Super League Triathlon comes to Jersey
Part two of the new race format comes to the Channel Islands in September
The organisers of the new Super League Triathlon, which debuted in Australia in March, have announced that Jersey will be the second location of the event. Fifty of the world’s leading male and female triathletes, including 25 Olympians from around the world, will compete in the Channel Islands, UK, for the Super League Triathlon crown from 23-24 September 2017.
The men’s line-up will include the Brownlee brothers, Spain’s Javier Gomez Noya and Mario Mola Diaz, and Richard Murray from South Africa, who won the first event, as well as 20 other leading men’s triathletes.
The women’s racing will see leading Brits including Vicky Holland, Jodie Stimpson, Lucy Hall and Non Stanford taking on reigning ITU world champ Flora Duffy of Bermuda, Olympic bronze medallist Erin Densham from Australia and the current American World Triathlon Series leader Katie Zaferes, among many other leading female triathletes.
The Super League Triathlon event in Jersey is offering equal prize money of $130,000 for both the men and women triathletes. Super League Triathlon co-founder Michael Dhulst commented: “With $130,000 in prize money on offer at Super League Jersey, it’s high-stakes, high-octane racing with huge consequences for any mistakes. This is a sensational race course and an incredible location for spectators.”
The Men’s Event
Commenting on the men’s rivalries, two-time Ironman world champion and Super League Triathlon co-founder Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack said: “The Brownlee brothers have been the gold standard, and they respect long-term rival Javier Gomez Noya. The new wave of rivalry is coming from Richard Murray and Mario Mola Diaz. The new athletes to look for are Jake Birtwhistle and Ben Dijkstra.”
Jonny Brownlee, who was sidelined for the debut Hamilton Island event due to injury, will debut the number 05 race suit in Jersey. Jonny commented: “I had to miss Hamilton Island because of injury but I watched the races and know that the Super League Triathlon format will suit me as an athlete. Jersey will be brilliant, with the conditions not as humid as Hamilton Island, and I’m looking forward to racing Super League there for the first time.”
South African Richard Murray flourished under the new Super League Triathlon format, winning the title in Australia. Murray commented: “Super League Hamilton Island changed triathlon racing and showed fans how exciting it can be when showcased properly. I can’t wait for round two at Super League Jersey. Athletes and fans should expect wild, exciting and full speed racing from the fastest triathletes in the world. It’s big gear, no fear! I’m planning for this event already. My competitors will need to turn up in peak condition. I’m ready for them!”
The Women’s Event
“Super League Jersey will see the world’s finest female triathletes enter the fray of Super League Triathlon for the first time alongside their male counterparts. Like the male professional fields, the best female athletes from short and long course racing will face-off in a best-of-the-best battle. Separate races will be conducted for the male and female fields each day,” said Super League Triathlon Co-Founder Leonid Boguslavsky.
Twenty-five elite female athletes will be announced soon to take part in Super League Triathlon Jersey, including 2016 World Triathlon Series Champion Flora Duffy from Bermuda, and Rio 2016 Bronze medalist Vicky Holland from the UK. Vicky commented: “Having spent a lot of this season sidelined due to injury, the prospect of being back on a start line to race in Jersey in September is really motivating.”
Jodie Stimpson missed Olympic selection despite being a Dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist. The British women are the world leaders at the moment. Jodie missed out to Non Stanford and Vicky Holland who went on to finish 3rd and 4th at the games. Despite not being true rivals, they have to compete against each other for Commonwealth and Olympic selection for Tokyo and Gold Coast as there is a very high chance of a gold medal for the UK in these events. You also have a young new star in Sophie Coldwell. This is a friendly but tense rivalry because of the depth in UK women’s triathlon.
Race Format
Saturday’s Triple Mix format will see athletes complete three stages of competition with alternating sequences and a ten-minute break in between stages. Stage 1 is swim-bike-run, Stage 2 is run-bike-swim, and Stage 3 is bike-swim- run. The winner of Triple Mix is the athlete with the lowest time across the three stages.
Sunday’s Eliminator format will again be conducted in three stages each in a swim-bike-run format with a ten-minute break in between. Eliminator is about speed and strategy with athletes finishing 16th and above in Stage 1 being eliminated; they do not progress to Stage 2. Athletes finishing 11th and above in Stage 2 are eliminated and do not progress to Stage 3. Stage 3 sees the remaining ten athletes battle it out for the Eliminator title.
On both days racing will take place in the afternoon, with racing between 2pm and 6pm each day.
McCormack added: “Super League Hamilton Island changed triathlon forever. The made-for-television racing is exciting, action-packed and full of entertainment. It set the stage for the forthcoming season, which comprises four events, all to be held in iconic destinations around the world between September and April.”
All racing will be broadcast live with programming distributed across international broadcast partners and digital channels making it easy for any fan in any time zone to view programming live or on demand. Full programming schedules will be announced prior to the event.
Expanding upon the Championship format, Super League Jersey will also feature a corporate triathlon event, offering the opportunity for corporate participants to race on the Super League Triathlon Championship course prior to racing each day. Corporate racing is open exclusively to official corporate package partners. Spectator travel packages will also soon be announced via Super League Jersey’s travel partner, Nirvana Europe.
Matt Baird
Editor of Cycling Plus magazine 
