With Rio now behind us and with the excitement of our sport once again being one of the most spectacular sights of the Games, we return to the race calendar and a weekend full of action.
In three separate locations we will have the chance to see our athletes go for gold. With the ETU Rankings Final in Alanya getting closer and closer. The Rankings battle will be hotting up now that the focus has moved from Rio and we can expect to see some exciting racing as the athletes relax in the knowledge that Tokyo is 4 years away.
Where are they racing?
Well, in the Northern Reaches of Europe we have the 2016 Fredericia ETU Nordic Triathlon Championships. Moving south and to one of the most beautiful locations in Central Europe, we have the 2016 Karlovy Vary ETU Triathlon Premium European Cup and finally, for the Juniors, we have the 2016 Tulcea ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup.
- Three very different locations and three very different races.
- A total of €28,500 in Prize-money.
- ETU Points to be won.
Let’s have a look at Fredericia first. This has long been a favourite location for our sport and has hosted long-distance world championships in the past. The local population delights in our sport and the LOC has strength and depth that is indeed the envy of many.
This event is the chance for the Nordic titles to be decided. The race is open to all athletes and so ETU points will be up for grabs too. The race will be over the Sprint Distance and for those open water specialists, you have the chance of a great swim in the open waters that are sometimes warm, sometimes cold, sometimes flat and sometimes quite choppy. The conditions in this area really are quite changeable and all eyes will be on the weather forecast. The swim takes place at Lillebælt, behind the beautiful fortifications that make up Øster Voldgade of Fredericia. Athletes then make their way up an embankment and onto a flat are where Transition is located. The bike course is a challenging route through the magnificent city of Fredericia, as well as going through the beautiful scenery on the stretch that goes towards Bøgeskov and Egeskov. From the beach area, athletes will head through Fredericia Fælled and the many hills of Bøgeskov to the turning point at Egeskov. Once back in T2, they have the 5k run. This will see athletes run up into the beautiful fortifications. From here, the course runs past Den Tapre Landsoldat, and goes through the centre of Fredericia, back to the finish line.
With €2,000 in the prize-purse and those ETU points, who can we expect to see at the front end of the race?
For the women, 19 athletes will be on the deep-water start line. 6 nations will be represented but of them only Denmark, Finland and Sweden can take the Nordic title. We have athletes from Ireland, Iceland and Portugal racing for points and prize-money. Amanda Bohlin will be wearing #1. Her 4th in Tønsberg was a great improvement on her 6th in Malmö. She will have to work hard in the swim to keep ahead of Denmark’s Heidi Thranum but her biggest threat will come from Alberte Kjær Pedersen whose run pace is at the moment pretty impressive. In Tønsberg, which was changed to a duathlon due to the heavy rains in the days leading up to the race, she had a fantastic first run and was leading the race on the first lap, shoulder to should with Levkovska and Yelistratova. With the home advantage, the podium is possibly going to see the red Danish uniforms.
For a full start list, please click here.
The men’s event sees 50 athletes and the colour red is strongest with 31 of them racing for Danish honours. Joining them are athletes from Germany, Norway, Portugal and Sweden.
Wearing #1 and fresh from Rio, is Andreas Schilling. 4th in Stockholm, 8th in Hamburg and missing out a little on the tough hills in Rio, the media will be of course hoping for an Olympic performance and the Nordic title is something that Schilling will of course be hoping for but he has stiff competition. A strong race in Malmö gave Lasse Lührs GER a glimpse of the podium and as 2015 ETU Junior Champion, his move to rub shoulders with the Elite has not yet taken him to the gold, silver or bronze. His strong riding in Sweden a couple of weeks ago could work to his favour. Denmark will be hoping that they can get as many athletes onto the podium as possible. Anders Lund Hansen has not had the best of seasons until he headed to Norway and there, using his run pace, he took bronze behind the Aussies. His performance there must have given him confidence. Watch out for him on the run. The two Swedish threats come from Gabriel Sandör and Ludwig Fleetwood. They are pretty well matched and Fleetwood, who DNF’d in Malmö, will be wanting to grab points to make up for that deficit against his team-mate. From Portugal and making it a bit of a family affair, comes Vasco Vilaça. His sister Vera Vilaça is racing earlier in the day. Performances in Quarteira, Burgas and Tiszaújváros delivered him gold medals but against the older athletes, he has still to find some pace. With his sister they have been acclimatising to the Northern European Summer.
For a full start list, please click here.
All races take place on Saturday but this is part of a Danish triathlon festival, which will see the ETU Elite race, as well as an AG Draft sprint and a novice event on the Saturday and on Sunday the Nordic and Danish Age Group Championships over the standard distance as well as a Family Triathlon.
Our focus then moves South.
Click here for the teaser.
Karlovy Vary is truly a stunning location.
We have seen some amazing races and finishes there and yes, that hill is still there, although sadly the cobbles no longer reach all the way up the hill.
