The women’s racing will see leading Brits including Vicky Holland, Jodie Stimpson, Lucy Hall and Non Stanford taking on three-time Olympian Flora Duffy from Bermuda, Olympic bronze medallist Erin Densham from Australia and the current American World Triathlon Series leader Katie Zaferes, among many other leading female triathletes.
50 of the world’s leading male and female triathletes, including 25 Olympian’s from around the world, will compete in Jersey, UK, for the Super League Triathlon crown in September 2017.
The men’s line-up will include the Brownlee brothers from the UK, their rivals Javier Gomez Noya and Mario Mola Diaz from Spain, and Richard Murray from South Africa, as well as 20 other leading male triathletes.
The women’s racing will see leading Brits including Vicky Holland, Jodie Stimpson, Lucy Hall and Non Stanford taking on three-times Olympian Flora Duffy from Bermuda, Olympic bronze medallist Erin Densham from Australia and the current American World Triathlon Series leader Katie Zafares, among many other leading female triathletes.
The Super League Triathlon event in Jersey is offering equal prize money of $130,000 for both the men and women triathletes. Super League Triathlon Co-Founder Michael Dhulst commented: “With $130,000 in prize money on offer at Super League Jersey, it’s high-stakes, high-octane racing with huge consequences for any mistakes. This is a sensational race course and an incredible location for spectators.”
As Japan 2020 approaches, national Olympic federations will be keeping a close eye on how their athletes perform in Super League Triathlon in Jersey, because the 2020 Olympic Games will be introducing triathlon mixed relay events, which are very similar to the fast and furious Super League Triathlon format.
Senator Lyndon Farnham, Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture in Jersey, commented: "Jersey is delighted to have been chosen to host the 2017 Super League Triathlon World Series. The natural beauty of our island combined with our strong sporting culture lends itself perfectly to hosting such a prestigious global event. I am sure the whole island will get behind this as we share with the rest of the world our enthusiastic and friendly spirit in welcoming some of the world's greatest athletes and sports fans to our shores. Jersey is beginning to establish itself as one of the leading venues in the world for events and hosting the second race of the 2017 Triathlon Super League World Series is a great example of what we can offer.”
The Men’s Event
Commenting on the men’s rivalries, two-time Ironman world champion and Super League Triathlon Co-founder Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack said: “The Brownlee brothers have been the gold standard, and they respect long-term rival Javier Gomez Noya from Spain. The new wave of rivalry is coming from Richard Murray and Mario Mola Diaz. The new athletes to look for are Jake Birtwhistle and Ben Dijkstra.”
Jonny Brownlee, who was sidelined for the Hamilton Island event due to injury, will debut the number 05 race suit in Jersey in what will be a baptism of fire. Jonny commented “I had to miss Hamilton Island because of injury but I watched the races and know that the Super League Triathlon format will suit me as an athlete. Jersey will be brilliant, with the conditions not as humid as Hamilton Island, and I’m looking forward to racing Super League there for the first time.”
With the Brownlee brothers and Javier Gomez Noya having dominated the triathlon circuit since 2009, triathletes from around the world are looking for every opportunity to take their place in Jersey over the weekend of 23rd and 24th September.
Javier Gomez Noya said: “I think Super League Hamilton Island exceeded everyone’s expectations. New engaging formats, amazing setup, great TV coverage & impressive treatment of the athletes. Super League is something great for the sport of triathlon and I’m looking forward to being part of the next race!”
Heir apparent to the male triathlon throne, South African Richard Murray, flourished under the new Super League Triathlon format, winning the title in Australia. Richard is looking forward to Jersey in September in order to try and strengthen his claim for the number one spot on the triathlon circuit, halting the dominance British athletes have enjoyed over the sport in recent years. Richard Murray commented: “Super League Hamilton Island changed triathlon racing and showed fans how exciting it can be when showcased properly. I can’t wait for round two at Super League Jersey. Athletes and fans should expect wild, exciting and full speed racing from the fastest triathletes in the world. It’s big gear, no fear! I’m planning for this event already. My competitors will need to turn up in peak condition. I’m ready for them!"
The Women’s Event
"Super League Jersey will see the world’s finest female triathletes enter the fray of Super League Triathlon for the first time alongside their male counterparts. Like the male professional fields, the best female athletes from short and long course racing will face-off in a best-of-the-best battle. Separate races will be conducted for the male and female fields each day", said Super League Triathlon Co-Founder Leonid Boguslavsky.
