NEWS

U23 and Youths get a chance to shine in Banyoles

By Paul Groves | 24 Jul, 2015

Last weekend has hardly gone and here we are with another race in the packed season for our athletes.

This time our focus moves to the development of new athletes and the chance for young and gifted athletes from all over Europe to show their pace.
Where better to race than Banyoles?  With prize money of €10,000 and a fantastic location, this is a mecca for athletes training on the water, with rowing and kayak teams as well as for triathlon. Over recent years our sport has found a new home in Spain.

  • 2011 - ITU Premium European Cup
  • 2012 - ITU World Cup
  • 2013 - ITU Premium European Cup
  • 2014 - ITU European Cup
     

If you want a taste of the event, check the video promo in this link.

The racing takes place over two days
 

Saturday 25
 

  • 16.00 U23 Women European Championships
  • 19.00 U23 Men European Championships

Sunday 26
 

  • 09.00 Youth European Championships (Relay)
  • 12.30 Mixed Relay U23 European Championships

The swim course for the U23 is a two-lap anticlockwise one of 750m each. Athletes will exit the water after the first lap before re-entering for their second lap. The course will be marked clearly by yellow buoys. For the Youths & Relays the swim will be 300m.

The bike course is a 6-lap, 40km, mostly flat. We can expect some tight pack riding and possibly a few brave attempts to break away. For the Youths & Relays, the course is a short and sharp 6.6 km, which is just one lap around the lake.

The run will be 3 laps to make up the 10k. Youths and Relay will cover 1.6k.

The U23 women have 25 athletes from 15 nations, including Deborah Lynch NZL whose 6th in Holten in tough conditions makes her a threat for the Europeans. She may not get the title but she can collect those points and may even get a nice payday.

Leading the ranking and most likely the swim and bike, will be Lucy Hall GBR. She stunned any critics in Geneva with not only a great display of cycling over a very challenging course but then out on the run held it well against other older and stronger athletes to take fifth place. Without putting any pressure on her, at the moment this is her race. She will be hoping to have Chloe Cook GBR alongside her. Following a great performance in Burgas Cook will have been working at her run but if she and Hall can swim close and then work on the flat bike of Banyoles they will form a strong team.

Denmark’s Ditte Kristensen has been mostly racing Elite and takes number 2 on the line up.  From Ukraine comes Oleksandra Stepanenko. She will be wearing number 3 and hoping for a better race after Geneva and Kyiv and, with her birthday today (Friday) a podium would be a great present. Watch out for Zsanett Horváth HUN. Winner in Tartu she is in good form. Spanish hopes will lie with Anna Godoy Contreras who has had three top ten finishes in her last three races.

For the U23 Men, the line-up is headed by a strong Spanish and Portuguese team. Wearing number 1 is David Castro Fajardo. He is joined by team-mate Antonio Serrat Seoane. Serrat won silver in Melilla but they will be up against the Portuguese duo of Pedro Mendes and Alexandre Nobre.

The Iberian Peninsula athletes will however have very strong opposition from World Silver medallist, Marc Austin GBR. His form is good at the moment, with an 8th in the Elite race in Holten. The fast-running Adrien Briffod SUI with his silver in Kyiv will add to the pace on the run and if the powerful cycling of Ron Lewinsohn ISR can be used by Shachar Sagiv then the Israeli team could challenge for the medals.

The youth races will be a spectacular display of relay teams. We witnessed one of the most exciting events of the year in Geneva when the French Team ran away barefooted to gold. This weekend will see 16 teams of youth boys from 12 nations race and 14 teams from 10 nations in the youth girls.

For the U23 relays, 12 teams from 10 nations will challenge for medals.

For full start lists, please click here