CHALLENGE TURKU is ready to welcome an amazingly strong field of athletes. The race takes place on 12th August and has over 30 pros, both men and women, at the starting line. ,,We are thrilled to see such a world class roster of pro athletes, but just as thrilled about all those competitive age groupers showing up in Turku", says Race Director Heikki Jaatinen.
Probably the biggest contender at the men’s race will be Sebastian Kienle. It's the first time the German winner of CHALLENGE ROTH will travel to Finland and it goes without saying that he will be giving his all. ,,I expect an amazing race and was thrilled by the video on the website of CHALLENGE TURKU. The place looks absolutely perfect for triathlon. When I put a bib number on, it's race time. I'm going to give my absolute best."
It's a busy week for Kienle, because his sister will be getting married this Friday and it’ll be quite a journey from his training location. He has high expectations of Pablo Gonzalez Dapena. ,,It's a strong pro field but I was expecting this because the Challenge Family World Bonus attracts more and more good athletes hunting the 'jackpot'. Pablo especially is definitely one to watch for. He is a very good swimmer and an amazing runner, so I’ll have to put some pressure on him on the bike. It's going to be a really tough one."
Besides Kienle and Gonzalez Dapena there will be a lot of other strong guys out there to win. Ivan Kalashnikov (RUS), Per van Vlerken (GER) and Marc Unger (GER) just to name a few.
In the women's race there is a lot to expect from Yvonne van Vlerken and Ewa Komander, who came 2nd and 4th respectively last year. They’ll be getting serious competition from women like CHALLENGE ROMA winner Sarah Lewis, Frankie Sanjana and Bianca Steurer.
As stated by the CHALLENGE TURKU race director Jaatinen, the race is much more than just a pro field. ,,Our race is not aiming to be the biggest in the world, but it is, and will be one of the best in quality. The amazing volunteers in Turku and it’s welcoming citizens will guarantee that the spirit of Turku will be transmitted to our athletes along the courses. We are happy to see so many athletes taking part in all our races including Junior Challenge, Challenge4All and sprint races. This year we will also host the National Student Championships."
It’s the combination of all these events that turn CHALLENGE TURKU in to an all weekend triathlon festival and family friendly vacation with activities for all kinds of support teams. On top, the fast racecourse is going to make sure we see some new personal best split times and overall race results.
FEMALE PRO:
1 Kerry Morris AUS
2 Renee Kiley AUS
6 Lisa Roberts USA
10 Frankie Sanjana GBR
11 Emma Deary GBR
14 Yvonne Van Vlerken NED
20 Sarah Lewis GBR
22 Sarah Bonner CAN
24 Sarah Lester AUS
25 Bianca Steurer AUT
26 Claire Hann GBR
27 Anni Antikainen FIN
29 Erika Csomor HUN
32 Ewa Komander Zaksa POL
MALE PRO:
3 Sam Wade GBR
4 Anders Christensen DEN
5 Eric Watson BRN
7 Ivan Kalashnikov RUS
8 Per Van Vlerken GER
9 Evert Scheltinga NED
12 Ricardo Alcalde Perez ESP
13 Sebastian Kienle GER
15 Tuomas Lampainen FIN
16 Levente Berekméri HUN
17 Marc Unger GER
18 João Ferreira POR
19 Markus Hörmann GER
21 Pablo Dapena González ESP
23 Daniel Bækkegård DEN
28 Miguel Angel Fidalgo Rosselló ESP
30 Thomas Davis GBR
31 Jacek Tyczynski POL
33 Kim Harju FIN