25 elite female athletes will be announced soon to take part in Super League Triathlon Jersey, including 2016 World Triathlon Series Champion Flora Duffy from Bermuda, and Rio 2016 Bronze medalist Vicky Holland from the UK. Vicky commented: “Having spent a lot of this season side-lined due to injury, the prospect of being back on a start line to race in Jersey in September is really motivating.”
Jodie Stimpson missed Olympic selection despite being a Dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist. The British women are the world leaders at the moment. Jodie missed out to Non Stanford and Vicky Holland who went on to finish 3rd and 4th at the games. Despite not being true rivals, they have to compete against each other for Commonwealth and Olympic selection for Tokyo and Gold Coast as there is a very high chance of a gold medal for the UK in these events. You also have a young new star in Sophie Coldwell. This is a friendly but tense rivalry because of the depth in UK women’s triathlon.
Race Format
Saturday’s Triple Mix format will see athletes complete three rounds of competition with alternating sequences and a ten-minute break in between rounds. Round one is swim-bike-run, round two is run-bike-swim, and round three is bike-swim-run. The winner of Triple Mix is the athlete with the lowest time across the three rounds.
Sunday’s Eliminator format will again be conducted in three rounds each in a swim-bike-run format with a ten-minute break in between. Eliminator is about speed and strategy with athletes finishing 16th and above in round one being eliminated and do not progress to round two. Athletes finishing 11th and above in round two are eliminated and do not progress to round three. Round three sees the remaining ten athletes battle it out for the Eliminator title.
On both days racing will take place in the afternoon, with racing between 2pm and 6pm each day.
Super League showcases triathletes and the sport in a new and exciting way. Unlike the traditional triathlon format, athletes won’t be able to rely on specialising in one of the three disciplines. The Super League ‘Triple Mix’ format tests the versatility and adaptability of the athletes by mixing up the traditional swim-bike-run sequence into three events split over two days.
Chris McCormack, added: “Super League Hamilton Island changed triathlon forever. The made-for-television racing is exciting, action packed and full of entertainment. It set the stage for the forthcoming season, which comprises four events, all to be held in iconic destinations around the world between September and April.”
Super League Triathlon’s ground-breaking television and digital coverage will continue at Super League Jersey. All racing will be broadcast live with programming distributed across international broadcast partners and digital channels making it easy for any fan, in any time zone to view programming live or on demand. Full programming schedules will be announced prior to the event.
Expanding upon the Championship format, Super League Jersey will also feature a corporate triathlon event, offering the opportunity for corporate participants to race on the Super League Triathlon Championship course prior to racing each day. Corporate racing is open exclusively to official corporate package partners. Spectator travel packages will also soon be announced via Super League Jersey’s travel partner, Nirvana Europe.
The Course
The course for Super League Jersey is nothing short of spectacular. The super-tight and technical layout is located in the Elizabeth Marina precinct in St. Helier. The 300 metre swim course is located among the mega yachts in Elizabeth Marina. The 5-lap bike course is super-technical with hairpin turns, narrow passages through high-rise apartment blocks and a cobblestone surface that will truly test bike handling skills. The high-speed, two-loop run course navigates the foreshore of Elizabeth Marina and will favour athletes with top end speed, versus the more explosive run course of Super League Hamilton Island.
There are dead turns on the bike and run leg and varied surfaces on both. It’s going to test technique, power, speed, endurance and race craft all at once. A unique element to racing is the huge tides in Jersey where the difference between high and low tide is as much as 14m in depth. Our races will be conducted at near low tide and athletes will face a lung-busting run out of the swim course up a ramp that brings athletes up some 12m in vertical height from water level to transition.
There’s a lot that can go wrong for athletes if they are not at the top of their game and the highs and lows will all unfold right in front of huge crowds jam-packed into the marina precinct. Super League Triathlon is all about finding the best swim, bike, runner and there’s nowhere to hide on this course.
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
Interviews
Two-time Ironman World Champion Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack, co-founder of Super League Triathlon, is available for interviews, as are several of the men’s and women’s triathletes.
Contacts
For further information and to schedule interviews with athletes contact:
Gavin Lunning, gavin@maltinpr.com, +44 (0)20 7287 2575 and mobile +44 (0)7940 448 068.
