Europe Triathlon

Burgas – more of a challenge than usual.

Whenever a swim / bike / run comes to town there is an inevitability of impact on local road-users. The LOC, working closely with an appointed Technical Delegate, will liaise with the local authorities to ensure that whilst maintaining the safety of the athletes and delivering a fair race, the impact on the local community is kept at a minimum. The season here on the Black Sea coast is just beginning and already the sun is shining, the temperatures are in the 30’s and the water looks delightful. Athletes have been arriving for the ETU Triathlon U23 Championships and the ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup all week.

Everything seems fine … until the LOC is told that the roads cannot be cleared and closed. The last two days have seen the Technical Delegate and the LOC (The Bulgarian Triathlon Federation) locked in heated and challenging meetings with the various representatives from the local Burgas municipality. From a real and present threat of cancellation, despite the presence of over 150 athletes from all over Europe, the LOC, with the Technical Delegate and the City Authorities have secured a working solution that not only assures the delivery of the race but also takes into consideration the extreme weather conditions that the athletes will have to race under.

For anyone who had an idea that the Technical Delegate was largely a “ceremonial position”, think again. For anyone who thought that putting on a race was easy, think again.
With all the hard work done, the athletes all met last night for the briefings. Today they will have a chance for the familiarisations and tomorrow, all the races will take place and they will cover the Sprint Distance.

The water is warming up by the hour and with 21.50c yesterday, it looks like a non-wetsuit swim will see the athletes complete a one-lap, 750m swim in the clear waters below the Sea Casino. The beach start takes them into the water and after the swim there is a quite unique climb of just about 100 steps up to Transition.

The bike course has changed from previous years and now will take the athletes over a safer 8km course. Over three laps, making the bike course slightly longer than a Sprint, is flat but very technical and will test the athletes. It is likely that a determined break-away will see medals decided early on in the races.

The run course is exactly 5k and over two laps and takes place in the beautifully landscaped Sea Gardens.

The schedule will see all the individual races take place on Saturday 

• 08.30 Junior Male
• 11.30 U23 Female
• 14.00 Junior Female
• 17.00 U23 Male

and the relays on Sunday

• 08.30 Youth International Race
• 11.00 Junior Mixed Relay
• 14.00 U23 Mixed Relay
• 16.00 Open AG start

The LOC has opened up the event to allow Age Group athletes to enjoy the venue and we are aware of at least two US Servicemen who have made the short trip over from Kosovo. They will have the same course and the same set-up as the U23 and Junior athletes. This is a great opportunity for triathlon to be opened up in this country and hopefully with good publicity we will see sustained growth in the region in future years.

The main focus this weekend will be the U23 Championships. Who is here and who is likely to get either the title or medals?

For the women, 15 nations will be represented. Leading the ranking is Portugal’s Melanie Santos. Her top ten place in Huatulco shows her to be on good form and she will be hoping to push aside the lack of pace that hit her in Lisbon. Sara Papais ITA took bronze in Madrid and is really on form at the moment. Having beaten Santos on home soil, she has the edge coming here. Russia’s Anastasia Polyanskaya Protasenya comes here with a gold medal from the Burabay ASTC Sprint event. Watch out for Marlene Gomez-Islinger GER. Winner in Melilla and just missing the Elite podium in Madrid she could well threaten the higher-ranked athletes. From Great Britain comes Chloe Cook. From a great triathlon family and having a strong swim, this shortened race with a technical bike might well suit her. Having won silver here last year the podium must be in her sights in 2016. Bulgarian interest will lie with Hrista Stoyneva who will be hoping for a more positive performance on home soil.

For a full starting list, please click here.

The men will see fast and furious competition from start to finish as many of the athletes have raced against each other for years and as for some, this will be the last chance to take the U23 title. Top-ranked and the athlete who gets first choice on the beach start is Spain’s David Castro Fajardo. His performances recently, against Elite Men, have pushed him up the rankings and after a disappointing race in Lisbon, where he crashed out, he will be wanting to go back West with at least a medal in his hands. He is joined by team-mate Antonio Serrat Seoane. Silver medal in Madrid on the technical bike course will put him in good position here. Norway’s Gustav Iden had a brilliant race over the toughest bike course on the ITU World Cup circuit in Cagliari last month. In terms of biking, he is on fire.  Jonas Schomburg TUR had a battle last week in Olimp, up the coast in Romania and narrowly missed gold. Great Britain has traditionally featured in the medals at U23 events. Their best-ranked hope is Grant Sheldon.

For a full start list, please click here.

Prize money distribution for U23 Men and Women:

• 1st. 1,250 EUR
• 2nd. 1,000 EUR
• 3rd. 750 EUR
• 4th. 500 EUR
• 5th. 400 EUR
• 6th. 350 EUR
• 7th. 300 EUR
• 8th. 200 EUR
• 9th. 150 EUR
• 10th. 100 EUR

Of course, there will be points available for them too. These points will count towards the end of season Rankings Final in Alanya. Check out the rankings here.

The Junior races will be over the Sprint Distance, the same as for the U23 athletes and so it will be interesting to compare their times after the races are over. For the women 9 nations will be seeking to collect as many points as possible. The juniors race to collect points for their Federations and at the end of each year the top three winning federations get a cash prize. Check out the rankings for the Juniors here.

Ranked highest amongst the women for this race is Kirsten Nuyes NLD. A top ten in Melilla and a strong placing in Weert has given her a strong base for this race. Simona Šimůnková CZE comes here after a 4th in Melilla and an improvement on that with a silver in Kupiškis. Just behind her at that race was fellow Czech, Lucie Obermannová. They might, if they can get close in the swim, work together on the bike. Local support will be strong for Hristina Karakoleva BUL.

For a full starting list, please click here.

The Junior Men’s wave sees 10 federations represented. Topping the ranking and from Portugal is Vasco Vilaça. A bronze last year in Banyoles and a gold in Quarteira this year saw him just miss out in Lisbon. He was so close to the podium but the powerful bike stage left him wanting on the final run. Perhaps against Russia’s Vasily Krestyaninov he might just find the determination to create a break away at the front. Krestyaninov’s strong swim and solid bike put him into silver in Kupiškis and with the second highest ranking this weekend, a good selection of a place on the beach might keep these two together. Third up is Denis Dudko BLR. He was so lose to the podium in Kupiškis that this weekend might just see him fired up enough to make that extra push. Watch out for Bulgaria’s Aleksandar Srandev. Moving up to U23 next year he has taken the silver medal in Târgu Mureș and is fast on the run. On paper he is the strongest of the local athletes and he will be hoping to improve on his 7th from last year’s event. Vetle Thorn NOR has improved greatly this year and his 11th place in Lisbon shows him to be on form. 

For a full start list, please click here.

We have just see the swim and bike familiarisation and reports have come back that there are a few small potholes out on the course, which could lead to some twitchy movements. The athletes really need to be focussed throughout the entire bike section.

The sun was shining, the atmosphere was buzzing as athletes from all over Europe shared and swapped stories about their races. The evening is cooling off now but tomorrow … it all starts.

Don’t forget – ETU is on Instagram -  so, catch up with the young athletes.