This event features an out of town swim and then a ride towards the city centre. Once there a series of laps will punish the legs of the athletes before they start the run, which takes them through the old city centre to the finish in the central square. The International School in Karlovy Vary has once again backed the event. 2015 was a huge success; not only for the ETU event but also for the weekend of triathlon participation.
Click here for the 2015 video.
Looking back through the archives there are some truly big names who have stood on the podium. In 2001 and 2003, this city hosted the ETU Triathlon Championships.
We witnessed the immense battle in 2001 between Iván Raña and Filip Ospalý that saw the Spaniard beaten not only by the Czech athlete but also by the Czech supporters who reportedly were over 50,000 strong. The women’s race saw Michelle Dillon take gold and Kathleen Smet, ETU’s present Secretary General, hold onto the bronze, just ahead of GB’s second medallist of the day, Annie Emmerson who is now providing valuable commentary and insight on British TV for the WTS and Olympic triathlons. It was at the 2001 race that a junior athlete called Nicola Spirig came 2nd, just behind British swim / run specialist, Jodie Swallow. To complete the Swiss collection, it was another junior athlete, Sven Riederer who won the title.
Back for more in 2003 and it was Raña’s revenge as he turned the tables on Ospalý to take gold. Indeed it was a Spanish double as Ana Burgos took the women’s title. ETU’s Secretary General was still on the podium but had to settle for bronze behind Italy’s Nadia Cortassa. For the Juniors, it was a massive victory for Vanessa Fernandes POR and for the men, it was Peter Croes BEL who just edged out Austria’s Thomas Springer who so recently raced in Rio.
It was a five year break before we saw the race go international again and in 2008 we saw the titles go to Helle Frederiksen DEN and Sylvain Dodet FRA.
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2009 was a good one for the home nation as Radka Vodičková and Filip Ospalý won golds but it was touch and go for Ospalý as Ireland’s Bryan Keane pushed him all the way to the line. 2010 was not to be a repeat performance for Vodičková who had to settle for silver behind Poland’s Ewa Komander. For the men it was Artem Parienko RUS who took the title in a city that is often called a “Russian City”.
Poland came back in 2011 and took the women’s title again but this time it was Agnieszka Jerzyk who raced last week in Rio. Ukraine’s Yegor Martynenko cruised to victory in the men’s race and Danylo Sapunov made the bronze position behind Aussie Ryan Bailie. From Slovenia, it was Mateja Šimic in 2012 and Raoul Shaw FRA who took gold.
2013 and it was the turn of Felicity Sheedy-Ryan AUS and once more for Martynenko to have the gold medals and in 2014 Czech delight when Vendula Frintová won the women’s race and the crowds were treated to a battle between Andrey Bryukhankov and Ivan Tutukin RUS for gold and silver.
Last year saw the emergence of new talent and it was the turn for the younger women to show their strength. Gold went to Audrey Merle FRA and the French double was completed with the fastest run we have seen on this course, by Aurélien Lebrun.
This year, a Premium European Cup with €25,000 to be won, along with the ETU points, we see 32 women line up for the Sunday morning start. 11 nations and amongst them, wearing #1 is Ukraine’s Olympian Yuliya Yelistratova. She did not have the best race in Rio but has invested more in our sport than many and will be focussing on the rest of the season and hoping to collect as many podium places as possible. She is up against Léonie Périault FRA, winner of the bronze last year but possibly with fresher legs and certainly with less jet-lag. Born in Mexico but now racing for France is the ETU Cross Triathlon Champion Michelle Flipo. On this tough bike course and, without that jet-lag, she might have the power to pull away but as we have already seen this season, Yelistratova’s run pace is awesome and it would have to be a massive break on the bike to ensure an easy run for the French woman. Local hopes will rest upon Petra Kuříková.
For a full start list, please click here.
In the men’s race, if the start list stays as it is, then the spectators, sponsors and other athletes are in for a treat as the Olympic silver medallist Jonathan Brownlee is on the list, wearing #1. Can you imagine the delight of the organisers? Not only an Olympian but the silver medal winner. Of the 52 on the start list, representing 20 nations, he is by far the strongest. If he does not turn up then the race is much more of an open affair and we see previous winners lining up to do battle. The tough bike course here will suit Simon Viain FRA. He showed great strength over a similarly tough course in Cagliari earlier this year. Aussie Drew Box won bronze in Huatulco this year and is no stranger to the ETU circuit. A good swim from him and a steady bike could put him in with a podium chance. Raoul Shaw FRA, a previous winner, will be hoping to be ahead of the Ukrainian duo of Yegor Martynenko and Oleksiy Syutkin. Syutkin took a year off after becoming a dad but returned with a stunning performance in Cagliari and then took the title in the ETU Aquathlon Championships in Châteauroux. His power on the swim and run, if he gets a good position on the bike could spell danger for the higher-ranked athletes. Martynenko has been racing steadily but despite silver behind Syutkin in Châteauroux he has yet to repeat his 2015 pace. Local hopes are resting upon Jan Čelůstka and Přemysl Švarc.
