Age group entries have closed for the upcoming Barfoot & Thompson ITU Triathlon World Cup event in Auckland, with both standard and sprint races selling out as triathletes clamber to compete on the waterfront circuit and attempt to qualify for the 2012 Age Group World Championships on the same course.
Races will be held on November 20, the same day as the ITU World Cup races for elite men and women and while the age group course will differ from that of the elites, the opportunity to race on closed roads on the Auckland waterfront on the same day as the best in the world has proved extremely popular. And with qualifying spots up for grabs in each age group for both sprint and standard distance for next year's ITU Age Group World Championships on the same courses, it is not surprising the full house signs have gone up.
Triathlon World Champs Auckland 2012 CEO Dave Beeche says the interest in the event has been fantastic, with a few names from days gone by appearing on the entry list.
"The sport is hugely popular with New Zealanders and there are many familiar names on the entry list for the age group races but what has been amazing is the number of triathletes who haven't been racing for a few years due to a change in their priorities that have come out of the woodwork to compete.
"The feedback we are getting is that people want to return in 2012 to win a World Championship in their own backyard. There is a level of excitement in travelling away to participate in a World Championships and New Zealand sends strong teams to most events most years, but racing at home in front of family and friends is an even bigger buzz if the response to the race on November 20 this year is anything to go by."
With the sprint and standard distance entries combined, Auckland will play host to a total of 1,100 triathletes in the age group events, immediately ranking it amongst the biggest triathlons on the event calendar. While the 2011 event is in itself huge for the city and will be the first significant event held in the city post rugby world cup, it is a forerunner to the much larger World Championships Grand Final and Age Group event that will be hosted at the same waterfront venue in October 2012.
Entrants range in ability, experience and age from as young as 13 and as old as seasoned campaigner Anthony Sepie who is entered in the 80 to 84 men's sprint race. Indeed there are a total of 82 entrants aged 60 and over, emphasising that the sport is one in which people participate for life. Those entrants include Ironman legends Tony Jackson and Mike Ramsay with Jackson taking on the standard distance while Ramsay will compete over the sprint distance event. Jackson and Ramsay are the only two competitors to have raced in every one of the 27 Ironman New Zealand events and by racing in Auckland will cover some of the same roads they ran years ago when Ironman NZ was based at St Heliers Bay.
