The Europe Triathlon Junior Cup heads to Tabor, Czech Republic, with more than 80 athletes set to compete at the 41st edition racing in Tabor.
The Junior Men's race features an almost full start list, promising another highly competitive contest. Home favourite Jakub Marik leads the field in bib number one as he returns to race on familiar roads. The Czech athlete most recently competed in Wels, where he finished just outside the top 20, improving on his 23rd-place finish in Carole back in May.
Estonia's Artur Abras starts with bib number two after an encouraging season. Abras finished seventh at the Baltic Championships and has also competed in Olsztyn, making Tabor his third international appearance of the year.
Hungary's Dániel Németh arrives as one of the leading contenders after claiming bronze in Carole earlier this season. He also showed promising form in Torremolinos and returns to competition for the first time in almost two months.
The home crowd will have plenty to cheer, with 14 Czech athletes lining up across the men's field. Jakub Malik makes his international debut wearing bib number 14, while Přemysl Hašlar returns after racing in Holten last weekend, where he finished 35th.
Austria also fields a strong squad of six athletes, led by Daniel Janitsch, who starts with the highest-ranked Austrian bib.
Italy brings one of the largest teams to Tabor, with 11 athletes on the start list. Guglielmo Marafatto starts with bib number eight, while Ludovico Trincheri arrives full of confidence after helping Italy claim Mixed Relay gold in Carole. He will be aiming to add another medal to his season this weekend.
Slovakia and Hungary each bring squads of eight athletes, with several competitors set to make their European Junior Cup debuts.
The Junior Women's race features a smaller but talented field of 22 athletes. Home athlete Edita Pozlerova wears bib number one as she returns to international competition for the first time since Carole and looks forward to racing in front of the Czech supporters.
One athlete to watch is Manuella Lima (USA), who makes her European Junior Cup debut. Born in 2009, Lima is one of the youngest athletes in the field and follows last weekend's trend of strong performances from non-European competitors, with two reaching the podium.
Both Hungary and the host nation Czechia field six athletes in the women's race. Nela Markova opened her season in Tiszaújváros, improving on her result from the same race last year, and will now look to better her 31st-place finish in Tabor from 2025.
Hungary's Zóra Filep also competed in Tiszaújváros, narrowly missing out on a top-10 finish after showing significant progress from her 40th-place result in Torremolinos earlier this season. She starts with bib number four.
Just behind her on the start list is fellow Hungarian Emma Urban, who wears bib number six as she lines up for her fourth race of the year.
Germany's Annika Bernhuber makes her Europe Triathlon Junior Cup debut in Tabor. Her only previous international experience has come at the German Junior National Championships, making this an exciting opportunity to test herself on the European stage.
Full start lists can be found here.
Photo - Patrik Jech