 The MTB course in Paradise(Photo: Andy Peskett; click to enlarge) |
Iconic Adventures, organisers of the Motatapu event, have been awarded the inaugural Triathlon New Zealand Cross Triathlon National Championships to be held at Paradise, Glenorchy on Saturday 16th February 2013.
ITU Cross Triathlon is the off-road version of what we see at the Olympic Games, says Geoff Matthews, Director of Iconic Adventures.
"We will be running a Standard Distance event, which involves a 1.5km lake swim, followed by a 36km Mountain Bike and 10km off-road run," he says.
"As it is an official New Zealand Championships, Triathlon New Zealand will award age group medals to both men and women throughout the age groups in addition to overall New Zealand Champions being crowned," Geoff Matthews says.
Triathlon New Zealand CEO Craig Waugh is delighted in the partnership with Iconic Adventures and the new event in Paradise.
"This is a natural progression for the sport and reflects the continued growth and appeal in off-road triathlon, both as a cross training exercise but also as a triathlon discipline in its own right. The team at Iconic Adventures are seasoned professionals with a great track record for putting on stunning events, our events team look forward to forging a successful partnership with Geoff and his team."
Matthews says that off-road triathlon is growing in stature now that the International Triathlon Union has embraced the discipline. "I witnessed the growth first hand in Europe this year along with a leap in the standard of racing, it's becoming huge."
"Competing at these first National Championships in Glenorchy will also allow New Zealand athletes an opportunity to qualify for the 2013 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships, to be held in the Netherlands on 13 July 2013, Glenorchy will be one of three qualifying races sanctioned by Tri NZ." he says.
"We are really rapt to be able to bring a World Championship qualifying race to the South Island and to be at the forefront of a growing sport," he says.
As a Tri NZ sanctioned National Championship event and the only sanctioned Cross event in NZ, Paradise will be of high calibre in all aspects, with Waugh excited about the race.
"This will be treated no differently to any other event carrying this status on our calendar with the advantage of course in the location itself, Paradise sounds to be just that, why wouldn't you want to race well in such stunning surroundings."
Matthews says entries will be available online on Wednesday 12 December 2012 at www.iconicadventures.co.nz.
