World Triathlon

Eilat - The Final ITU Premium European Cup in 2006 season

Eilat, Israel is going to host the final ITU Premium European Cup on 28 October. With this event the long and exciting European triathlon season will have been finished by Saturday. After the early start in April we had nine European Cups (Estoril, Alexandropoulis, Portorose, Erdek, Echternach, Tarzo, Salto Lake, Copenhagen, Geneva, Baeza) and six Premium European Cups (San Remo, Kitzbuhl, Holten, Kedzierzyn Kozle, Alanya, Eilat) all over Europe in 2006. After the successful debut in 2005 Eilat steped forward from European Cup to Premium European Cup status this year. Michael Katz with the Israeli Triathlon Federation made a very good preparation for the event during the last months.

About the field
According to the entries a small, but quite good field assembles together in Israel to make the final decision for sharing of 25 000 Euro overall ranking prize money (total for women and men). The current ITU European overall ranking leaders the Ukrainian Andriy Glushchenko and the Czech Lenka Zemanova will do their best to hold their position. The main opponents for Glushchenko come from New Zealand, USA, Portugal and the home Israel. At the beginning of October the Portuguese Joao Silva won duatlon European Champion title in team relay and obviously the Alterman twins would like to prove in the presence of the home spectators. The defending winners Rasmus Henning (DEN) and Leanda Cave (GBR) will miss the race this year.

In addition to the elite races there are 1400 age-group athletes competing as well as the juniors will also compete in Eilat. The international age-group field attracted athletes from all over the world, including Egypt and Palestina. At the same time the Israeli athletes can decide who is the olympic distance national champion in 2006.

About Eilat
Eilat is a desert resort on the shores of the Red Sea – Israel’s southernmost town. The astonishing fish and corals of the temperate gulf waters are unique in their color and variety. Twice every year, millions of birds fly over Eilat on migration between Europe and Africa, above the stunning red mountains and azure waters of the Red Sea Gulf. The many natural wonders and attractions of this area, the inviting beaches, crystal seas and sunny climate, make friendly Eilat a choice holiday destination for travelers from all over the world.

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ITU European Ranking TOP 10
(18 October, 2006)

Men Standings
1. Anriy Glushchenko (UKR) 1850 points
2. Andrea D’Aquino (ITA) 1803
3. Martin Krnavek (CZE) 1789
4. Emilio D’Aquino (ITA) 1578
5. Andrew Jones (GBR) 1569
6. Alessandro De Gasperi (ITA) 1438
7. Frederik Van Lierde (BEL) 1383
8. Sven Riederer (SUI) 1372
9. Frederic Belaubre (FRA) 1369
10. Cedric Fleureton (FRA) 1279

Women Standings
1. Lenka Zemanova (CZE) 2218 points
2. Vanessa Fernandes (POR) 1932
3. Tania Haiboeck (AUT) 1772
4. Ewa Dederko (POL) 1678
5. Maria Czesnik (POL) 1678
6. Nadia Cortassa (ITA) 1459
7. Virginie Jouve (FRA) 1226
8. Magali Di Marco Messmer (SUI) 1225
9. Jessica Harrison (FRA) 1224
10. Sibylle Matter (SUI) 1128

Stay tuned on etu-triathlon.org and triathlon.org for more details of the race, results, photo gallery, ... For more information and high resulution photos, please contact Gergely Markus (gergely.markus@triathlon.org and +36306882997).