The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority has announced that Saturday 3 March 2012 will see the third running of the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon.
Entrants can secure a place in next year’s event by visiting the official website www.abudhabitriathlon.com.
Participants who pre-register on the website before entries open will receive a special access code via email on September 5th giving 48 hours to complete registration before entries are open for general sale on September 7th. In 2011, the event sold-out all of its 1,500 places several months in advance, so pre-registration for the 2012 Abu Dhabi International Triathlon is recommended.
2011’s sell-out event saw athletes from 48 different countries take part with the international billing supported by first time representation from Brazil, the Channel Islands, China, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Norway.
The elite field saw more than 60 of the world’s top professionals line up at the start. Competitors included two-time Ironman World Champions Chris McCormack and Craig Alexander and defending champions Eneko Llanos, from Spain, and Great Britain’s Julie Dibens.
Other big names included Mario Vanhoenacker, Dirk Bockel, Caroline Steffen and Catriona Morrison. The hotly contested event saw Julie Dibens reclaim the title for the second consecutive year and Belgium’s Frederik Van Lierde put in a storming run leg to claim glory in the men’s event.
For 2012 the event will again be contested across three different race distances. The Abu Dhabi International Triathlon Long Course: 3km swim, a 200km cycle and 20km closing run. The shorter course, at half the length, has a 1.5km swim, a 100km cycle and a 10km run, and the Sprint course has a 750m swim, 50km bike and 5km run. Relay teams are eligible for the short and sprint distance.
