The Alpine town of Kitzbühel in the Austrian province of Tyrol welcomes back the best of European triathlon for the 2017 ETU Triathlon European Championships this coming weekend.
The stunning surroundings of Kitzbühel in Austria should prove surprisingly familiar to many of the British Age-Group team this weekend with the ETU European Triathlon Championships returning to the venue just three years after last being held there in 2014.
The schedule will be slightly different this time around, with the ETU separating its Standard and Sprint distance events across two venues from 2017. This weekend will see competition over the Standard distance, with the Sprint distance championships being held a week later in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Last years championships were held in Lisbon, Portugal and saw the British Age-Group team claim a total of 22 medals over the Standard distance, seven of them being Gold.
The fastest British athlete 12 months ago was Edward Castro (winner 25-29). Voted British Triathlon Male Age-Group Athlete of the Year in 2015, Edward should be high on confidence having just finished first overall in the British Championships held as part of the Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds. A fantastic swimmer, he’ll be looking to add further to his already impressive collection of international honours.
One athlete not returning this year is the currently British Triathlon Female Age-Group Athlete of the Year, Alice Jenkins. The fastest athlete last year (en-route to winning 20-24 Gold), for 2017 she has moved up in distance and just last week won the ETU Middle Distance Championships in Denmark in her new 25-29 category.
Of the other Gold medallists from 2016, returning to defend their titles are Jo Phillips (45-49), and Sandra Abrams (70-74). Look out too for Samantha Rose (25-29). She won her category and finished second overall in Leeds. She’ll be looking to put behind her the disappointment of the ITU World Championships in Cozumel last year when she was leading the race until practically in sight of the finish line, when she collapsed in the intense Mexican heat.
As expected, the course in Austria should prove a challenging one. After a single lap, 1.5km swim in the Schwarzsee, athletes will be faced with a three-lap, 42km bike section which will include one significant climb each circuit. The closing 10km run will comprise of two 5km laps to complete the race.
Start lists and schedule HERE
