With time ticking until the first ITU Winter Triathlon World Cup race in the small Austrian town of Gaishorn , the extremely mild temperatures keep both athletes and event organizers nervous.
Although there is currently enough snow on the cross country track at the moment thanks to an enormous effort of the LOC over the past few days, mild temperatures which prevent the soil from freezing heavily eat into the existing snow cover. Despite an unfavourable weather forecast, the LOC is trying its utmost to secure the ski course by transporting snow from higher areas of the resort.
On Monday, 12th February 2007, the LOC will take a final decision whether the snow conditions are acceptable for the completion of the ITU Winter Triathlon World Cup. If not, the World Cup Winter Triathlon race in Gaishorn will be converted to a duathlon and the points will be attributed to the ITU Winter Triathlon world ranking similar to Freudenstadt, Germany.
Please be informed that the deadline for registration for age group athletes has been extended until Friday, 16th February 2007, 12 a.m. In addition to this, the registration fee for age group athletes was reduced to EUR 30 and for both junior and youth athletes to EUR 20.
Let’s hope for a quick return of winter into currently rather ‘warm’ Austria!