ITU has today confirmed the addition of four events to the 2014 World Cup calendar. In addition to five previously announced races, stops in Jiayuguan, Alanya, Cozumel and Tongyeong have been secured.
2014 World Cup calendar to date:
March 15-16: Mooloolaba, Australia
March 22-23: New Plymouth, New Zealand
May 10-11: Chengdu, China
June 14-15: Huatulco, Mexico
July 26-27: Jiayuguan, China
August 9-10: Tiszaujvaros, Hungary
September 27-28: Alanya, Turkey
October 4-5: Cozumel, Mexico
November 1-2: Tongyeong, South Korea
Mooloolaba will again kick off the World Cup schedule, as it did this season. The circuit will then continue on in Oceania with the return of New Plymouth's appearance on the calendar for the first time since 2009.
China will next return to the series with a stop in Chengdu, making it only the second Chinese city to organise a World Cup. The centrally-located city has hosted Asian Cups the last two years, making them well prepared to welcome an international pool of triathletes.
After touching down in Asia, the series swings over to the Americas for a challenging hilly course in hot Huatulco before returning to China for the second of two World Cup races in the country. The site of several Asian Cups and the 2006 Asian Championships, Jiayuguan will offer a technical course after the tough race in Mexico.
The World Cup events will then hop over to Europe for stops in Alanya and familiar Tiszaujvaros. A popular tourist destination, Alanya has served as a long standing race location for triathlons in the last two decades, which was capped with the European Championships this year.
The Turkish city presents a flat course, but its susceptibility to high winds could provide an unexpected challenge to athletes, while Tiszaujvaros will return the successful semifinals and finals format in its 18th time hosting a World Cup race.
After its successful debut on the calendar this year, Cozumel returns to the schedule in 2014, and will again feature a sprint course in the humid climate. Wildly popular amongst age groupers, Tongyeong, which hosted the first ever World Triathlon Series event in 2009, will feature as one of the final races on the circuit.
ITU expects to add one additional World Cup race in Europe and two more in the Americas, all of which are to be confirmed later this year. We regret that the city of Ishigaki, Japan does not appear on this list for 2014, however we have been informed by our long time friends in Ishigaki that the city will undergo extensive redevelopment work in the coming year. We hope to welcome them back as an LOC in future seasons.