Website: www.superleaguetriathlon.com
Twitter: @SuperLeagueTri
About Super League Triathlon Jersey:
Athletes’ details and biographies
Video introducing Super League Triathlon Jersey
Video introducing the Super League Triathlon Jersey, Women’s event
If you would like to download a copy of the above videos, please contact:
Stacey Boguslavskaya, Stacey@SuperLeaguetraithlon.com
About Chris McCormack
Chris McCormack, or Macca as he is affectionately known, is one of endurance sport’s most iconic athletes. Globally regarded as the best triathlete of his generation, Macca rose through the ranks as a winner and fan favourite with his trademark mix of quick wit, piercing intelligence, and the athletic ability to deliver wins in 250 international races and landing on the podium 89% of the time. Macca owns one of the best athletic winning percentage statistics in modern sport, a testament to his discipline and race day execution.
About Leonid Boguslavsky
Leonid fell in love with the sport of triathlon after a distinguished business career. Prior to 2013 he had never trained or participated in any sport, but once started has since been unstoppable. He has accomplished multiple full distance Ironman finishes and 11 podiums, qualifying for the 2015 Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. A former professor with a Ph.D. in computer science, he has published academic books and many papers on applied mathematics for computer networks and systems. Leonid then became an entrepreneur in the IT industry, where he founded and sold several companies. Then he served as a senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Leonid then became one of the most important players in the booming IT and Internet investment scene, founding and investing in companies globally, including the USA, Europe, Russia, India and Southeast Asia.
About Michael Dhulst
Michael Dhulst is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Super League Triathlon. With over 10 years’ experience as an executive in purchasing, sales and business development for a multinational automotive industry giant, Michael brings to Super League his commercial acumen and expertise, as well as his passion for triathlon and vision for presenting the sport in an engaging and inspiring format for spectators and participants alike. He has competed in over 70 international races, and qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii in 2011, having won within his age group in Ironman Korea.
Jersey Island Announcement
Singapore (March 28, 2017) - When Richard Murray hoisted the solid bronze champions trophy above his head two Sundays ago, its weight was symbolic of what he had achieved: he had triumphed over the best in the world across three days of intense super-sprint racing to become the first Super League Triathlon champion.
This was a man who had five-to-one odds against even being on the podium, yet those who were keen observers of the sport, like Super League Triathlon co-founder Chris McCormack, knew he was very capable of walking away with the $100,000 AUD top prize. The South African rated himself more modestly, though.
“I knew where my body was at, but after only a few events and about four speed running sessions this year I was not very sure,” said Murray of his confidence leading into Super League Hamilton Island. Once racing had commenced, though, he had a better idea of his chances. “On the first day, I noticed that this type of format really does suit me: I raced road cycling and was a 800/1500-meter runner.” The experience definitely showed.
It wasn’t all wine and roses, however. Behind the scenes, Murray managed ankle and Achilles pain throughout the weekend with the help of Super League Triathlon’s team of physiotherapists, including Gold Coast-based Brad Beer of Pogo Physios with whom he continues to work after the race. Yet once the start gun fired on each day, Murray showed no sign of weakness with his poker face and piercing glare. “Three days of racing is tactical. I’m a very good couch surfer and staying low when I need to,” Murray revealed.
Murray knew exactly how to play the game with his secret recipe of patience, consistency, and being in the right place at the right time. For most of each day’s racing he stayed within striking distance of the front and only unleashed hard for the front in the final minutes.
His closest competitors were 2016 ITU world champion Mario Mola and young up-and-comer Jake Birtwhistle, the 2015 Under-23 world champion, who finished second and third overall respectively. All the other athletes on the start list were nothing to sneeze at, either. “The quality was there: world champions, Olympic champions, you name it.” But Murray relished the challenge. “High-octane, flat-out, and no fear racing -- that’s what I love.”
Even with the high points of winning both Day 1 and Day 2 of racing, Day 3 where Murray finished third was the most memorable to him. The past two days of heat had broken to bring on torrential downpours, bringing temperatures down and soaking the bike course. It was also the day athletes needed to go fast enough through the first two stages of the Eliminator in order to make the final stage and race for the win. “Swimming behind the Polyanskiy brothers, next to Henri Schoeman, and counting how many people there were in each stage -- that was really cool,” Murray recalled.
“Also some of the team crew cheering for us when we were warming up in the rain before the final day’s racing was quite special. Kudos to the team in the rain and caring for the athletes first. This should be seen by all other triathlon event organizers.”
