Todd Skipworth (AUS), Barrett Brandon (USA), and Ben Hoffman (USA) taking the early lead on the swim at Lake Woodlands. It was Todd Skipworth (AUS), Barrett Brandon (USA), Faris Al-Sultan (GER), and Jeremy Jurkiewicz (FRA) who entered T1 first however, just slightly ahead of Hoffman and Andreas Raelert (GER).
By the halfway point, Hoffman’s strong riding put him back at the front, with Lionel Sanders (CAN) and Joe Skipper (GBR) behind him. Sanders and Skipper eventually bridged the gap to Hoffman, putting their race-best bike splits to use, with Skipper taking the lead shortly afterwards.
Once out onto the run, Sanders chiseled away patiently at Skipper’s lead, but it was Matt Hanson (USA) who upped the pace and took the lead after the halfway point, with Skipper holding fast and Sanders eventually struggling from the heat and fading.
Hanson’s course-record 8:07:04 landed him the win and a ticket to the Ironman World Championship in October, as Skipper finished in second and Ronnie Schildknecht (SUI) working his way into third.
Thanks @UKRotor @boardman_bikes and @endura for giving me great kit that helped me get the bike course record and 2nd pic.twitter.com/2aMmlSriN9
— Joe Skipper (@joe_skipper88) May 17, 2015
Women’s race
2012 Kona champ Leanda Cave (GBR) and 2013 Kona runner-up Rachel Joyce (GBR) led the swim from the start, with Katy Blakemore (USA) joining the leaders 15mins in to the swim. Into the canal, the three leaders had a minute on the rest of the field.
Out onto the rolling bike course, Joyce and Cave played cat and mouse up until around the halfway point, when Angela Naeth (CAN), blazed to the front.
Naeth barely managed to hold off Cave through the end of the bike, beating her into T2 by only a few seconds. Joyce entered 2:10mins back, losing a minute in the last 10mins of the bike. Corinne Abraham (GBR) stole the show on the bike with her race-best 4:40hr split.
Naeth headed out of T2 onto the run first with Cave following. Abraham started the run with a 3:30min deficit off the leaders, with Rachel Joyce almost five minutes back.
Naeth and Cave ran shoulder to shoulder until mile five, when Cave began to falter and Naeth seized the opportunity to pull away – a lead she’d go on to extend by about two minutes.
Cave held strong for second while Rachel Joyce managed to fend off a fading field behind her to take the final podium place.
For full results head to www.ironman.com/texas.
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Did you race Ironman Texas? Let us know in the comments below!
The International Triathlon Union confirmed overnight that Leeds will host a round of the World Triathlon Series next summer, with the date and full series schedule to be confirmed after the forthcoming ITU World Triathlon in Hyde Park on the last weekend in May.
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The event will take the place of the event in London, as Hyde Park will be under construction in 2016 to allow for the building of a cycling superhighway throughout the city.
Leeds was put forward by British Triathlon, supported by UK Sport, as Britain’s candidate city following a bid to host the event led by Leeds City Council, with backing from Sport Leeds, Welcome to Yorkshire and other key stakeholders.
Forget San Diego, Sydney, Lausanne, Kona etc. Welcome @worldtriathlon to the real home of triathlon. #WTSLEEDS
— Alistair Brownlee (@AliBrownleetri) May 19, 2015
The elite men’s and women’s races will take place over the Olympic distance, starting in Roundhay Park with a 1500m swim and finishing in the heart of city after a 40-kilometre bike ride and 10-kilometre run.
As always there will also be age–group races taking place, giving those who qualify the chance to race on the same course as the pros. There will also be a number of ‘cultural activities’ taking place over the weekend of the races to support the event.
Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, as well as Leeds-based stars Vicky Holland and former ITU world champion, Non Stanford, are relishing the prospect of racing in front of packed crowds and an atmosphere similar to the unforgettable Tour de France Grand Départ and the recent Tour de Yorkshire.
Jonny Brownlee said: “Having an ITU World Triathlon Series event in Leeds is like a dream come true in many respects. To race at the highest level in the city where I grew up and have done all of my triathlon training is something that I’m already excited about.”
Former world champion Non Stanford, who also trains in Leeds, said: “To see an ITU World Triathlon Series event come to Leeds as we build towards Rio will be fantastic. I am sure it will be an amazing spectator event, and the fact that amateurs can take part on the same course will make it even more memorable.”
The ITU also announced Gold Coast as the host of the 2018 World Triathlon Series Grand Final Event, and will shortly be announcing the full list of host cities for the 2016 and 2017 World Series races.
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What do you make of the news? Let us know in the comments!
The International Triathlon Union confirmed overnight that Leeds will host a round of the World Triathlon Series next summer, with the date and full series schedule to be confirmed after the forthcoming ITU World Triathlon in Hyde Park on the last weekend in May.
Advertisement
The event will take the place of the event in London, as Hyde Park will be under construction in 2016 to allow for the building of a cycling superhighway throughout the city.
Leeds was put forward by British Triathlon, supported by UK Sport, as Britain’s candidate city following a bid to host the event led by Leeds City Council, with backing from Sport Leeds, Welcome to Yorkshire and other key stakeholders.