For a full start list, please click here
Our final treat for the weekend is for the Juniors and our focus moves very much to the South and East and to Romania and the city of Tulcea. As a venue this is becoming a very popular destination not only for our international athletes but also for Romanian athletes who get the real benefit of an international event coming to their region. Alongside each of this weekend’s races we have seen the Federations hosting triathlon festivals that offer the chance of participation to every level of ability.
This race, the “Delta Rowmania ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup” is located on a beautiful course which goes along the shores of the Danube in Tulcea, the main gate to the Danube Delta. The triathlon festival, RowmaniaFEST, forms part of The International Rowing Boats Festival. 2016 will see it celebrate its 6th year. It is a unique event in Central and Eastern Europe, offering an authentic Danube Delta experience and an opportunity to discover the natural Danube Delta through its own landmarks: entertainment, tradition, culture and sports.
The Festival takes place during 26-28 August 2016, three days of paddling contests, rowing tours, of course there is also triathlon and concerts will take place on the Danube’s promenade. There will be debates, film shows, Slow-Fish gourmet moments, presentations of social projects covering eco-tourism, slow-tourism and responsible tourism and organised expeditions in the Danube Delta.
This concept grew from the idea of Ivan Patzaichin, one of the greatest Romanian athletes. Born in Mila 23, a village in the Delta, Ivan Patzaichin has dedicated himself to the Danube Delta’s conservation and its future sustainable development as the most important eco-destination in Europe. By coming to this event, the organisers know that athletes will have the opportunity to be part of a triathlon, to row and have fun for an entire weekend together with other 10,000 visitors. A real mixture of triathletes, canoeists and rowing amateurs and professionals from all of the Danube’s countries.
As the race, part of a series of events delivered in Romian to the increasing population of triathletes, finished last year it was Peter Klosz, now President of the Romanian Triathlon Federation, who summed it up, “It was a pleasure for us to host in this corner of Europe a stage of the Triathlon Junior European Cup. This event perfectly framed in our three-day sport and cultural event: Rowmania, by which we promote ecotourism, outdoor sports, and professional sport between young athletes. I'm sure the athletes appreciated not only the points and prizes but also the great location and the short trip in the Danube Delta offered from LOC for the athletes from places 1-3. Surely we will try to keep this competition for juniors in the ETU calendar in the future.”
Well, the athletes have returned and, with prize money ready to be won and with points to be won for their federations (Junior athletes also form part of the ETU Rankings Series but rather than winning individual points, they collect them for their federation. https://cms.triathlon.org/assets/7b893f2e-a6b4-4f15-a05e-5ee60b6ef9a5/iturankseurjnrk2016nat8.pdf
The course is a 750 m lap in Ciuperca Lake, followed by a 22k bike course (5 laps). This will take the athletes long an urban circuit, in the centre of Tulcea city. There is a climb along 1k as they leave the centre and then they then turn back down the same route along a traffic-free course. Total elevation is some 55m. The run course of 5.1k is dead flat, 3 laps.
Who should we be looking out for?
Well, coming back to race once more and this year wearing #1 is Ukraine’s Sofiya Pryyma. After her victory in Transylvania in the ETU Cross-Duathlon Championships she did not manage to repeat that form in Lisbon. Her 4th place here last year, followed by 5th at the ITU Cross Triathlon Worlds will give her confidence that she can, in this field, have a chance for the podium once more. She will be up against Elisabetta Vitasović CRO, the 2015 Junior World Aquathlon champion. She suffered from the high pace created by the determined running of Yelistratova in Tønsberg recently and will be hoping that here, amongst the junior athletes, she can place well. 5th place last year was home favourite, Andreea Balan. She will be hoping that a good performance on home soil, with spectators supporting her, will give her another medal to add to her hall of fame. So far the ETU medals have eluded her but this weekend could be her chance. Austria’s Anne Struijk showed good strength and skills in Tiszaújváros but as one of the younger athletes will have a battel on her hands, especially against Daryna Moskalenko, the Ukrainian-born athlete now racing for Azerbaijan. Her bronze in 2015 saw her follow up with a silver in Tiszaújváros in the Junior European Cup.
For a full start list, please click here.
For the men, 30 athletes from 9 nations will be starting. Gergő Soós HUN gets to wear #1. He raced well in Tiszaújváros but missed out in Tábor. We can expect to see him at the front end of the swim. Austria fields two athletes in the top rankings. Lukas Gstaltner had a great race in Riga to take bronze. Philip Pertl’s top ten place in Kitzbühel suggests that the two, if they can catch a ride on the Hungarian’s feet, will work together on the bike. Matúš Verbovský SVK just missed out on the medals in Burgas. Swimming alongside Soós he has the legs for a good bike and a chance for a medal.
For a full start list, please click here.
A great weekend of racing awaits us.