(Hamilton Island, March 19, 2017) - Two days of searing heat and humidity were replaced with torrential rain early in the afternoon of Day 3 of Super League Hamilton Island. The temperature may have been cooler but athletes were still feeling the heat with the pressure-cooker Eliminator format being unveiled. The three-stage race saw athletes eliminated in each stage, with race tactics playing as much a part as pure speed. Dual Olympic Champion Alistair Brownlee was a pre-race casualty, withdrawing from Eliminator as a result of illness.
In Eliminator Stage 1, athletes vied for a top 15 finish position to progress through to Stage 2. In familiar fashion, Richard Varga (#12) was first out of the water before athletes made their first ascent up a wet Mango Tree Corner on the bike leg. Following the afternoon downpour the slippery roads required strong bike handling skills. Ireland’s Ben Shaw hit the deck on the first hairpin turn of the bike course and was forced to withdraw from the race. He was the first to be out of the race but it was Cameron Dye (#08) who was the first athlete to feel the wrath of Super League Triathlon’s Eliminator format as he finished in 16th place following the Stage 1 run leg. He was joined on the sidelines for Stage 2 by Josh Amberger (#27), Dmitry Polyanskiy (#77), long course supremos Brent McMahon (#83) and Terenzo Bozzone (#13), New Zealand’s Daniel Hoy (#22) and Icelandic wildcard Sigurdur Orn Ragnarsson (#57).
Richard Murray (#07), in the hot seat for a $100,000 winner’s cheque, raced smartly in Stage 1 remaining well within the front pack but did not push the pace. Mid-run Murray was in 14th place and visibly seen counting the 13 athletes in front of him at the run turn to ensure he was in the optimal position to finish inside the top 15 in Stage 1 without expending any more than he had to.
Stage 2 saw athletes battling for a top 10 position to progress through to the final stage of Eliminator. In what had been a relatively quiet week, Rio bronze medallist Henri Schoeman (#04) came out to play early on the bike leg of Stage 2 and pushed the pace, but it was Ryan Fisher (#10) who led out on the run and eyed a stage 3 berth. A group of ten quickly formed at the front of the race before Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt (#02) led them across the line to claim his second stage win of the day.
18-year-old Matt Hauser (#33) announced himself on the world-stage at Super League Hamilton Island but was the first athlete to miss the cut in 11th place finish after a valiant run leg. He was joined on the elimination list by Andrea Salvisberg (#69), Alessandro Fabian (#88), Crisanto Grajales Valencia (#06) and Jorik van Egdom (#21).
Following the completion of Stage 2, Richard Murray was interviewed in the recovery zone and appeared confident of a title win claiming he would attack the bike course – “big gear, no fear”, he said and predicted a 2:50 min/kilometer pace on the Stage 3 run.
With 14 of the world’s finest athletes sidelined they became enthusiastic spectators as their fellow warriors took to the pontoon for Stage 3 start in a race that would decide who would take home the Eliminator title and the winners cheque of $100,000. At the start of Stage 3 Murray stood atop the overall series leader board on 40 points with Mola his closest rival on 31 points. A seventh place or above finish would guarantee Murray the title.
Stage 3 would crown the winner of Eliminator. Following a tight swim Australia’s Ryan Fisher went out hard on the bike to set up a 16-second lead into T2, knowing that he if were to claim Eliminator he had to gap the stronger runners. Fisher held on until lap two of the run. However, the run came down to the three dominant runners of Super League Hamilton Island with Murray, Mario Mola (#03) and Australian superstar Jake Birtwhistle (#44) quickly bridging the gap to Fisher and subsequently setting an incredible pace at the front. It was Mola who made the first break among the lead pack, dropping Murray in the process, but it was Birtwhistle who looked cool and calm as he sat on the Spaniard’s heels before unleashing a devastating sprint to claim the win and the Eliminator title from Mola and Murray.
But it was Murray, with a third-place finish in Eliminator and victories in Triple Mix and Equalizer, who was the big winner on the day amassing a total of 56 out of 60 points across the three days of racing to take home $100,000 and the Leonid Boguslavsky Champions Trophy as the overall winner of Super League Hamilton Island.
The top three finishers of Eliminator also made up the overall podium finishers for Super League Hamilton Island with Mario Mola in second place (49 points) taking home the second place cheque for $50,000 and Birtwhistle capping off an incredible race week with third place overall (48 points) and receiving $30,000.
