Thursday, February 21, 2008
ITU Winter Triathlon World Championships this Weekend
Freudenstadt , Germany (February 21, 2008) - The world's best winter triathletes will gather in Freudenstadt , Germany for the 12 th edition of the ITU Winter Triathlon World Championships. Close to 20 countries will be represented as athletes will compete in elite, under23, junior, team relay and age-group categories. For the elite men and women, a €12,000 prize purse will be on the line.
Defending World Champion Arne Post of Norway and Austrian Sigi Bauer, the 2004 and 2005 World Champion headline a strong elite men's field. Three of the last four world Championships have been won by either Post or Bauer and went 1-2 last year in Flassin , Italy . The Norwegian is keen on winning a fourth world title this weekend and confident with his chances.
"I am in good shape, at least with cross-country skiing. I have been competing a lot lately. I did the Norwegian championships in cross-country skiing and the ITU Winter Triathlon World Cup in Flassin , Italy . Last weekend I was in Sweden doing a Scandinavian Cup in cross-country skiing, so my focus has been on cross-country skiing this year," said Post.
The two will face tough opposition with two-time European Champion Andreas Svanebo of Sweden and home crowd favorite Florian Holzinger of Germany, whom Post has called the man to beat this weekend.
Click here for full elite men's start list
In the elite women's field, it will be a tall order for any woman to unseat German Sigrid Mutscheller's bid for a record sixth World Championship. Mutscheller, who's coming off her seventh European title earlier this month in Gaishorn am See in Austria, will have plenty of crowd support. She'll be confident on the course as she won the European Championships in Freudenstadt in 2005. Her stiffest competition will likely come from Austrian Carina Wasle who has twice finished runner-up to Mutscheller at the European Championships. American Heather Best was recently crowned Pan American and U.S. National Champion and will look to derail Europe 's dominance on the event.
Click here for full elite women's start list
Despite warm weather in Freudenstadt, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) has produced over 900 cubic meters of technical snow, ensuring a proper course for the world championships. Located approximately 90 kilometers southwest of Stuttgart , Freudenstadt has previously hosted Winter Triathlon World Cups in 2007 and 2006 and the European Championships in 2005.
2008 Freudenstadt ITU Winter Triathlon World Championships
Elite & Under23: 7.5-kilometer run, 12-kilometer mountain bike, 10-kilometer cross-country ski
Junior: 5-kilometer run, 9-kilometer mountain bike, 7-kilometer cross-country ski
Team Relay: 2.5-kilometer run, 3-kilometer mountain bike, 3-kilometer cross-country ski by each team member
Schedule (all times Central European Time UTC +1):
Friday February 22, 2008
18:00 Opening Ceremonies
Saturday February 23, 2008
10:00 Elite & Under23 Women
12:00 Elite & Under23 Men
14:00 Junior Women & Men
Sunday February 24, 2008
11:00 Elite Men and Women Team Relay, Junior Team Relay
13:00 Age-Group World Championship
Full race results, story, high-resolution photos and interviews will be available directly following the event.
Click here for more information on the Freudenstadt ITU Winter Triathlon World Championships
Click here for all 2008 ITU Winter Triathlon events
Click here for the 2008 ITU World Championships
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