Europe Triathlon

Last weekend was pretty busy for our European triathletes. What with the fast and frantic Nottingham Relays, then the WTS in Leeds and the wonderfully warm and sunny test event in Weert, where visiting athletes from Aruba, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Syria and the USA came to test their form.

It was a tough day for our visitors in Weert with only one, Jessica Broderick USA, making it into the top ten. 

The results have changed the ETU Rankings, with athletes moving right up into the top ten positions. 

For the Elite Men, just check out the improvements made for Gabriel Sandör SWE, who moves up into 6th place, for Nathan Grayel FRA, who moves up to 8th, and for Nathan Guerbeur FRA who jumps a massive 45 places to claim 10th place.

The women have seen a similar set of changes, with Germany’s Nina Eim jumping to 4th place, Jasmin Weber SUI moving up 29 places to 6th and Israel’s Gal Rubenenko to 8th.

This year will see the traditional ETU Cup Final, hosted in Funchal alongside the Paratriathlon World Cup. This event, held over the weekend 27th / 28th October, will be the finale to a busy season and will give a chance to only those who race there, to share the final pay-out of €40,000 as well as the event prize-money. 

For the Elite, they can collect points at each of the ETU Cups.

For the U23 this year, there is a similar series, with an end of season cash bonus of €15,000, which will be shared amongst the top athletes who race the final U23 event of the year in Eilat.

A look at the U23 ETU Rankings shows us that although Spain’s Antonio Serrat Seoane is still comfortably ahead, there is stiff competition backing up behind him and with Jorik van Egdom’s blisteringly fast run last weekend in Weert, he has now entered the battle and the final races of the season will be raced hard.

The women’s rankings show that Spain has taken command at the top, with the top three positions held by Marta Sánchez Hernández, Cecilia Santamaria Surroca and Inés Santiago.

For the Junior Athletes, we have a race coming up this weekend in Austria. The Juniors will have a chance to return to the wonderful triathlon venue that is Kitzbühel. There is a huge number of athletes already signed up. They will race the semi-final / final supersprint format over two days.

The weekend after next will see a further chance for junior athletes to race, this time at the new venue in Bucharest. A city centre race, easy to get to and with safe, compact courses, we can expect the ETU Junior Rankings to change significantly before the end of the month.

The Juniors are not forgotten, with a series of events that will see them collect points for their national federation. At the end of the season they will share out the €10,000.

Following an impressive performance at the Dnipro race, it is Israel who is topping the table.

Which races, coming up, are the best option for increasing those points?

Well, with Kitzbühel already filled, the next option is of course, Bucharest. The Junior women’s field is a good mix of ten national federations. The Junior men’s start list also shows ten national federations but a significantly bigger field. There is still time for extra entries. 

Later in the month, Wuustwezel is full already and anyone wanting to grab points there who has not yet signed up may well be disappointed. Holten once again welcomes athletes. Juniors will race and the senior athletes can compare their performances over the same distances. 

Tiszi fever will once again be enjoyed in early July as the Junior Athletes get a chance to be part of the massive festival of sport that is on offer at the 2018 Tiszaújváros ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup. As for Kitzbühel, the format will be the super-sprint semi-final and final, over two days.

At the end of July, Tabor will once more host an ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup.

Then, in the first couple of weeks of August there is the chance to race in Malmö and then Riga, one weekend after the other. A great way to race back to back weekends, and, with accommodation so much cheaper in Latvia, we can expect to see National Federations target these two events, filling up the start lists with Elite and Junior athletes testing themselves in the Sprint European Cup in Malmö and then at the Junior European Cup in Riga. 

Moving south and east, it is nice to see that Slovakia will once more be hosting an international event. Žilina is located at the north-western end of the nation and pretty easy to get to. Located in a water park, the event is held on traffic-free roads and in a great sporting location.

This event will be one for the Junior Athletes. A week later and just over the border in Hungary will be the 2018 Székesfehérvár ETU Sprint Triathlon European Cup.

More junior points will be up for grabs at Tulcea. Now a firm favourite on the circuit,  this event has grown in popularity over the past couple of years and will prepare the athletes well for the end of August and the 2018 Loutraki ETU Triathlon Youth European Championships Festival.
 

With all the points, prize-money, prestige and medal’s available on the European circuit there is something for everyone.

Don’t forget to use the new Prize-Money Claim Form

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