TRIATHLON

Bidding for World Triathlon Series 2018 opens

By ITU



The International Triathlon Union has opened bidding for the 2018 ITU World Triathlon Series, as well as the 2018 ITU World Cups. Interested cities must send their applications before June 20.
 
“The World Triathlon Series is the pinnacle of our sport, and brings the World’s best Triathletes to a city, offering international exposure to a global audience, and a live thrilling atmosphere of the elite level racing,” said ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado. “Triathlon as a sport continues to grow around the globe, attracting thousands of Triathletes and spectators to our events, and we offer the cities the possibility of hosting one of our exciting events, an ideal way to promote sport, and the city gaining international attention”.
 
The ITU World Triathlon Series (WTS) is the premier Triathlon series in the World and features the Worlds best Triathletes racing head-to-head in up to 10 races around the globe, including the Grand Final. In addition to competing for the title of World Champion, athletes vie for a total prize purse of over $2-million USD, the greatest cumulative prize purse in Triathlon.
 
The World Triathlon Series is comprised of Olympic Distance events (1.5km swim, 40km bike and a 10km run), sprint distance events (750m swim, 20km bike and a 5km run), two days’ semi-final/final formats, and Mixed Relay events, one of which will also be the ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championship. The ITU World Cup events will be also staged on Olympic distance, Sprint distance and two days’ semi-final/final formats, as part of ITU’s goal in creating the event pathway for cities interested in hosting ITU events.
 
Hosting a WTS event offers cities the opportunity to showcase themselves to millions of people via a live international television broadcast in addition to attracting thousands of international guests and race participants. Annual on-site spectators for the Series are upwards of 1 million.
 
In addition an hour long magazine show is produced from each event, as well as live internet coverage, social media exposure and worldwide news distribution.
 
The Triathlon World Cup competitions are the second tier events for ITU, intended to provide a solid and professional base for Triathletes pursuing entry to the World Triathlon Series and qualification for the Olympics Games and other Major Games. Those events are also aligned with ITU Development programmes, carry a prize purse, and have significant media, television and internet coverage, making it attractive for tourist locations and major cities.
 
Cities hosting World Cups can expect to attract an audience of millions of people around the world, including international TV distribution alongside the WTS magazine show package for a customized 16 to 24-minutes highlight show, as well as international news distribution, internet TV coverage and international print media coverage.
 
Cities interested in hosting a race on the 2018 World Triathlon Series calendar must submit their bid to ITU by June 20, 2017, where successful cities will be notified on 10 September, 2017.
 
Cities interested in organising the 2018 ITU World Cup events must submit their bid to ITU by June 20, 2017, where successful cities will be notified on 10 September, 2017.