The Mayencos Pyrenees Club organizes the Jaca-Candanchú Winter Triathlon, Spanish Championship

Coinciding with the XNUMXth anniversary of its Triathlon Section, the Club Pirineísta Mayencos recovers one of the most emblematic sports events on the calendar.

The Jaca-Candanchú Winter Triathlon will be held on January 21 under the traditional format of a first segment of 10 km of athletics through the streets of Jaca, a second sector of 33 km of cycling between Jaca and Candanchú, to finish with 10 km of cross-country skiing at the Candanchú Ski Resort. It will be 25 years since the celebration of the first edition of this triathlon in 1987, of which 14 editions were organized, the last in 2000, being the World Championship.

The news that the Jaca-Candanchú Winter Triathlon is being held again has caused great expectation in the world of triathlon. The competition, which will be the 2012 Spanish Championship, will bring together a total of 300 runners, which will set a record for participation in this modality.

For Mayencos, which has already been organizing this same format between Ansó and Linza, recovering this format in Jaca was an old challenge. The Club maintains a long tradition in organizing winter triathlon competitions, both in the “all on snow” format and in the traditional one, having traveled, in addition to the Candanchú and Linza circuits (two of the pioneers), the Tramacastilla , Panticosa, Formigal, Gabardito and Hospital de Benasque, in the latter collaborating with the Club Pirineos de Zaragoza. Up to 9 Spanish Championships have been held by the Jacetano Club.

HISTORY

In 1986, two years after the celebration of the first summer triathlon in Spain, it occurred to Adolfo Arizcuren and Pedro Arceredillo (current president of Mayencos), then members of the now-defunct Jaca Section of the Mountain Military Club, it occurred to them that You could hold a race in which you ran in Jaca, you would go up by bicycle through the Aísa Valley to Manantiales de Rigüelo, and from there, with CROSSING SKIS, the route would be made to the Candanchú Winter Station, again in the Aragon Valley.

This was the initial project. Later they heard about a similar race that had been held abroad, in Valverg (French Alps), a test that consisted of 20 km on foot, 80 by bicycle and 25 by cross-country skiing and which had been called "Triathlon des neiges ”. A brochure of the I Reinosa White Triathlon also came into his hands, which had the same format and was to be held on January 11, a few weeks before April 5, the scheduled date for the Jaca test.

Adolfo and Pedro exhibit at the Mountain Military Club and it is decided to carry out, opting to organize the foot race in Jaca, take cycling from Jaca to Candanchú and there cross-country skiing, in the circuit of the Station. So Reinosa would be the first test to be held in Spain and Jaca the second.

Joaquín Liendo, at that time Secretary of the Military Mountain Club, will be the one who takes the reins of the organization of the White Triathlon "Valle del Aragón", later "Ciudad de Jaca", leading the direction of the test during the 14 editions that it was organized.

José Luis Rodrigo, who would already participate in that first edition of the Blanco de Jaca Triathlon, would found the Triathlon section of the Club Pirineísta Mayencos, being one of the main promoters of this sport in Spain.