Tiszaujvaros Junior European Cup Preview

The ETU Junior European Cup returns to Tiszaujvaros for the sixth year in a row offering competitors a unique twist this time around.

A staple of the International triathlon calendar, this year, for the first time in official ITU/ETU competition, the race format will be split into preliminary heats and then a final.

There will be two preliminary heats for both the men and women, with the top ten in each heat qualifying for the final along with the five next best times. In total, 25 athletes will line up in the final field for both categories.

The total race distance equates to a full sprint distance triathlon and the event is part of a week long local festival called TriWeek.

Tiszaujvaros has hosted an ETU Junior Cup every year since 2006 and has often been used to trial different formats of the sport. Last year, the Junior athletes completed the sprint distance across five segments and four transitions.

Hungarian athletes have traditionally done very well here in 'Tiszi' with at least one athlete making the podium every year since 2006.

This will no doubt boost the confidence of the likes of Gàbor Hanko, Eszter Pap and Renata Fuchs, who have all performed consistently well in 2011 and will be contenders here.

Aside from the home athletes, Matthias Steinwandter, currently second in the ETU Junior rankings, returns to competition for the first time since Pontevedra and will look to return to winning ways.

With an ITU World Cup to follow on the Sunday, this weekend promises to be another excellent spectacle.