Europe Triathlon

The last Euorope Cup of the season in Yenişehir proved to be a great success with athletes enjoying a well organised race on the beautiful Mediterranean cost of Turkey. In the elite mens race a sprint between Jawad Abdelmoula (MAR), Csongot Lehmann (HUN) and Henry Graf (GER), saw the race finish in the order above with a time of 51:09. The elite womens race saw a sprint between Tanja Neubert from Germany and Nora Gmur from Switzerland, which saw Tanja take the win with a time of 57 minutes 26 seconds. In third place came Roksana Slupek from Poland with a time of 57:30. The Junior Mens races also saw a super sprint finish between Arturs Liepa, who took the win with a time of 55:02, and Gustavo Do Canto. In third place came Gyula Kovacs in a time of 55:09. The junior womens race saw Marta Kropko take a commanding win in a time of 1:02:35, with Matilde Silva Santos coming in second and Noemi Van der Kaaij in third. For some video highlights of the races check out the link below: https://www.instagram.com/p/CdLrE-CFvHH/

After a great first edition in 2021, Europe Triathlon Cup and Junior Cup are working to have another exciting event in 2022 in Caorle!

Saturday is going to be an amazing day; packed with racing and will also be the final chance for the coaches and team managers to select their teams for the Sunday Mixed Team Relays, which will see U23 and Junior athletes racing together in this format for the first time in international triathlon history. But first, let’s have a look at the Elite line-up and see where the medals might be won. There are quite a few athletes making the mega-journey from “Downunder” to race here. This would be the autumn period for their racing season but a golden opportunity to gain extra points and prize-money. Don’t forget, there is a €10,000 prize-purse available for the Elite and U23 athletes at this event and we are pretty sure that many athletes who travel over, or up to Europe for the season will stay and race the Europe Triathlon circuit as well as the numerous grand-prix circuits that are held around the region.

Great Britain’s ability to deliver a seemingly endless stream of powerful female athletes who can combine swim power with bike skills is known to us all. Amongst the new generation is Sophie Alden. Bronze medal winner in 2019 at the Olsztyn ETU Sprint Triathlon European Cup and at the Quarteira ETU Triathlon European Cup, Alden just missed out on a medal, coming home in 4 th , at the 2021 European Cup in Barcelona in October. She started off the 2022 season with a top ten finish in Quarteira. She is consistently to be found at the front end of the swim and we can expect her to use her swim / bike power on this 19.2km, six-lap bike course. With a couple of athletes not available for the start, the host nation is still able to field 11 female athletes for the Elite race. Watch out for Carlotta Missaglia, one of the younger athletes in the Italian squad. A 6 th place here last year, she showed great pace at the ETU Kazan European Championships in 2019, coming home in 4 th . Her performance at the World Cup in Arzachena, over that incredible bike course, gave her a 9 th place finish in a world-class line-up. As a junior, Missaglia regularly appeared on the podium, with gold medals at the 2016 Melilla ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup, at the 2017 Bled ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup and at the 2018 Zagreb ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup. Italian fans will certainly be hoping to see at least one medal on the podium. Coming to this race, with a solid result in Yenişehir, will be Poland’s Roksana Słupek. 2018 saw her win a silver medal at the 2018 Alanya ETU Triathlon European Cup. She then rounded off her 2021 season with solid performances on the World Cup Circuit in Haeundae and Tongyeong (4th & 5th). In Haeundae, she posted 4th fastest run behind Beth Potter GBR and Sandra Dodet (FRA). The bronze medal went to her in Yenişehir, where she posted the 3rd fastest run. Joining the Elite ranks for this race will be Spain’s Igor Bellido Mikhailova. He comes here as the 2021 Junior World Champion after his standout victory at the 2021 World Triathlon Junior Championships held in Quarteira at the end of last year. Having won junior golds in 2021 at the Europe Triathlon Junior Cup Silver Lake and at the Europe Triathlon Junior Cup Wels, to add to his gold at the 2020 Belgrade ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup. Bellido’s story is an interesting one, “I entered the world of triathlon at the age of eleven because I was detected lumbar scoliosis, they recommended swimming but swimming did not attract much attention, so one day my father signed me up for a triathlon near Seville, my city. From that moment I began to enter into this great world. One of my great objectives is to participate and of course play a world series with the best in the world and especially in the Olympics. I will do absolutely everything in my power to achieve this goal.” Caorle, 2022 could be one of those stepping stones that will take him to Olympic glory. He will be up against some big guns, including the 2019 European Junior Champion, Paul Georgenthum. The Frenchman won that title at the Weert ETU Triathlon European Championships and has moved successfully up through the ranks to join the Elite. A silver medal HAMBURG WASSER 2021 World Triathlon Championship Series Hamburg showed him to be in good form last year. Caorle 2022 will be a good early season test for him.

