Valencia will have a half 'Ironman'
Triathlon is in fashion and this is demonstrated by the good health of a sport that grows every day in the number of federated members and that in its last edition held in Valencia two weeks ago brought together more than 2.200 participants in its different categories.
But not content with the success, the Valencian Triathlon Federation, the Valencia City Council and the Trisense company are finalizing the details to present next week what will be the first long distance triathlon to be held in the city and the third in the Valencian Community, with which they hope to bring together a thousand athletes and some of the best specialists in this modality on March 3, 2012.
Valencia, thanks to the benefits of its climate, will thus open the European long-distance testing season with a triathlon whose distance is the equivalent of a half 'Ironman'. Specifically, 1,9 km of swimming, 90 km of cycling and another 21 km of running (a half marathon) along a spectacular route, part of which will take place in the same setting as the Valencia Triathlon, especially the swimming.
The organizers have the project quite advanced, pending the closing of the last permits with the different localities that the cycling test that will enter the Albufera natural park will go through. This will surround the lake among the rice fields, following part of the Sueca long-distance duathlon circuit. Once the last fringes have been tied, registration will open on October 1, as is the intention of the Valencian Federation to take advantage of the momentum of the last test held in September and give athletes time to start their preparation during the fall and winter. We are also working together with the Spanish Federation so that the event is a qualifying event for the Spanish Long Distance Championship.
Although the itineraries of the three segments are still open to possible modifications, the scenarios will not change. The Juan Carlos I Royal Navy will witness the swimming test. The swimmers will do a complete lap starting and finishing next to the port clock building, passing next to the Formula 1 mobile bridge. The first transition will take place in the port shed, to take the bike and, along the Saler road reach Sueca passing through El Palmar and El Perellonet, before returning to Valencia through the districts of Sollana, Silla, Beniparrell, Albal, Catarroja and Alfafar.
The cyclists will return to the city along the Bulevar Sur and will make the second transition in the extension of the Alameda in front of the Oceanogràfic. There the last segment on foot will begin, which in principle would consist of three laps of a circuit through the Turia Garden between the City of Sciences, the Palau de la Música and the Puente de las Flores, although it is not ruled out to go up further. channel and reduce the number of turns.
Valencia joins in this way Canet d'en Berenguer and Elx, the other two towns in the Valencian Community that hold long distance events. The one in Canet, whose second edition will take place on October 2, is trying to consolidate itself as the one in Elx has done, which will turn eight years old on April 22, 2012 and which hosted the Spanish championship in 2008.
Much more demanding than the Olympic or shorter distance triathlon, this new test represents another step for those triathletes who want to get closer to the mythical 'Ironman'. It requires excellent physical shape and wetsuit to jump into the water in the middle of winter.
