Triathletes urged to be quick off mark for Hyde Park event

Hyde Park, London, the chosen venue for the 2012 Olympic Triathlon, will once more host an ITU World Championship Series event this season and triathlon fans around the UK are being urged to sign up soon for the age-group races for the event that takes place on July 24 and 25.



It's a unique experience because triathletes get the opportunity to race on the same course as the world's best as well as getting an early taste of what the venue will be like in 2012 said James Robinson, Commercial Director, Upsolut Sports UK Ltd, the company behind the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series.



“They’d laid out the blue carpet and shut the roads around Hyde Park just so that I (and 1200 others) could have a go”, said Helen Gorman who entered the age-group event a year ago. “It was such a great weekend”.



“Racing on closed roads is a real pleasure, let alone racing on closed roads around Hyde Park Corner!” she added.



Alistair Brownlee, the British sensation of the global racing scene last season and now the reigning ITU World Champion, won the inaugural Hyde Park event with Helen Jenkins, the UK’s 2008 world champion, taking a bronze in the elite women’s race. Both look set to be on the starting line in 2010 for the event that is supported as part of UK Sport’s World Class Events programme and sponsored by Dextro Energy.



Marie Curie Cancer Care will once more be the charity partner for those who are seeking a good cause to motivate them through the miles in training.



“This year we’ve decided to split the elite races across two days”, said Robinson. “So all triathletes will get the opportunity to race on the same course before watching the world’s best in action. Places for all categories are being snapped up quickly. So I’d urge triathletes to get their entries in now”.



Organisers also plan an extended event “Village” with spectator attractions and a marketplace for all the latest triathlon gear.



The Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series starts in April in Sydney and London is ideally placed with only Kitzbuehel between it and the Grand Final in Budapest in September. Athletes will be jostling for final positions in the run-in to the Grand Final.



Would-be entrants can sign up to participate in either the Sprint or Olympic distance races by visiting: http://london.triathlon.org/enter_now/