Posted: May 17, 2007

Triathlon: Vancouver’s West End to host World Cup Triathlon

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Triathlon is coming home. After staging events around the world, the International Triathlon Union, the only international Olympic sports federation based in Canada, is bringing World Cup triathlon back home to Vancouver. In less than four weeks, the world’s best triathletes will gather in the city’s West End to compete in the sixth stop of the 2007 BG Triathlon World Cup series, aiming for the US$100,000 prize purse and Olympic qualifying points. It will be the first time since the inaugural year of the ITU World Cup series in 1991 that Vancouver will play host. This year’s race will be the official test event for the 2008 World Championships, also in Vancouver. Those championships will be the final qualifying event for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Race Date: Sunday June 10, 2007 Race Time: 7am Age-Group start, 12pm Elite Women’s start, 3pm Elite Men’s start Pre-race media conference: Friday June 8 at 12pm Swim course: English bay Elite Bike course: 8 laps, south on Beach to Thurlow, up Thurlow to Davie, down Davie to Denman then a quick right-left S-corner and back onto Beach into Stanley Park. Elite Run course: 3 laps, down Beach Avenue and return to Second Beach. Elite course map. The world class field includes several top Canadian contenders. They include: Simon Whitfield (Victoria, BC) - 2000 Olympic Gold medalist Lauren Groves (Vancouver, BC) - 4th at 2006 World Championships, finished 2006 ranked #7 in the world Paul Tichelaar (Edmonton, AB) - 2006 Pan American Champion Jill Savege (Penticton, BC) - 2004 Olympian, 3-time World Cup winner Brent McMahon (Victoria, BC) - 2004 Olympian Kirsten Sweetland (Victoria, BC) - will not be competing but will be on-site and available to the media Races will also be contested for age-group triathletes (men’s and women’s five-year categories), juniors, and athletes with a disability (AWAD) as well as sprint triathlons. With World Championship qualifying spots on the line, top age-group finishers could represent Canada at the 2007 and 2008 BG Triathlon World Age-Group Championships. More than 50 grade five students from Lord Roberts Elementary will participate in a kids triathlon on Friday June 8 at the Second Beach pool. It’s part of a “learn to tri” program at the school supported by the ITU BG Sport Development initiative. Click here for more information including schedules and full course maps visit: Triathlon.org. About the International Triathlon Union (ITU): ITU is the world governing body for the Olympic sport of Triathlon and all related multi-sport disciplines: Duathlon, Aquathlon and Winter Triathlon. The International Triathlon Union was founded in 1989 in Avignon, France and now has over 100 affiliated national federations around the world. Triathlon was awarded Olympic status in 1994 and the ITU is the youngest International Federation in the Olympics. For further information visit Triathlon.org.