NEWS

Eğirdir is back on the scene. Welcome return sees Russia and Ukraine dominate.

By Paul Groves | 17 Aug, 2015

This weekend saw a welcome return to Turkey for many athletes. Eğirdir is no stranger to international triathlon but has not been a feature of the calendar for a few years.


The weekend was a chance for athletes from all over Turkey to come and race in the open event. There was something for everyone and it is a good sign that triathlon is growing and growing well in Turkey when we see so many children and age-groupers coming to race at our ETU events.

Not only do the Organisers get well-deserved income but the Elite can show off their skills and the spectators can learn how to improve their swim / bike / run / transition and of course, the finish photo.

Turkey has also embraced development of its many ParaTri – athletes. Good news all round then.

So, we turn our attention to the Elite. A surprisingly small turn out for the women saw Ukraine’s Yuliya Yelistratova turn out again after Riga to re-kindle her defence of the ETU Ranking Winner after her crash in Kyiv. Her performance in Riga shows that she is in good form and that the lengthy rehabilitation she has undertaken is paying off. She would be up against Arina Shulgina and Liubov Polyanskaya both from Russia. Dropping down a distance after a narrow miss of the podium in Rimini, was Italy’s Margie Santimaria. She showed power and speed in the water over the longer distance and it was to be her domination in the swim that would enable her to make a mark on the race from the very start.

A long and lonely ride took her to T2 with a minute advantage over the chasing pack of Shulgina, Polyanskaya, Yelistratova and Swiss U23 athlete Lisa Berger

The final 10k would see her overtaken by the strong running of Shulgina and then by Yelistratova. A comfortable third then for Italy, strong second for Yelistratova and a convincing win for Shulgina.

The result is Shulgina’s second gold of the year and a good sign that her form is back on line. For Yelistratova, “Step by step and finally I'm on the podium again! Nice weekend in picturesque Eğirdir with my silver and Vladimir Turbaevskiy’s bronze in the European Cup! Now even more motivated for good preparation and high performance in Sochi European Cup Grand Final, Ironstar Triathlon Russia.” She was also rightly pleased to be back in contention for the ETU Ranking Series and moves now into 4th place.

For Santamaria her many years of competition have finally paid off with a medal.

Triathlon is not only about racing. Here in Turkey, as we said above, there was something for eveyone.


In between races there was entertainment for the crowds. Perhaps we will see the ETU and ITU Race Referees using this new technology to spot infringements during competitions.


The men lined up and soon the lake was being churned up as the athletes battled over the 1500m.

It was Denis Vasiliev RUS who led the swim with, as expected, young Turkish athlete Gültigin Er just behind him. Ukraine’s Oleksiy Syutkin was not too far off the pace with Vladimir Turbaevskiy RUS in is sights and after couple of paces they were together in T1. Ivan Ivanov UKR and Uxio Abuin Ares ESP were neck and neck onto the blue carpet.

Dangerously-placed and just behind Turbaevskiy, was Donald Hillebregt NED. The leading group of men set off onto the 40k bike with a few of them testing the desire of others for a breakaway. It was not until about half way that Vasiliev broke away and took Hillebregt with him. The two then worked together to create a lead of over two minutes into T2.

Out on the run and the Dutchman began to pay the price. No flying for him today, “Ik merkte dat het zware fietsen er zwaar ingehakt had. Ik liep 2 rondes alleen en daarna kwamen er snelle lopers van de achtervolgers me voorbij. In ronde drie en vier nog een paar. Ik bleef rammen tot het einde en zorgen dat er nog iets van een tempo uitkwam”.
“I noticed that the hard biking had taken it out of me. I ran two laps (it was a 4-lap run) on my own and then the faster runners came from behind and went past me. In laps 3 and 4 a few more. I dug in until the end and made sure that I could keep up the tempo.” 3athlon.nl

It fell to Vasiliev to take gold but had he not had that 2-minute advantage then Ukraine’s Syutkin would have really taken it to the line. Back in form he put in the second fastest run of the day and now looks set for greater things as the ETU season heads towards its conclusion. Turbaevskiy had just enough Turbo-power to keep Ivanov off the podium and it was a nail-biting battle to the line between Abuin and Danylo Sapunov UKR who with the Spaniard just having enough pace to split the Ukrainians.

After the race, Syutkin said, “Again second place at European Cup, this week in Eğirdir! I am happy with the result! Thank you all who support me!” His supporters said, “Молодец!” and “Второй подиум подряд!”. He is in great shape and his new family must be very pleased with the way “Dad” is racing.

Ivanov, after he had caught his breath, said, “Eğirdir European Cup and finally a good result today. 4th place and I'm satisfied but totally exhausted. Big thanks to Bicicletas Pina, Angel Portales, ‪#‎Tritoledo‬‬, ‪#‎Catlike‬‬, ‪#‎Megadrive‬‬, ‪#‎Ferrexpo‬‬”.

Abuin found the race tough but goes away with very positive thoughts. “5th en la ECup de Eğirdir! Tocó sufrir mucho…los viajes de estos dias y la infección me han dejado KO! A recuperar! Toca despedirse de Egirdir! Me quedo con un bonito recuerdo de la prueba, lugar y buen trato de sus residentes!”  “5th in the European Cup in Eğirdir. I suffered out there what with all the travelling and the infection left me pretty much knocked out. Time now to re-charge. Time to say goodbye to Eğirdir. I have kept a nice memory of the race. A beautiful location and such very friendly people.”

Once again the Türkiye Triatlon Federasyonu have put on a great race.

Don’t forget, if you are an Age Group athlete who won your category in Geneva, then you have a free pass to the Open Race in Alanya. Check this link for details.

The race done, the medals presented, the athletes making their way home or to their next race and it is time to have a look at the rankings.

For the Elite there are only two more races before the Grand Final in Sochi and they have to race Sochi to pick up the winnings. This year the ETU Executive Board has upped the prize-money to €30,000 for the Elite.


Article gallery
Related Event: 2015 Egirdir ETU Triathlon European Cup
15 - Aug, 2015 • event pageall results
Results: Elite Men
1. Denis Vasiliev RUS 02:00:38
2. Oleksiy Syutkin UKR 02:01:20
3. Ivan Ivanov UKR 02:01:54
4. Uxio Abuin Ares ESP 02:02:03
5. Danylo Sapunov UKR 02:02:08
6. Bence Bicsák HUN 02:02:20
7. Matija Lukina CRO 02:02:42
8. Donald Hillebregt NED 02:02:56
9. Sylvain Fridelance SUI 02:03:03
DSQ. Vladimir Turbayevskiy RUS DSQ
Results: Elite Women
1. Arina Shulgina KAZ 02:10:58
2. Yuliya Yelistratova UKR 02:11:49
3. Margie Santimaria ITA 02:12:58
4. Liubov Polyanskaya RUS 02:13:52
5. Lisa Berger SUI 02:16:18
6. Ipek Oztosun TUR 02:20:54
7. Sarah Lester AUS 02:21:01
LAP. Yagmur Aydogan TUR LAP