NEWS

Istanbul set for historic European Cup race

By David Peddie | 27 Jun, 2012

International triathlon competition returns to Turkey this weekend for a historic European Cup race in Istanbul.

Turkish races are very much a permanent fixture on the International Triathlon race calendar – with Alanya and Antalya prominent fixtures.

However, the history of Istanbul – a transcontinental city with over half the population in Asia – transcends International boundaries and represents a fascinating backdrop to what will be a special European Cup.

Erdogan Kahya of the Turkish Triathlon Federation said: “There has been a lot of interest in the contest and we are looking forward to the European Cup in Istanbul, International Triathlon Race.”

Triathletes from across Europe have certainly shown an interest in this unique race with 75 athletes registered across both the Men and Women’s fields.

Both fields are strong: Amongst the men are Yegor Martynenko (UKR), Raoul Shaw (FRA) and Justus Nieschlag (GER).

Martynenko enjoys racing in Turkey and he won in Alanya in 2011. He should certainly do better than the 29th place finish in Antalya earlier this year.

Shaw impressed in the recent Cremona Sprint race earlier this month and it will be interesting to see where he finishes in this Olympic distance race.

Nieschlag was the European Junior Champion in 2011 and has made the step up to Elite level racing in 2012. He is improving with every race and this will be another step in his development.

The women’s field features Elena Danilova and Arina Shulgina (RUS), Kathrin Muller, Sarah Fladung (GER) and Yuliya Yelistratova (UKR).

Muller was victorious in Antalya earlier this year and will hope for a repeat Turkish performance here.

Yelistratova has struggled for consistency in 2012 but again has an excellent pedigree when racing in Turkey.

Russian duo Shulgina and Danilova come into this race in form after finishing 6th and 7th respectively in Banyoles a fortnight ago.

This is an Olympic distance Triathlon race: 1500m swim / 40km bike/ 10km run.

RACE INFORMATION:

Sunday 1st July

Elite Women Start List, 1100 start (EEST)

Elite Men Start List, 1415 start (EEST)

Related Event: 2012 Istanbul ITU Triathlon European Cup
01 Jul, 2012 • event pageall results
Results: Elite Women
1. Kathrin Muller GER 02:07:55
2. Elena Danilova RUS 02:08:43
3. Sarah Fladung GER 02:08:58
4. Anne Tabarant FRA 02:09:11
5. Hanna Philippin GER 02:09:33
6. Yuliya Yelistratova UKR 02:09:43
7. Ashlee Bailie AUS 02:10:13
8. Inna Ryzhykh UKR 02:10:56
9. Evgenia Sukhoruchenkova RUS 02:12:03
10. Grace Musgrove AUS 02:13:03
Results: Elite Men
1. Aurélien Lebrun FRA 01:55:51
2. Yegor Martynenko UKR 01:56:03
3. Justus Nieschlag GER 01:56:08
4. Christian Otto GER 01:56:17
5. Sergiy Kurochkin UKR 01:56:23
6. Stefan Zachäus LUX 01:57:06
7. Oleksiy Syutkin UKR 01:57:38
8. Lukas Hollaus AUT 01:57:50
9. Ivan Kalashnikov RUS 01:58:12
10. Nick Kastelein AUS 01:58:33