The Triathlon of Portocolom reopens the triathlon season this Sunday

More than 1.000 participants will take part between the duathlon of minors on Saturday (TriKids) and the International Triathlon of Portocolom on Sunday under the 55.5 and 111 formats.

Portocolom will become this Sunday from the 8h45 for nineteenth year in the European triathlon benchmark thanks to the prestigious Triathlon of Portocolom that will gather more than 1.000 participants in one of the first level events in Europe.

The hardness of the cycling sector and the very high level of the professionals who take part in the two formats (55.5 and 111) that take place on Sunday, place this town again as the European triathletic epicenter throughout the weekend. The start of the Triathlon of Portocolom 111 (1 km of swimming, 100 of cycling and 10 of running race) will take place on Sunday at 8h45, and that of 55.5 will be at 11h. The events start today with the opening of the event Expo in the afternoon, where athletes collect their numbers, and continues tomorrow Saturday with the celebration of the Trikids duathlon, one of the most important sports promotion events for children, with almost 200 children inscribed.

At the official presentation ceremony today of the Triathlon of Portocolom, the Mallorcan triathlete Joan Nadal, the Germans Diana Riesler and Markus Hörmann, the Belgian Michael Van Cleven (current winner of the 111), as well as the institutional representatives Joan Xamena Galmés, Mayor of Felanitx, Pere Cler, regidor d'Esports, Jaume Montserrat, councilor of Turisme, Llorenç Tortella, delegate of Batlía, Climent Garau, president of Club Náutic de Portocolom, Jaume Vicens, director of the race, Toni Pérez, Commercial Director of Hospital de Llevant, and Oliver Kunz, director of the Orange Colom hotel.

The reign of the day will be the Triathlon of Portocolom 111 that will start on Sunday at 8h45 and consists of 1 km of swimming, 100 km of cycling and 10 km of foot race. At the same time an 55.5 test will be held, with more affordable distances (500 m swimming, 50 cycling and 5 running) and that is perfect to debut in the world of triathlon, and that is the largest participation.

A dozen professional triathletes will try to beat the German Hörmann and the Belgian Van Cleven (current winner) in one of the highest level editions in history in Portocolom. Both triathletes, a priori the favorites, already mentioned in the last edition, but an indisposition of the German made him fall to the fourth position while Van Cleven achieved a meritorious victory.

Among the large elite group are the young revelation triathlete Josep Torres, Spanish Champion of Sub-23 of Media Distancia and second classified in Portocolom in 2015, or the recently proclaimed runner-up of Spain of Duathlon of Long Distance Joan Nadal, as well as another Balearic Carlos López, which was made in 2015 with the crown of Spanish long distance champion. And of course, the great Miguel Ángel Fidalgo ready for everything after two breakdowns on his bike in the last two editions.

Nor can we forget about Fabian Rhan, regular at the podium in recent editions, or the Belgian Timothy Van Houten, nor of course Henrik Hydelund, Danish triathlete winner of the Copenhagen Ironman. The 111 output list also includes the second and third classified 55.5 2015 format: Andreas Linden and Adam Kacper.  

In the female category, the main novelty will be the German triathlete Diana Riesler, which was lost last year at the last minute by a cold. The motivation will be greater and the nineteenth edition of the Portocolom International Triathlon may be his, although he will have high level rivals, with the Finnish Venla Koivula, Winner of the Kalmar Ironman in Sweden, the Belgian Stefanie Adam, star of a great start to the season in duatlones-cross, or Monique Grossrieder, bronze in the Powerman Mallorca 2016. The young Mallorcan triathlete Catalina Barceló will continue to gain experience with the big ones of the medium and long distance triathlon.

 DECLARATIONS

Joan Xamena, mayor of Felanitx: "On Sunday we will live in Portocolom a great sport festival with record participation and that helps a lot to deseasonalize and boost tourism in the area, since it has a great impact on the locality. All Felanitx is committed to the organization, and every year the test gains importance internationally. "

Michael Van Cleven, 2015 winner: "I feel very well and I hope to have a good race on Sunday. The cycling sector is very hard and you have to be very focused and give everything. It's a spectacular triathlon and I want to start the 2016 repeating a good performance in Portocolom ".

Markus Hörmann, winner 2014: "After a break of several months with physical problems I am finally training very well and I hope to return to the level of last year. It is a demanding triathlon but very fun because of the format, although both the double ascent to Sant Salvador and the 10km on foot are very hard ".

Diana Riesler, international triathlete: "Last year I missed it for a cold and I'm looking forward to competing in Portocolom. I spend most of the year training here, I know the area perfectly and I love it, and I am very excited to be able to share a career with my club mates from Triatló de Portocolom ".

Joan Nadal, Mallorcan triathlete: "It will be difficult to fight for victory, but we will certainly try to face the powerful group of international professionals. In this triathlon we feel very comfortable and it is a pleasure to start the season in a unique circuit ". 

There will be special prizes for the fastest riders in the Sant Salvador cycling segment, one of the great attractions of the event, and a special IFC - Heliocare prize for the absolute winners.

The test is organized by Kumulus, with the collaboration of the Felanitx City Council and the Portocolom Triathlon Club.