Europe Triathlon

Well, not all bad news comes from the Coronavirus / Covid-19.

With the cancellation of the WTS Abu Dhabi event, there are a host of top athletes who have nothing to do this weekend and, having been successfully added to the start lists, will leave their wetsuits packed away and instead try for a medal at the ETU Punta Umbría European Duathlon Championships.

No doubt generating more interest than most will be Great Britain’s double Olympic Champion, holder of European and World triathlon titles, Alistair Brownlee.

His presence will seriously focus the mind of reigning World and European title-holder, Benjamin Choquert FRA and no doubt make the crowds cheer even louder for the host nation’s favourite, Emilio Martín. Add to this mix Belgium’s strong team, which now has Simon De Cuyper. With the visiting Canadian (No medals or titles for him but prize-money and points), Tyler Mislawchuk the pace at the front end is going to be intense.

The women’s race is also going to see some late additions and the long-distance specialist, from Austria, Sandrina Illes, will once more do battle with the reigning European champion, Irene Loizate Sarrionandia ESP. This was a tremendous race last year in Târgu Mureș, where the Spaniard won by just 7 seconds. The biggest threat now comes from GB’s running ace, Beth Potter. Last year in Weert, she showed a clean pair of heels to everyone and posted a 10k run that was 33 seconds faster than anyone else. Could this possibly be a British clean sweep?

Well, fortunately the Federación Española de Triatlón, will be streaming the races live and as soon as we get the links, they will be published for you to enjoy.

Their Facebook Page is regularly updated in line with the ETU Facebook Page.

In the meantime, sit back and have a look at the start lists.