The Abu Dhabi International Triathlon is set to welcome it’s strongest ever field next month, when the world’s best athletes compete in one of the sport’s richest ever prizes.

On March 2, defending champions Eneko Llanos and Frederik Van Lierde will take their places alongside competitors including Conrad Stoltz, Chris McCormack and Bryan Rhodes; three of the most dominant triathletes over the last decade. The athletes will compete for a prize of $230,000.

With an enviable pedigree of countless podium places, ITU titles and Ironman world championships between them, the ‘famous five’ will be the ones to beat for Abu Dhabi’s pure power 223kms flagship race.

Other athletes returning to the pro field are Sylvain Sudrie of France who finished fifth in 2011 and Andi Boecherer from Germany who finished tenth last year.

They join TEAM GB’s gold medal winning Olympic triathlete and back-to-back European Triathlon Union champion, Alistair Brownlee, who heads up the 111.5kms ‘Short’ course line up.

More returning athletes and new names to the international circuit will be announced in the coming weeks. The 2013 Abu Dhabi International Triathlon starts with a sunrise swim in the Arabian Gulf’s shimmering turquoise waters off Abu Dhabi’s Blue Flagged public beach, before weaving through closed roads along the Corniche Beach, up to the spectacular Yas Island and back to the city centre finish line.

The Abu Dhabi International Triathlon offers three course distances; the 223km ‘long course’ (3km swim, a 200km cycle and 20km run), the half-length ‘short’ course (1.5km swim, a 100km cycle and a 10 km run) and the sprint course (750m swim, a 50km bike and 5km run). Both the ‘short’ and the ‘sprint’ can be run as a team relay.

 

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