By Les Tan
Singapore is scheduled to host the first leg of the International Triathlon Union World Championship Series on May 9th and 10th, 2009. This is a new triathlon series and will allow triathletes to chalk up points with each race to determine an overall winner.
The series will have seven World Championship events culminating in a grand final that will be staged in Gold Coast, Australia from September 9th to 13th, 2009.
Other cities that will host the series include Washington, Madrid, Kitzbühel, Hamburg, London and Yokohama.
US$700,000 in prize money, triple the previous amounts, will be on offer at the end of the series. US$150,000 in prize money is up for grabs at each world championship event and US$250,000 will be dangled in the grand final.
Each leg will also have a mass participation and youth element alongside the elite races. This brings the event into direct competition with the Osim Singapore International Triathlon.
The new event will be staged in the heart of the city. The swim leg will be in the Marina Bay Reservoir and the bike and run route will be staged in the heart of the city.
By contrast, the Singapore Triathlon is staged at the East Coast Park, a mundane and, in the case of the sea, dirty course. The traditional July running of the Singapore Triathlon may result in loss of registration numbers unless the event is moved to a different time in the year.
The attraction of swimming, biking and running in the heart of the city may prove too attractive a proposition to miss for amateur triathletes and the Singapore Triathlon may suffer as a result.
REDpoll
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