The ITU has confirmed that the World Triathlon Series will arrive in Leeds on 11-12 June 2016, offering the final opportunity to see Team GB triathletes swim, bike and run on home soil before they compete in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
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Leeds takes over as UK host of the World Triathlon Series after a long run at London’s Hyde Park, which will be under construction in 2016 to allow for the building of a cycling superhighway throughout the UK capital.
London 2012 gold medallist Alistair Brownlee said: “Triathlon has come from a sport that hardly anyone knew about, to in 2016 there being a World Series race in my home city of Leeds.
“In Leeds the entire city is going to be behind the triathlon. It’s going to be the major event of the summer, and I think the whole city will get behind it. Hopefully hundreds of thousands of people are going to come out to support the sport.”
Amateur triathletes will have the opportunity to compete on the same course as the elite competitors in mass-participation races, and the event will be supported by a range of cultural activities in the build-up.
Roundhay Park, Leeds (image credit: Shaun Gregory, Leeds City Council)
Roundhay Park will also host novice GO TRI events aimed at encouraging new triathletes to take up the sport. If you’re planning to come along as a competitor, spectator or volunteers, you can register interest here.
Here’s the schedule confirmed so far for the 2016 World Triathlon Series:
Abu Dhabi, UAE – March 4-5
Gold Coast, Australia – April, weekend dates TBC
Yokohama, Japan – May 14-15
Leeds, England – June 11-12
Stockholm, Sweden – July 2-3
Hamburg, Germany – July 16-17
Edmonton, Canada – TBC
Cozumel, Mexico – September 11-18
Distances for each race will be confirmed at a later date, and one final event could be added either prior to or after the Olympic qualification cutoff in May, which could slightly alter the current schedule and race dates.
Cozumel, Mexico joins the World Triathlon Series for the first time next year as the site of the Grand Final, which will include Aquathlon, Age Group, Junior, and Under 23 World Championships as well as the final races that crown the elite men’s and women’s World Champion.
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