The cycle starting the classification process for the Beijing Olympic Games will be getting under way in Madrid on 4 June. Running over a period of twenty-four months, it will end in June 2008, following the World Championship in Canada.

Two years and fourteen classifying races is the total required to obtain a slot for one’s country: this is the task confronting our triathletes.

The Spanish team includes both those athletes who already know how to win: Raña, Noya, Burgos, Murua… and the younger athletes who are participating in order to learn, and to find out if, one day, they will be able to follow in the steps of the former. Both groups have a clear aim to achieve and have consequently worked hard these last few months, only resting one day a month, and training for as much as 35 hours every week.

We hope to be able to satisfy our public, who are both well-informed and passionate, and who will make the ascent to the cable-car seem less hard at each turn.

Thank you for coming; I hope you will enjoy the performance.