The inaugural CHALLENGE CAPE TOWN will take place on Sunday November 10th. The first ever African race of the CHALLENGE FAMILY series can expect an amazing pro race, as lots of very strong athletes from across the globe will be lining up at the start.
CHALLENGE CAPE TOWN is this year’s newest addition on the CHALLENGE FAMILY world map and welcomes athletes from all over the world to experience racing in a truly unique setting. Located at the foot of the famous Table Mountain – one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature – the race will offer breathtaking scenic views and a vivid atmosphere around the historical sites of Cape Town. The Middle Distance race will provide athletes with a stunning and challenging swim course in the Atlantic Ocean, a flat and fast bike course along the coast line with views of Table Mountain and the ocean on the way back to Transition 2. The undulating run is a spectator friendly lap race, and supporters can line the route for multiple views of their favourite athletes. The run will pass iconic sites like Parliament, Cape Town City Hall and the historic Castle of Good Hope, and the tough climb will reward athletes with spectacular views of the City Bowl.
In the men’s race, there are three really strong South African athletes, who will be racing in their home country: Matt Trautman, winner of this year’s CHALLENGE ALMERE-AMSTERDAM in an amazing course record of 7:50:15, James Cunnama, former winner of CHALLENGE ROTH and, last but not least, Bradley Weiss, who became the new XTERRA world champion just a few days ago. Capetonian Trautmann is looking forward to the race: “A Middle Distance triathlon in the Mother City has been a long time coming. It’s going to be a privilege to share this beautiful backdrop with competitors from around the world.”
However, we mustn’t take for granted that the race will have a South African winner. One of the strongest competitors will be Pablo Dapena, the 2018 ITU Long Distance World Champion. The winner of last year’s World Bonus crashed during CHALLENGE PEGUERA-MALLORCA and will be really eager to collect some points for this year’s World Bonus ranking. Another great athlete participating is Tim Don. Don is a three time Olympian and one of the fastest athletes on the Full Distance with a personal best of 7:40:23. Other strong names to watch out for are Evert Scheltinga, winner of the first edition of THE CHAMPIONSHIP, as well as CHALLENGE VIETNAM and CHALLENGE KOREA winner SteveMcKenna.
The women’s race promises to be really exciting as well. Top favorite for the win will be Emma Pallant. Pallant won two middle distance races last month, so she’s in great form. Earlier this year, she also won CHALLENGE MOGAN GRAN CANARIA. Other strong competitors are Laura Siddal, former European Champion, Annah Watkinson and Vicky van der Merwe.
MALE PRO:
Pablo Dapena
Matt Trautman
Bradley Weiss
Kyle Buckingham
Steven McKenna
Tim Don
Evert Scheltinga
Keegan Cooke
Johannes Moldan
Rudolf Naude
Chris Roy
FEMALE PRO:
Laura Siddall
Emma Pallant
Gillian Sanders
Anna Watkinson
Lauren Cannon
Vicky van der Merwe