Triathlon: Fast Forward to Summer in Mallorca on Sunday with the Triathlon de Portocolom
8 April 2016, Portocolom, Mallorca/España: Today the International Triathlon de Portocolom has been presented officially at the Club Nautic of this traditional village in Mallorca, that will return to welcome a thrilling competition under the 111 and 55.5 formats for over 1.000 triathletes so far this Sunday and 200 kids tomorrow, after 18 successful editions.
It will be a strong battle between the Triathlon de Portocolom’s two last winners: German Markus Hörrman and Belgian Michael Van Cleven. In women, all eyes will be on Diana Reisler, winner of two Ironman races in 2015 (Lanzarote and Malaysia). Spanish Joan Nadal, who has been with them at the Press Conference, is one of the local favourites to fight for the victory.
The 19th edition of the International Triathlon de Portocolom has been presented officially in Portocolom (Mallorca). It’s going to be a full sport weekend with two races on Sunday (55.5 and 111) for over 1.000 triathletes, and a duathlon event for more than 200 kids on Saturday. The start of the 111 race will be on Sunday at 8:45 local time. This is the most important race of the day ands consists of 1km swimming, 100km cycling and 10km running. Also the 55.5 will be celebrated with shortener distances (500m swimming, 50km cycling and 5km running) which is perfect to make a debut in the world of triathlon.
The event will receive a stunning list of professional athletes, as it did in its last edition. The current winner is back to Portocolom: Michael Van Cleven will try to renew his title. But there are a group of several athletes who will make a push for the win at the 111 km: Marcus Hörrman (GER), Timothy Van Houten (BEL), Henrik Hydelund (DEN), Fabian Rahn (GER), and the Spanish Armada: Josep Torres, Joan Nadal, Carlos Lopez, Miguel Angel Fidalgo... Andreas Linden and Adam Kacper, second and third of the 55.5 format last year, have registered for the 111 format as well.
In the women category, Diana Reisler will start as the main favourite to the victory in Portocolom. Last year she won the Mallorca Irontri and the IRONMANs celebrated in Lanzarote and Malaysia. Stefanie Adam (BEL), Venla Koivula (FIN), Monique Grossrieder (SWI) are expected to be her hardest competitors. The Belgian Adam has already two victories so far in 2016 –both in Crossduathlon– and it looks like she will land to Mallorca in an outstanding shape.
Apart of those two categories, in which anyone can compete by relay, tomorrow there will also be a duathlon for the children, called TriKids. There will be a new transition area to improve the athlete’s experience and to offer more 55.5 slots, and the organization announces a Pro Prize Money (€4,000) shared among the top-3 male and female ranked athletes in both formats.
Both races over 111 and 55.5 km will take athletes on the same courses in 2015. 111 participants will do two loops of each segment while 55.5 athletes will complete only one leg. The swim will take place in Portocolom’s harbour; the bike loop will take them along a rolling course including the spectacular climb of Sant Salvador, well known by thousands of triathletes and cyclists who are visiting Mallorca each year, with its 494m height and awesome views towards the island and the southeast coast. The run will take athletes from the old town along the beaches of the Portocolom bay before they cross the finish line. 800 triathletes from 20 countries enjoyed this demanding and fun triathlon event. Once again, there will be a special prize for King/Queen of the mountain.
Triathlon de Portocolom is organized by Kumulus Mallorca, Club Triatló Portocolom, with the strong support from Ayuntamiento de Felanitx (Local Council).
Check the 2015 official video review of the Triathlon de Portocolom below:
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
