There will be plenty of British interest in the Netherlands this weekend when Holten hosts Europe Triathlon Premium Cup and Junior Cup events, while the prestigious Challenge Roth and IRONMAN UK are part of the weekend’s longer distance offering.
Europe Triathlon Premium Cup (2 July)
Twelve British triathletes will line-up at the first Europe Triathlon Premium Cup of 2022, where more continental cup points will be on offer for athletes racing in Holten, Netherlands.
Among the large start lists, with 70 athletes competing in the elite men’s race and 65 in the elite women’s race, is a large British contingent.
Olivia Mathias won at the last Europe Triathlon Cup event in Kitzbuhel two weeks ago and she will be joined on the women’s start line by Sophie Alden, Annabel Morton and Issy Morris.
The men’s start list includes Tom Bishop, who has had a busy few weeks having raced at World Triathlon Championship Series Leeds before completing Challenge Wales a week later.
Commonwealth Games-bound Iestyn Harrett will also race in the men’s race, as will Ben Dijkstra, who will race at his first Europe Triathlon Cup since this event in 2019. Jack Willis, Cameron Harris, Chris Perham, Joe Sherman and Sam Hart will ensure there’s plenty of British interest in Holten.
Europe Triathlon Junior Cup Holten (1 July)
Alongside the elite racing, there will also be a large British representation competing at Europe Triathlon Junior Cup Holten.
It will be a weekend of firsts for many of the British juniors racing with Harry Butterworth, Oliver Conway, Josh Cumberland and Issy Hayes all representing Great Britain internationally for the first time.
Conway and Hayes both topped their respective standings at last weekend’s British Triathlon Super Series event at Bowood House, where Ryan Symington and Solomon Okrafo-Smart were both race winners. Both will be competing in Holten this weekend having already had top-10 finishes at a Europe Triathlon Junior Cup event this year.
Hugo Jinks will also take to the start line in the men’s race, while Madeline Cooper and Jessica Turnbull will join Hayes in the women’s race.
Challenge Roth (3 July)
History of triathlon in Roth dates back more than three decades and British pro triathletes will be aiming to make their own history at the prestigious Challenge Roth on Sunday.
Laura Siddall and Fenella Langridge were second and third, respectively, in last year’s race and they will both be back on the Roth start line 12 months later.
Both raced at the IRONMAN World Championships, with Siddall, who won at Challenge Salou in April, finishing seventh, one place ahead of Langridge, and it could be another close battle again.
In the men’s race, Reece Barclay and Thomas Davis will be the two British pro triathletes to look out for with Davis finishing ninth on his Roth debut last year and already has three top-eight finishes from his four Challenge starts this year.
The course in Roth starts with a 3.8 km swim in the Main-Donau-Canal, followed by an 180km bike and then a single lap marathon run through Roth.
IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendee (3 July)
Chantal Sainter, Frankie Sanjana and Harry Palmer are all on the start list for IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne-Vendee.
Sainter was 5th at the recent IRONMAN European Championship Hamburg, setting a PB in the process, while Sanjana is back on the start list after an injury-disrupted couple of years.
Palmer will be back on the start line in the men’s race, two weeks after his first podium in a pro race at Challenge Wales.
Centred around the seaside town of Les Sables d’Olonne on the western French coast, the race starts with a 1.9km swim down the historic Vendée Globe canal, before a rolling 90km bike course. It’s then two laps for the 21.1km run along the promenade to the finish line.
IRONMAN UK (3 July)
Thousands of age group triathletes will descend on the town of Bolton for England's only full-distance IRONMAN this weekend.
The event starts at Pennington Flash Country Park, the location of the two-loop 2.4 mile swim course, before athletes begin the bike by heading towards Bolton and then completing three laps through Bolton and to the north of the town.
It’s back to the town centre for transition two and the start of the four-lap 26.2 mile run course where athletes will finish in the heart of the town centre in Victoria Square.
The race is known for its spectator support with numerous spectator hotspots located in the town, particularly on the run course.
