This weekend most eyes will be turned to London where the big battle will be taking place. It is perhaps then rather ironic that way back in 2002 in Graz the ETU European Youth Championships took place in Austria. The format was a short, fast and furious relay.

Rules were rules and there were age limits. So when we saw a very diminutive British youth athlete, a passport check was called for to verify his age.

The Team Manager, satisfied that all was now well, advised me, “Wait until you see him run!”

He did and has not stopped. So whilst Alistair Brownlee will be doing his thing in London, there will this weekend also be a stepping stone for juniors trying to break into the big time and secure their place on the international triathlon circuit.

The Vienna City Triathlon will incorporate an ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup in its programme of races over both sprint and standard distances. Water temperature was recorded at 15.9c yesterday evening and whilst we can expect to see a very wet London Triathlon, the athletes in Vienna will have temperatures more suitable to triathlon racing. 

Dave Rigby, the ETU Technical Delegate, reports that the weather is good and the build is coming along well. ETU triathlon racing returns to Vienna after a short break of two years. This will be the sixth edition of the ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup based on the Donauinsel, with the first race taking place back in 2007. The present organiser, Gerhard Seidl, along with his team from TRI Kagran is looking forward to seeing the young talented athletes from the European federations. 'We are delighted once again to be able to welcome Europe's best young athletes to Vienna at the end of May and to put on a top event with our proven organizational team.'

As normal, this race will, for the juniors, be held over the sprint distance. The Austrian Triathlon Federation, ÖTRV, is of course delighted to be able to hold this event on home soil. 'Our young athletes have the chance to race in their own country at a European Cup. In addition, this race will be an ideal opportunity for qualification for the European Junior Championships in July,' says ÖTRV President Walter Zettinig.

Follow this link for the all-important qualification procedures.

The swim will be in the Danube

Before the athletes set out on their 4-lap bike

To end with a 2-lap 5k run.

Start Junior Women 08:30

So who is racing ? Well, this weekend there will be a massive 57 junior women diving into the Danube. Wearing the national uniforms of 16 different countries, including those from Brazil, the biggest team comes from Hungary. It will be Slovenian athlete, Eva Skaza who will wear race number 1. Currently the Slovenian national champion she has not had the chance to show her form this year in the international circuit but placed just outside the top ten in Riga last year. With a strong cycling background and if she can hold the blistering run pace that she had last year to win her national title then she will be the one to beat. Wearing number 2 and from Israel is Noam Fishman. Her solid bike leg in the 2014 World Championships in Edmonton was let down by a struggle on the run. In Tartu last year she showed good form in the swim and bike and now, in the late European spring, hopes are high that her winter training has paid. The Israeli team has Lianne Witkin who also showed good early pace in the 2014 Tiszaujvaros ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup along with Yuval Gome. Keeping Austrian hopes high will be Therese Feuersinger. With top ten places in both Kitzbühel and Geneva last year she will be in for a chance with the home crowds sheering her on. Showing great improvements on her 2014 performances, France’s Célia Bremond has narrowly missed a podium this year already at the Alcobendas ETU European Duathlon Championships. After a 7th place in Quarteira and that run/bike/run test in Spain, she could well be in good enough form to get the podium.

Start Junior Men 10:00

For the men, 76 athletes will make this one of the biggest starts this year. Representing 25 nations, including a young athlete from USA and one from Brazil, in this race the biggest team comes from Austria so we can expect some really loud cheers for the local lads as they race the streets of Vienna. Ranked highest and from USA is Seth Rider. With 6 races already under his belt this year and a silver podium as part of a relay team, he will come to Vienna primed and ready. A strong swimmer and biker, his last race saw him drop to on the run. Wearing number 2 will be from Potsdam, Germany, is Lasse Lührs. His early performance in Quarteira was disappointing but a huge improvement took him into 14th place against a strong Elite men’s field in Antalya. Indeed such was his performance there that he must be a major threat to the American. Showing good form at present is Omri Bahat ISR . His last international race, in Melilla, giving him 7th place saw him swim well and ride well. Again it was his running that pulled him back from the podium but he too has shown great improvements since Quarteira. His victory last week in Tel Aviv will be good preparation for Vienna. From Great Britain, Jimmy Kershaw may well be a threat to the higher ranked athletes. His silver medal in Alcobendas will have given him confidence.

So stay tuned and keep checking for the results here on ETU-Triathlon.org