The planes are arriving with excited athletes sharing stories. The roads are filling with cars and vans heading towards Rimini. The stations are seeing athletes carry their bikes from long trains that have come from all over Europe. The hotel receptions are filling and the roads in Rimini are filling with expensive bikes.

What is so special about Rimini this weekend ? What is the lure to this seaside resort on the Adriatic?

This is not a new location for athletes but last year was special and this year will be even more so. Click here for a great VIDEO from 2014

If that link does not work then please click here to be re-directed.

This year you can follow the event live.

This year the ETU Challenge Middle Distance Championships take place on Sunday. 1.9k swim, 94k bike and a 21k run but the day before there is a whole programme of racing, with the WORLD MEDIA CHALLENGE, the III Triathlon Città di Rimini, the GRAND PRIX ITALIA, the ITALIAN PARATRIATHLON and a JUNIOR DUATHLON.

So, check out the event page to see the course and who is racing. For the Age Group athletes the challenge may be enough; the title may be enough but for the Elite they race for a prize purse of €25,000.

Also – please cross your fingers for the athletes, spectators, officials and LOC – weather forecast does not look so good. Some athletes have even driven over the Brenner Pass through snow drifts.