Taking place on 14 and 15 September, British Triathlon paratriathletes and u23s will be going for gold in the 2019 European Championships in Valencia.
The action kicks off on Saturday with the Paratriathlon European Championships. Throughout the morning, racing will take place across all the PTS classifications, as well as both PTVI and both PTWC categories. For an explanation of the various paratriathlon classifications, please click here.
A 13 strong British team head to Valencia boasting multiple athletes at the top of the world rankings. Andy Lewis (PTS2), Dave Ellis (PTVI-3) and Lauren Steadman (PTS5) all top the rankings in their classifications, with Fran Brown being the highest ranked European athlete in the PTS2 category.
Claire Cashmore, ranked second, joins Steadman on the start line as they race for the top spot on the podium this weekend. The pair have secured one-twos in the World Paratriathlon Series in Montreal, the Paralympic Test Event in Tokyo, and the ITU Grand Final in Lausanne.
The team returned from Lausanne with seven medals, and six of those medallists will be competing in Valencia on Saturday.
The racing will take place in the marina in Valencia, with the bike and run legs taking place on the roads surrounding the harbour. The flat course will take athletes on the circuit that used to host the European Grand Prix, setting up some exciting racing in an impressive setting.
Saturday afternoon sees the u23 athletes take to a slightly different course for a 1500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run. Still taking place in and around the marina, the athletes will take on a longer swim and go slightly further into the city on the bike.
Sophie Alden, wearing number 2, finished fourth in the 2018 European Championships in Eilat and will be in search of a podium spot this time around. Also pulling on the GB trisuit in the women’s race will be Bronwen Owen, Natasha Sinha and Hollie Elliott. Owen claimed a top ten finish at the same venue in 2018 in the ETU Triathlon European Cup.
Representing Britain in the men’s race are: Ben Dijkstra, James Teagle, Jack Willis, Harry Leleu and Cameron Harris. Leleu claimed the victory in the British Triathlon Senior Super Series which concluded at the weekend, whilst Dijkstra finished eighth in the U23 race from the ITU Grand Final in Lausanne.
Alden and Willis were both part of the British team that came second in the mixed relay in Eilat last year, with Dijkstra part of the team that took silver in Lausanne. The 2019 mixed relay will take place on Sunday as the Brits hope to go one better than last year and bring home the gold medals. A shortened course will see the athletes stay around the marina for a 250m swim, 6km bike and 1.6km run to complete their leg.
You can view the full start lists for the Paratriathlon and U23, individual and mixed relay, races below.
An update (13.9.19) has been issued by the Local Organising Committee surrounding changes of the races due to the weather.
