The Takapuna round of the .kiwi Tri Series on Auckland Anniversary Weekend just received a great shot in the arm with news that world number 13 Ryan Sissons and world number 14 Nicky Samuels will take to the super sprint (500m swim, 16km bike, 4.6km run) course on Friday January 24th.
 Ryan Sissons in the 2013 Takapuna race(Photo: Mike Heydon / Tri NZ; click to enlarge) |
The race is the third round in the .kiwi Tri Series and always a popular one with participants of all ages and abilities on the tight, fast and fully road closed course around the Takapuna CBD. Events on offer this year include the children's 1:2:1, the beginners 3:9:3 and races over the super sprint distance for age groupers and more serious triathletes.
Racing is for the first time split across two days, with the elites racing in the twilight of Friday night and all other events following on the Saturday morning, finishing with prize giving at midday on Saturday.
Defending champion Sissons and Samuels will add some international class to the event, with both racing for the first time in 2014.
"It will be my first race of 2014," said Sissons. "I will be going into it off a big block of training in Wanaka so it's going to be interesting to see how the body feels hitting it with a race. I have won at Takapuna the last two years and would love the three-peat, so the goal is to win.
"I love racing in Takapuna, the crowded streets and party atmosphere sure does make it a fun race for athletes and spectators. It's always fast and that's what we love, so really looking forward to my debut race for 2014."
Samuels has recently returned to the Tri NZ HP Squad and like Sissons will race on the tight and fast Takapuna circuit on the back of some big training mileage in Wanaka.
"This will very much be a training event for me but I am at the same time looking forward to racing in New Zealand again and supporting the .kiwi Tri Series events - especially the Takapuna race as it is always special having the roads shutdown for a speedy multi-lap course there and having it on a Friday night adds to the excitement. I'm looking forward to having some fun out there and testing where my running is at this early in the season."
The elite women will get underway on the Friday night at 7pm with racing expected to take just under an hour before the men conclude the evening programme with their race starting at 8pm.
All other races are on Saturday morning, starting with the 3:9:3 from 7am and ending with prize giving at midday.
Entries are still open for all events, from children to beginners to age groupers. Visit www.triseries.co.nz for event information and entry forms.
