Strathclyde Country Park, the venue for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games triathlon will host the final race in the three part Corus Elite Series on Sunday 7th September.
The concluding race will also wrap up the six race British Triathlon Grand Prix Series, which sees the winner pick up a grand prize of £1500.
Back from their Beijing exploits, Great Britain’s Alistair Brownlee and Will Clarke will be ones to watch. Brownlee lead the men’s Olympic race until just 3km from the end of the run and is a hot prospect for London 2012. New Zealand’s Samantha Warriner will look to use her years of experience and Olympic representation to good effect in the women’s race, although will face stern competition from Scotland’s Junior World Champion Kirsty McWilliam.
The technical Strathclyde Country Park course will certainly challenge the 50 strong men’s and women’s fields. Racing will take the form of an exciting ‘eliminator’ super sprint format, providing Scottish spectators with a series of action packed heats, before the top ten winners of the two heats go head to head in the final along with the five fastest losers.
The 300m lap swim in the Loch begins with a pontoon start. This will be followed by a testing 7km bike stage which takes in the scenic surroundings of the park. Athletes will then transition into a 2.2km run to race to the finish. The event will be held in conjunction with North Lanarkshire Council, triathlonscotland and EventScotland.
Now in its second year, the three race triathlon competition provides an opportunity for developing British talent to gain vital experience against the world’s best athletes on home soil, whilst giving a UK audience the ability to experience top level racing in one of the world’s fastest growing sports.
President of the British Triathlon Federation and former elite triathlete, Dr Sarah Springman OBE, said: “It will be fantastic to see racing in the Corus Elite Series in Strathclyde Park at the triathlon venue for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. North Lanarkshire’s beautiful Loch and Park provide an excellent location to show off our exciting sport and we can look forward to an action packed day of racing. Our thanks must go to EventScotland for working so closely with us to deliver yet another brilliant multisport event following on from last year’s European Duathlon Championships in Edinburgh.”
Chairman of Corus, Jim Leng, said: “We are delighted with the progress of the sport over the past year and with our roster of young athletes gaining experience in difficult conditions out in Beijing, the wealth of young talent emerging in Britain demonstrates what we can achieve in the future. The Corus Elite Series plays an important role in Corus and British Triathlon working together to support elite racing and at the start of the London 2012 Olympiad we continue to look to support British triathletes at every level. Our ultimate aim is to bring together sport and the world of business aligned with our belief that they share many of the same values at all levels of participation.”
Chief Operating Officer of EventScotland, Paul Bush OBE, said: "We are pleased to be supporting the Corus Elite Series at Strathclyde Park - the venue for the final race in the series. For a second year our investment ensures that coverage of the triathlon will be broadcast across the world. This will promote the quality of the venue and enhance Scotland's reputation as a leading destination for major international sporting events. Strathclyde Park is the venue for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Corus triathlon will provide a tough challenge for athletes, many of whom will be competing for the fist time since Beijing.”
The first two races in the Corus Elite Series took place in GreenPark, Reading and Parc Bryn Bach, Wales before heading to Strathclyde Country Park for the second year running. Extended highlights of the Corus Elite Series in Strathclyde will be broadcast on Channel 4 on September 21st as the final instalment of a summer series of triathlon programming.
North Lanarkshire Council Countryside and Landscape Manager, John Turbull, said: “We look forward to welcoming the Corus Elite Series Triathlon to Strathclyde Country Park,” said North Lanarkshire Council’s Countryside and Landscape Manager John Turnbull. “Strathclyde Loch and the surrounding parklands offer the perfect location for this kind of event, and we have played host to some spectacular competitions in the past. We’re sure this weekend will prove no exception.”
About British Triathlon
British Triathlon is the National Governing Body for triathlon, the UK’s fastest growing sport. At international level Great Britain boasts a strong squad of world ranked elite triathletes who regularly achieve international success and has some outstanding young talent emerging from its development programmes. Since becoming an Olympic sport in 2000, British Triathlon has seen annual increases in membership numbers of 10%. There are over 650 triathlon events conducted in Great Britain each year, including the Corus Elite Series which attracts athletes from all over the world and the renowned Mazda London Triathlon.
For more information visit www.britishtriathlon.org.
About Corus
Corus Group Plc is one of the world’s leading steel producers with annual turnover of over £9 billion and major operating facilities in the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, France, Norway and Belgium. Corus’ divisions comprising Strip Products, Long Products, Distribution & Building Systems and Aluminium provide innovative solutions to the construction, automotive, rail, general engineering and packaging markets worldwide. Corus has 41,200 employees in over 40 countries and sales offices and service centres worldwide.
Corus is British Triathlon’s premier commercial sponsor. This sports sponsorship is a first for both Corus and British Triathlon and demonstrates Corus’ commitment to developing Great Britain’s triathlon talent and to investing in the sport’s longer-term legacy through support of grassroots initiatives. At grassroots level, Corus will support a number of community-based initiatives including nationwide programmes to develop triathlon for school age children through ‘Corus Kids of Steel’ and for athletes with a disability at a community level. Corus’ sponsorship will go towards helping British Triathlon in all aspects of the sport, with the aim of developing strong future athletes at all levels through to the Elite. Triathlon, which first became an Olympic sport in 2000, is already the UK’s fastest growing sport.
About EventScotland
EventScotland is the national events agency. EventScotland is working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit EventScotland.org.
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