Round 5 of the ITU Triathlon World Series moves to Europe, after a highly successful swing around the Pacific. Casa de Campo, the 1,800 hectare woodland in the centre of Madrid normally serves as a gigantic lung for the city, but this weekend the park will serve as one of the best triathlon venues in the world.

Updated start lists as of Saturday 3 pm and full race details are available on the

Why not watch the video of last years world cup by clicking on the Madrid links on the “latest event videos” section on the home page of triathlon.org? This is located on the right hand side of the home page under the events news section.

All eyes will be on 19-year-old Vanessa Fernandes from Portugal who left the women’s field in the dust earlier this year at the ITU Mazatlan World Cup. Fernandes is very talented at each of the 3 disciplines and will be looking for her third straight win on the Madrid course.

Hunter Kemper, the first man from the USA to stand atop the ITU World Rankings, is the one to watch in the men’s race. Kemper has been on the podium at 3 of the previous World Cup events this year, including a win in Mazatlan, and has returned to Madrid to fortify his position at the top of the leader board. The 2003 ITU Madrid World Cup was Kemper’s first World Cup victory, and many are predicting that he’ll be the one to beat in the European dominated field.

Germany has fielded a powerful squad with consistent top 5 performer Joelle Franzmann leading the charge on the women’s side. Veteran Andreas Raelert will lead the dynamic men’s team, which also includes the young talented Christian Weimer and Steffen Justus.

The French men are led by Frederic Belaubre, who won this event last year, as well as World Cup past medallists Cedric Fleureton and Cedric Deanez.

Included in the men’s event is the Ukraine’s Volodymyr Polikarpenko who placed second here in 2003 and 2004. Stuart Hayes from Great Britain, who was bronze medallist here in 2004, will also be on the start line in Madrid. Although the Briton has not raced much this year, he is fit and is an excellent competitor.

But the biggest team, the Spanish team, will likely dazzle the hometown fans. Spain has fielded the best team ever in both the men’s and women’s events. Ainhoa Murua may challenge in the women’s event, while the 2002 World Champion Ivan Rana will surely cause a stir in the temporary stadium erected for the event.

The recently implemented lap primes will also take place during both the men’s and women’s event, with an ITU prize at the end of the first lap on the swim, the first lap on the bike and the fifth lap on the bike. The bike primes are located directly in front of the grandstands and are expected to create a thrilling spectacle.

A promo video based on last years event was made by the organisers.  This promo has been running all week on each of the videoboards in Madrids subway system. Watch the video here

Triathlon.org will be covering the event online with live results, photos, text updates and live audio featuring ITUs Voice of Triathlon, Barrie Shepley. 
Both races will be covered live on www.triathlon.org, with full audio, live pictures, text updates in Spanish and full live timing of the event. To view this live coverage all you need do is go to the bottom of the home page and click on the Madrid link in the “live webcast section” or you can go to the

and click on the live coverage button on the left hand panel. This is the button on the bottom of the list. Coverage will begin at 09.30 local time, which is 08:30 in London, 16:30 in Tokyo, 17:30 in Sydney, 00:30 in Vancouver, 03:30 in New York and 04:30 in Rio.

For complete pre-race stories and start lists, please visit www.triathlon.org and for more media information email adrienne@triathlon.org