It’s a battle of the nations this weekend at CHALLENGE SALOU. A 40-strong pro field from 14 nations will line up on the shores of the Mediterranean alongside over 500 age group athletes to take on the sixth edition of the 113km Costa Daurada race.
In the men’s field, New Zealander Kyle Smith brings some Southern Hemisphere flavour to the field with a win at CHALLENGE WANAKA earlier this year and a third at IM New Zealand. One man who’ll be keen to ensure a Northern Hemisphere victory is German uber biker, Frederik Funk. With wins this year at CHALLENGE ST PÖLTEN and the European Triathlon Championships at CHALLENGE KAISERWINKL-WALCHSEE and a third at THE CHAMPIONSHIP where he owned the bike with a 1:54:39, the fast flat Salou bike course will suit him well. Add the likes of Collin Chartier (USA), Pablo Dapena (ESP) and Thomas Davis (GBR) into the mix and we can look forward to some exciting racing on 3 October.
The women’s race will see THE CHAMPIONSHIP champion, Lucy Hall (GBR) and runner-up, Sara Perez Sala (ESP) meet again but there’s no chance it will be a two-woman race. Emma Bilham (SUI) favours tough, demanding courses with two wins at Alpe d’Huez under her belt but there is no doubt she’ll be in the mix on this fast flat course. Olympian, Lisa Norden (SWE) is also a strong contender, and she has some unfinished racing against Hall and Perez Sala after THE CHAMPIONSHIP. Finally, add the up-and-coming Australian, Chloe Lane, to the mix and again, we have an interesting race on our hands. Lane took fourth at DATEV CHALLENGE ROTH and has raced twice since in Nice and Aix-en-Provence 70.3s, taking second in Aix.
The town of Salou is located on the stunning Costa Daurada (Golden Coast) coastline and is famous for its soft sand, sheltered coves and sparkling blue sea. Coupled with Spain’s beautiful Mediterranean climate, Salou is the perfect destination not only for triathlon but combining sport with a family holiday. Its iconic palm tree-lined boulevard is also the idyllic setting for the CHALLENGE SALOU transition, run course and finish line. Just 90km south west of Barcelona it is easy to reach from throughout Europe for an end-of-season hit-out in the sun.
CHALLENGE SALOU takes place on Sunday 3 October with the male pro race starting at 8:00am and the female pro race at 8:15am. Follow the livestream in Spanish and English at www.challenge-family.live along with live race updates on Twitter @ChallengeFamily. For further information, visit www.challenge-salou.com/en
MALE PRO:
1 Braden Currie NZL
3 Frederic Funk GER
4 kyle Smith NZL
5 Collin Chartier USA
6 Pablo Dapena ESP
7 Thomas Davis GBR
8 Albert Moreno Molins ESP
9 Mathias Petersen DNK
10 Robbie Deckard USA
11 Marc Eggeling GER
12 Dominik Sowieja GER
13 Will Munday GBR
14 Kristian Rød NOR
15 Jack Shayler GBR
16 Cyril Viennot FRA
17 Joshua Lewis GBR
18 Jorik van Egdom NLD
19 Menno Koolhaas NLD
20 Jens Roth GER
21 Scott Haeberle USA
22 Ian Dempsey GBR
23 Grant Sheldon GBR
24 Sven Thalmann SUI
25 Sam Wade GBR
26 Andrew Horsfall Turner GBR
27 Michal Grabowski POL
28 François Martin FRA
29 Mathias Lyngsø Petersen DNK
30 Christoffer Damm DNK
31 Stenn Goetstouwers BEL
32 Kristian Grue NOR
33 Brett Halliwell GBR
34 Wilhelm Hirsch GBR
35 Philippe Winum GER
36 Roger Maña 36 ESP
37 Maurice Witt GER
38 Hirsch Willy GER
FEMALE PRO:
51 Emma Bilham SUI
52 Lucy Hall GBR
53 SARA PEREZ SALA ESP
54 Chloe Lane AUS
55 Lisa Norden SWE
56 Alexia Bailly FRA
57 Tara Grosvenor GBR
58 Claire Hann GBR
59 Elizabeth Nyitray USA
60 Verena Walter GER
61 Julie Aspesletten NOR
62 Federica De Nicola ITA
63 Tondeur Alexandra BEL
64 Hana Kolarova CZE
65 Melanie Baumann SWE
66 Amy VanTassel USA
67 Lucy Byram GBR
68 Sabrina Stadelmann SUI
69 Els Visser NLD
70 Claire Weller GBR