Challenge Family and sports by tlc has today announced a half distance triathlon event to take place in Lisbon, Portugal. The announcement continues Challenge Family’s global expansion on the back of the recently announced championship event, The Championship.
For ten years the Lisboa Triathlon has attracted thousands of athletes to take part in a World-class festival of triathlon and multisport and from 2017 the Lisboa Triathlon will be known as Challenge Lisboa. The event, which will include the Challenge Family Corporate World Championship, will be delivered under the management of sports by tlc, the sport division of events by tlc group, whose objective it is to place Portugal on the map by hosting World class events.
Zibi Slufcik, Challenge Family CEO believes that Challenge Lisboa will be highly attractive to athletes who wish to take part in a great race while at the same time taking in the culture and tourism opportunities of Europe’s most vibrant cities with family and friends.
“Challenge Lisboa is more than a race, it’s an event for the whole family with participation opportunities for everyone from adults to juniors and includes the largest triathlon expo in Portugal,” said Szlufcik.
“The event perfectly combines our core objectives of inclusiveness, World-class athlete experience, spectacular locations and first-class race management team. In sports by tlc we have an incredible partner and we are thrilled to be working with such a professional and skilled team who share the same passions as we do.
“Lisbon, Europe’s second oldest capital city, is known for its warm and welcoming attitude. In the same way that we are thrilled to welcome Challenge Lisboa into the Challenge Family, we can’t wait to welcome athletes from across the globe to Portugal in 2017.”
Paulo Passos Leite, organizer of Challenge Lisboa and current Chief Operations Officer is excited at the next evolution of the event.
“Over the last 10 editions of the Lisboa Triathlon, we have built the solid foundations for a great event in the City of Lisbon. Being recognized for our hospitality and our talent in putting together these events in Portugal means that today we are taking a great step forward in joining Challenge Family, and we promise to offer all those who love triathlons – be they professional, amateurs or companies – a complete event and an amazing way to enjoy sunny Lisbon,” he said.
Lourenço Menezes, Director of sports by tlc, added “this is an event with a strong international presence which has succeeded in bringing in both Portuguese and foreign athletes, be it professionals, amateurs, families and children. This is an event which has done much for the sport of triathlon, and for that reason, the Challenge Family slogan is rather appropriate: “We are Triathlon”. In addition to all this, sports by tlc, intimately linked to corporate events, is proud to propose something new for the Challenge Corporate World Cup, which will be held in our city beginning in 2017.”
To celebrate the elite performance of professional and age group athletes at Challenge Lisboa, the top five male and female professional athletes, and the top six finishers in each male and female age group at Challenge Lisboa will be automatic qualifiers for The Championship, Challenge Family’s flagship annual championship event.
Challenge Lisboa 2017 will take place in Lisbon, Portugal on May 6, 2017 and comprises a 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run. For athletes, the Challenge Lisboa race venue is located in the heart of Lisbon with one of the fastest racecourses in the World. The bike course is on a completely closed freeway with wide lanes allowing for a fast, draft-free race across a flat course. The swim leg is in the calm, still waters of a unique artificial lake, Doca dos Olivais, where spectactors can walk around the whole swim course cheering athletes on throughout the entire length of the swim course. It is the ultimate spectator friendly triathlon for family and friends.