Forget San Diego, Sydney, Lausanne, Kona etc. Welcome @worldtriathlon to the real home of triathlon. #WTSLEEDS
— Alistair Brownlee (@AliBrownleetri) May 19, 2015
The elite men’s and women’s races will take place over the Olympic distance, starting in Roundhay Park with a 1500m swim and finishing in the heart of city after a 40-kilometre bike ride and 10-kilometre run.
As always there will also be age–group races taking place, giving those who qualify the chance to race on the same course as the pros. There will also be a number of ‘cultural activities’ taking place over the weekend of the races to support the event.
Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, as well as Leeds-based stars Vicky Holland and former ITU world champion, Non Stanford, are relishing the prospect of racing in front of packed crowds and an atmosphere similar to the unforgettable Tour de France Grand Départ and the recent Tour de Yorkshire.
Jonny Brownlee said: “Having an ITU World Triathlon Series event in Leeds is like a dream come true in many respects. To race at the highest level in the city where I grew up and have done all of my triathlon training is something that I’m already excited about.”
Former world champion Non Stanford, who also trains in Leeds, said: “To see an ITU World Triathlon Series event come to Leeds as we build towards Rio will be fantastic. I am sure it will be an amazing spectator event, and the fact that amateurs can take part on the same course will make it even more memorable.”
The ITU also announced Gold Coast as the host of the 2018 World Triathlon Series Grand Final Event, and will shortly be announcing the full list of host cities for the 2016 and 2017 World Series races.
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What do you make of the news? Let us know in the comments!
The Australian city of Gold Coast is to host the 2018 World Triathlon Series Grand Final, after successfully returning to triathlon’s top-flight calendar this year.
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>>> WTS Gold Coast 2015 – in pics
The decision was made at an ITU Executive Board meeting held in conjunction with last weekend’s WTS Yokohama, the Queensland city commonly known as a ‘surfer’s paradise’ will also host WTS events in the intervening years of 2016 and 2017.
The ITU also confirmed that the UK city of Leeds will replace Hyde Park, London on the 2016 WTS circuit, due in part to the fact that Hyde Park will be under construction in 2016 to allow for the building of a cycling superhighway throughout the capital.
In addition to the World Triathlon Series announcements, the ITU Executive Board voted on several multisport championship events. In 2017, Penticton, Canada will organise the first Multisport World Championships Festival, which will see duathlon, long distance triathlon, aquathlon and cross triathlon championship races taking place together during a week-long festival.
This ground-breaking event now allows for athletes to compete in various multisport races, as opposed to electing only one each season. In addition to the 2017 Multisport Festival, the Executive Board awarded the 2018 edition to Odense, Denmark.
In the final year that will see each multisport World Championships organised as stand-alone events, Lake Crackenback, Australia has been announced as the site of the 2016 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships.
Anne Gripper, CEO of Triathlon Australia, said “This is fantastic news for the sport of triathlon in Australia. To have the world’s best elite and age group athletes competing on the Gold Coast in 2018, as well as in the magnificent Snowy Mountains at Cross Triathlon World Championships in 2016, provides Australian triathletes of all ages with a great incentive to train and compete over the next three years as they strive to wear the green and gold on home soil.”
ITU will shortly release the bidding conditions for the 2016 Triathlon World Cup events, the 2017 World Triathlon Series races, the 2019 World Triathlon Grand Final, and the 2019 Multisport Festival. The full 2016 ITU World Triathlon Series will also be announced soon.
(Main image: Delly Carr / ITU)
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What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
The Australian city of Gold Coast is to host the 2018 World Triathlon Series Grand Final, after successfully returning to triathlon’s top-flight calendar this year.
Advertisement
>>> WTS Gold Coast 2015 – in pics
The decision was made at an ITU Executive Board meeting held in conjunction with last weekend’s WTS Yokohama, the Queensland city commonly known as a ‘surfer’s paradise’ will also host WTS events in the intervening years of 2016 and 2017.
The ITU also confirmed that the UK city of Leeds will replace Hyde Park, London on the 2016 WTS circuit, due in part to the fact that Hyde Park will be under construction in 2016 to allow for the building of a cycling superhighway throughout the capital.
In addition to the World Triathlon Series announcements, the ITU Executive Board voted on several multisport championship events. In 2017, Penticton, Canada will organise the first Multisport World Championships Festival, which will see duathlon, long distance triathlon, aquathlon and cross triathlon championship races taking place together during a week-long festival.
This ground-breaking event now allows for athletes to compete in various multisport races, as opposed to electing only one each season. In addition to the 2017 Multisport Festival, the Executive Board awarded the 2018 edition to Odense, Denmark.
In the final year that will see each multisport World Championships organised as stand-alone events, Lake Crackenback, Australia has been announced as the site of the 2016 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships.
Anne Gripper, CEO of Triathlon Australia, said “This is fantastic news for the sport of triathlon in Australia. To have the world’s best elite and age group athletes competing on the Gold Coast in 2018, as well as in the magnificent Snowy Mountains at Cross Triathlon World Championships in 2016, provides Australian triathletes of all ages with a great incentive to train and compete over the next three years as they strive to wear the green and gold on home soil.”
ITU will shortly release the bidding conditions for the 2016 Triathlon World Cup events, the 2017 World Triathlon Series races, the 2019 World Triathlon Grand Final, and the 2019 Multisport Festival. The full 2016 ITU World Triathlon Series will also be announced soon.