Looks like Challenge Family have taken over the London Triathlon.
I hope this is a good thing for the event, and in future years they don’t drop the shorter distances. London triathlon has lots of first timers, it was my first triathlon (super sprint). It would be a shame if it just became long distance for serious triathletes. Hopefully it can be both.
For UK Pro’s this is great news. This year on home soil we only had:
16/06/2023 - IM 70.3 Stafford & Challange wales - Can’t believe they are on the same day.
16/07/2023 - IM 70.3 Swansea
So another chance to race without the extra cost of going abroad is great 🫡
Looks good just hope the run isnt more laps of the sprint course
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I also hope they could extend the run down the river rather than add more laps. The loop up through the Excel is miserable (although the shade is welcome when it’s hot).
Think I’ll be signing up for this one, looks fun, be great to race a half distance in London as long as the course isn’t poor.
The run is “multiple laps”, so I think the above guess it’s 4x the sprint is probably accurate. Challenge Frejus recently was 4 laps of a 5.18km run loop. Bike is only 80km this year, so must be double the olympic? Out to 90km next year.
They’ve not so much taken over the London Triathlon a signed a licensing agreement with the race organiser LimeLight Sports Club.
Anyway, huge news. I was thinking Super League would take a look at this event, but if they did, they’ve been beaten to it.
This is also making a bit of a mockery out of IM 70.3 New York, which doesn’t take place in the actual city. I assume Challenge London will, since the bike will initially be 80 km long (looks like 4 times the sprint loop).
They are probably going to have to extend the run course, it was previously 2.5K laps - that’d be brutal for 21K.
I seem to remember reading “multiple laps†as they said it was good for spectating. It could be 8x 2.5km then. 4x5km was tedious enough at Frejus so this will be soul destroying.