The big threat to both Bellido and Georgenthum will come from Great Britain. With the trio of Sam Dickinson, Tom Bishop and Barclay Izzard racing, there is some serious firepower wrapped in the Union flag. For Dickinson, 2019 was easily his best year with gold medals at the Constanta ETU Sprint Triathlon European Cup, at the Karlovy Vary ITU Triathlon World Cup and at the Tartu ETU Triathlon European Cup and Baltic Championships. A nail-biting finish at the 2019 Funchal ETU Sprint Triathlon European Cup Final and hard-fought run to the line at the 2019 Kazan ETU Sprint Triathlon European Championships, saw silver added to his collection. Bishop can be expected to use his vast experience and power to secure good positioning for the Brits but will have to dig deep on the run to make it to the podium. Izzard has already opened his 2022 account with a podium appearance, winning silver at the Europe Triathlon Cup and Mediterranean Championships Melilla. His run was the fastest of the day. When on form, he and Dickinson are race-winners. Germany’s Henry Graf showed great finishing pace under immense pressure at the recent European Cup in Yenişehir, where he came away with bronze, posting the 2 nd fastest swim split of the day. A successful junior athlete, with golds at the 2020 Riga ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup and at the 2021 Europe Triathlon Sprint Championships, Kitzbühel and again in the Mixed Team Relay. For the home fans, there will be added interest after a surprise podium for one of their athletes at the 2022 Arena Games Triathlon Series London powered by Zwift. Over the explosive super short distance race, it was a ultimately a bronze medal for Nicolò Strada. Can he replicate the pace but over a sprint-distance? Well, on paper, his teammate, Alessio Crociani has a better chance and we will see this right at the start of the race as Crociani is one of the fastest in the water. The 2019 and 2020 Junior National Champion won silver at the 2021 World Triathlon Cup Tongyeong and first came to our attention when he won bronze at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games. No doubt the cheers will be loud for him and for all the Azzurri, all the way around the course. “Save the best until last”, we often hear. Well, look who has signed up to race! We know him better as a South African but, since the 10th March, Richard Murray has been able to race under his second nationality and we will see him on the start line wearing Dutch colours. His initial steps into the world of triathlon and multisport was focussed on duathlon. It did not take him long to make his mark, becoming Junior World Duathlon Champion, 2007 and 2008. He edged into triathlon easily and was soon making waves. A WTS Gold in Hamburg in 2012 and then the London Olympics.  2016 saw him crash out early season and break a collar-bone. That did not prevent him from running and biking and he became the World Duathlon Champion, 2016. Back onto the world circuit and it was more gold for him; first in 2018 in Leeds, then Mooloolaba and then Cape Town. Racing under Dutch colours since March 2022, his first medal for them was gold at the 2022 Americas Triathlon Cup Sarasota-Bradenton. Watch out for Richard Murray. Murray’s big threat will come from a Swiss athlete who put in an incredible race at the 2021 Europe Triathlon Sprint Championships Kitzbühel to take the title. Max Studer then went to Tokyo. His first Olympics. He finished in 9 th place, showing great promise for the future. His training has been intense. His racing is just as intense. The 2018 European U23 champion from his victory at the Eilat ETU Triathlon U23 European Championships, he went on from that win to claim gold at the 2018 Tongyeong ITU Triathlon World Cup and at the 2018 Alanya ETU Triathlon European Cup. Another gold at the 2020 Maselspoort ATU Sprint Triathlon African Cup and an impressive silver at the 2021 World Triathlon Cup Lisbon. This could be the big battle of the day. The entries are all in now and we have a wonderful line-up of athletes from all over the world coming to Italy for the 2022 Caorle European Cup and for the Caorle Junior European Cup. Amongst the names on the Elite start list are several who still qualify for the U23 category and it will be they who join forces with the Juniors on Sunday for our special-edition, super-fast, never been done before Mixed Team Relays races with the U23 and Juniors combining their force and talent. The 2021 edition of the Carole European Cups, with the domestic races added onto the schedule, gave a wonderful opportunity for the city to showcase its beauty. With the superb swimming available in the Adriatic and with the flat and fast bike and run courses, our athletes had one of the best starts to the 2021 season after such a long period of disruption caused by the pandemic. Now, as we edge further into 2022 and see the way of life returning towards what we like to call “normal”, we have the chance to show athletes from as far away as Australia just how good triathlon can be in Caorle. Flying into the airport at Venice, which is just over 50k from the venue and then spending a few days in Caorle to prepare for the European Cup before the race, there is plenty of time to familiarise yourself with the course but also to get out and explore the city.

With beautiful walks along the seafront, a night-time photo of the stunning Church of the Blessed Virgin of the Angel of the Sea, daylight hours spent on some of the best beaches you can find along the Adriatic and the incredibly warm welcome that awaits you, well, Caorle will stay with you for a long, long time. The city was wonderfully supportive of the races that took place in 2021 and, with even greater expectation that they can give you not only a perfect racing opportunity but also a short holiday in a beautiful location, the 2022 edition looks set to be even better. Of course, the location of Caorle, 50k from Venice by road, or 35k by ferry, makes it the ideal location to base yourself for a short excursion to the City of Dreams. Can you imagine how envious your family, friends and colleagues will be when they see your photos from Venice? You’ll see, Caorle offers you so much more than just a European Cup!

Below are the starting times of the races and the link for the livestreaming of the event:
Saturday 14th:
14:00 Start Final Junior Women
15:00 Start Final Junior Men
15:30 Award Ceremony Europe Triathlon Junior Cup
16:30 Start Élite Women
18:30 Start Élite Men
19:45 Award Ceremony Europe Triathlon Cup
Sunday 15th:
9:30 Start Europe Triathlon Cup Team Relay
(order: man, woman, man, woman)
11:30 Award Ceremony Europe Triathlon Cup Team Relay

https://europe.triathlon.org/live/2022_europe_triathlon_cup_junior_cup_caorle (livestreaming)

Keep up to date with the race by checking the Athletes’ Guide, which will give you all the information you need just now.

Click here to download the document: https://www.triathlon.org/uploads/events/2022%20ETC%20Caorle/caorle-athlete-guide_v1.pdf

To check who is racing, simply click these links to go to the start lists for all races:
https://www.triathlon.org/events/start_lists/2022_europe_triathlon_cup_caorle
https://www.triathlon.org/events/start_lists/2022_europe_triathlon_junior_cup_caorle

See you this weekend in Caorle!!