Soria host of the Duathlon European Championship in 2017

The ETU has officially granted the candidacy to the city of Soria

A few hours ahead of schedule the joy has overflowed the Sorian expedition in Lisbon (Portugal), once the European Triathlon Federation (ETU), has officially granted the candidacy of Soria the organization in 2017 of the Duathlon European Championship.

The continental event will make next year's edition the most special one to date, since it will also be the first European event organized throughout Castilla y León after the European Cup had to be suspended at the beginning of the year. of Vinuesa, also in the province of Soria. In this way, the Castilian and Leonese test will take over from the German town of Kalkar, home of 2016.

The Soriano plan could not have gone better. First thing in the morning was to prepare the presentation, led by the mayor of Soria, Carlos Martínez Mínguez, who has had the collaboration of sports councilor Ángel Hernández and the president of the Federation of Triathlon of Castilla y León, Amancio del Castillo . Both the president of the Spanish Federation of Triathlon (FETRI), José Hidalgo, and the director of FETRI competitions, Jorge García, experienced in this type of games, have helped prepare the final staging.

During a brief presentation, the first mayor of Soria highlighted the heritage of the city of Soria, its tourist attractions among which the names of Machado or Numancia have come to light, as well as the extraordinary list of sports facilities, one of the most extensive per inhabitant and per square meter of all of Spain; or the sporting passion that is breathed in the city and that both the great athletes Abel Antón and Fermín Cacho promoted. As for the competition, Martinez has recalled the good organizational work of previous editions and major events of these characteristics hosted in the city. On the other hand, from the commission questions have been transferred on the hotel capacity of the city and on the climatology.

Just a few minutes later, the executive committee moved to the Spanish expedition the official election of Soria as the seat of the continental duathlon for 2017, after the Spanish presentation achieved more support than the candidacy of the Romanian capital, Bucharest, which had also reached the final triple as an aspiring city.

This afternoon, Ángel Hernández will make a brief presentation of the candidacy to the Assembly of the European Federation with the aim of publicizing and extending the decision to the whole family of the continental triathlon that these days is meeting in the Portuguese capital. Precisely the high number of planned activities has led to the executive committee of the European federation has advanced the decision that was originally going to communicate on Friday.

The award of this test to Soria will be an organizational responsibility but also a great opportunity for the province to promote itself at European level, since this event could be reunited in the capital around 1.500 athletes next year. About the date of the competition, it has not yet been established, since it will depend on the European, national and regional calendars, although from the organization they are in favor of being able to continue maintaining the usual dates of the end of April and the beginning of May.

Ratings

"Few places demonstrate that know how to live sports and know how to welcome competitors", summarizes the mayor of Soria, Carlos Martínez. Experience, involvement and, finally, consensus have inclined, therefore, the balance since that collaboration has also been highlighted with the Spanish Federation, the Autonomic and duathlon Soriano when presenting an ambitious project.

Mayor Carlos Martinez has been satisfied with the news and has insisted that "since the presentation and the first contacts, we had good feelings, but we did not expect the decision so quickly in the first round. We are happy with this informal confirmation that supports our commitment to host sporting events as promoters of the city and that, on this occasion, also represents an international leap. "

The mayor did not want to forget, once known the headquarters, of the citizen support, but also of the work of the Spanish Federation, of the Federation of Castile and Leon, with Amancio Del Castillo, of the technicians and councilors of Sports, Lourdes Andrés in the first steps of the idea and now Ángel Hernández, and also Rubén Andrés, the soul of the duathlon in the city and who created this initiative a few years ago and which is already a reality. "I had to come to Lisbon to defend the suitability of Soria, but this is easy. What is not seen is the work of all those who have made this success possible, "he summarized.

The mayor also wanted to insist that this European 2017 should not be understood as an isolated achievement but is part of the project of a Soria city of sport. In this regard, he recalled "the remodeling of all sports facilities, which place us as a reference in terms of infrastructure, and the approval of the affiliated center of the University of Sport, which we also seek to be a reality in 2017. 

We want a Soria linked to education, culture and sports and these are pillars of the development of a city. We have first class facilities and a privileged condition for our characteristics also for outdoor sports and the duathlon is a discipline that certifies it ". Although it is still early to advance technical aspects if the number of 1.500 athletes, more technicians and companions, who will be a full week in the city and who will "make Soria look at Europe sportingly, but also touristically. It is a window that we must take advantage of ".

The president of the Spanish Federation, José Hidalgo, for his part, has been blunt after the election of Soria by underlining that "it was a worked, ambitious and consensual project." “Soria deserved to get this designation”, he indicated, adding that “few championships manage to surprise us and the Nacional de Soria achieved it because of the way the city turns. Duathlon was breathed and that encouraged us to support this candidacy ”. The president of the Federation added that this aspect had an important weight in the election and, therefore, he points out as a key that “the Soria expedition has come to Lisbon and the mayor has managed to convey that feeling of Soria, the city of sport. It was not easy as there was another strong candidacy for a European capital, but we have known how to defend our strengths ”.

On the other hand, Amancio Del Castillo, from the autonomic Federation, has once again stressed the decisive importance of having the support of the mayor of the city and the sports councilor in the presentation. "I am convinced that the security and guarantee that the institutional support supposes has influenced of remarkable form in the final decision". On the other hand, Del Castillo stressed that the sorian event will be the first continental test that will be played in the history of the Castilian and Leonese triathlon in the region and has sent a message of congratulations to the organizer, Rubén Andrés and all his team for the work done for many years.

Precisely, Ruben Andrés has been very "happy and happy" for the news arrived from the Portuguese capital. "This is a prize for everyone, for all Soria." In addition, the Soriano triathlon delegate, recalled that it was a "golden opportunity" because if the candidacy had not gone ahead it would have been very difficult to maintain the aspirations in the coming years due to the extension of 'multisport' tests in which the triathlon is included and in which Soria would have had much more difficult. "Now we have to work hard for the province to take advantage of the continental showcase next year."

Photo: heraldodesoria.es