Posted: June 1, 2006

Triathlon: Best Of British Line Up At Britain’s Race Of The Year

The Royal Windsor Triathlon takes place on Sunday 11 June and will see the cream of Britain’s elite triathletes in action as the event plays host to the British National Championships. The event will also host the U23 National championships and is a qualifying event for Salford ITU World Cup race in July.

This year’s event is showcasing the strongest field in its 16 year history and will see Britain’s world class triathletes in action as they compete for the National Title and a £10,000 prize fund. The 80 strong elite field promises to provide some very close racing between the UK’s leading triathletes including 2006 Commonwealth team members Liz Blatchford, Julie Dibens, Tim Don, Will Clarke, Stuart Hayes, Marc Jenkins, Anneliese Heard, Helen Tucker and Kerry Lang.

Andrew Johns, winner of Windsor Triathlon the last two years, will face stiff competition from current National Champion and world class triathlete, Tim Don, who last pipped Johns to the post at Windsor in 2000, as well as Stuart Hayes, Will Clarke and Ollie Freeman. Both Will and Ollie will be hoping to take the double title as they also qualify to compete in the U23 National Championships.

In the women’s field a closely contended race is anticipated between current Windsor title holder and two time National Champion Liz Blatchford, Julie Dibens and Helen Tucker. All of whom competed at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne earlier this year and will be racing against each other at the ITU World Cup in Madrid this weekend.

John Lunt, Director of Human Race, commented “Windsor has historically provided a strong elite field with very competitive racing. It is great to see such an extensive number of elite entered this year and we are delighted that Windsor will be crowning the National Champion. We look forward to welcoming the British Elites to Windsor and to give all of our age-group competitors and spectators the opportunity to watch Britain’s finest triathletes in action.”

The Royal Windsor Triathlon, was voted British Triathlon’s “Event of the Year” in 2005 for the 6th successive year. Starting at 9am in the heart of Windsor, the Elite competitors will race past some of the country’s most famous landmark’s including Windsor Castle, Eton College, River Thames and Windsor Great Park, providing an outstanding setting for the National Elite Championships.

Key Elite Competitors

NAME	SEX	NATIONALITY	POINT OF INTEREST
Liz Blatchford	F	British	British Champion 2004 and 2005 2006 Commonwealth Games – top female UK finisher in 7th place
Will Clarke	M	British	Former World and European Junior medalist Represented 2006 Commonwealth Games 2006 finishing in 7th place
Julie Dibens	F	British	Only British triathlete to qualify for both Olympics (2000 / 2004) and Commonwealth Games (2002 / 2006)
Tim Don	M	British	Ranked World No 3 in 2005 2006 Commonwealth Games top male UK finisher in 4th place 2 x Olympian
Ollie Freeman	M	British	Former World Junior Triathlon medalist First year as U23
Stuart Hayes	M	British	Commonwealth Games 2006 2004 World No. 3 Won London Triathlon 2005
Anneliese Heard	F	British	Represented Wales in 2006 Commonwealth Games
Marc Jenkins	M	British	British Champion 2003 Famous for his Bike carrying at the 2004 Olympics Represented Wales in the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Andrew Johns	M	British	Former 2 x European Champion Former World No.1 Double Olympian 2000 and 04
Kerry Lang	F	British	Represented Commonwealth Games 2006 for Scotland
Helen Tucker	F	British	Welsh representative for  2006 Commonwealth Games 2 x ITU Cup podium positions in 2005

Information on Royal Windsor Triathlon
• Racing starts at 6am on Sunday 11 June
• The event sees 2,500 participants compete over the Sprint and Olympic distance
• The event is focused in and around Alexandra Gardens in the centre of Windsor.
• Windsor Castle is the largest inhabited castle in the world and the oldest in continuous occupation, one of three official residences of HM Queen Elizabeth II
• Royal Windsor triathlon started in 1991 with 400 competitors and has grown year on year. It now sells out months in advance with a maximum of 2500 entries
• Royal Windsor triathlon last hosted the British National Elite Championships in 1995
• The event anticipates to raise over £100,000 for official charity Leukaemia Research
• The event hosts a triathlon exhibition with leading triathlon retailers and sponsors
• For more information visit www.humanrace.co.uk .

The Categories:

	SWIM	BIKE	RUN
Sprint	750m	20km (29km at Windsor)	5km
Olympic	1.5km	40km (42km at Windsor)	10km

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