Europe Triathlon

Following the elite ITU Duathlon World Championships, which were held in July as a part of the Cali World Games, the Junior, Under23, Age Group and Paraduathlon divisions will be contested this Saturday in Ottawa.

Junior & Under23 Women
The Junior and Under23 categories will compete together on a 5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run course. Some of the women slated to race in the event this weekend also competed in Cali. Joselyn Brea (VEN) is one of those athletes, having finished fifth in the elite race. Although her strong finish suggests Brea is in form, she’ll face 2012 Junior silver medallist Georgina Schwiening (GBR), who will enter the race with fresh legs.

Like Brea, Petra Fasungova (SVK) raced in Cali, finishing 13th. She won the European Duathlon Championships earlier this season, suggesting she could threaten for the podium. Local hopes lie with Rachel Skubel as the sole Canadian in the women’s race.

Iran and Japan both feature large teams, each having entered a total of three athletes in the women’s races.

Junior women’s start list
U23 women’s start list

Junior & Under23 Men
Several athletes return from last year’s World Championships lineup to again compete on the international stage in the men’s race. The talented multisport athlete Jorik Van Egdom (NED) may just have the edge in the after winning the Junior Cross Triathlon World Championships earlier this year.

Mexico’s Jose Luis Cordova clocked a 14th-place finish in the elite championship race and will now attempt a higher finish in the men’s U23 division. After a break in competition last season, Juul Van De Kruijs (NED) is back and looking ready to shine after finishing third in the men’s 20-24 Age Group sprint at the Duathlon European Championships.

Jake Shoemaker, the younger brother of U.S. Olympian Jarrod Shoemaker, could surprise the field with his strong running background. While somewhat lacking in experience, Canada features a deep team of five men in the U23 race while another pair will battle in the Junior race.

Junior men’s start list
U23 men’s start list

The women will take off first at 5:30pm local time, while the men will compete an hour later at 6:30pm. Earlier in the day, Age Group athletes will begin competing at 6:30am, with Paraduathlon men and women scheduled to go off within two minutes of each other at 4:00pm.