Super League Triathlon’s 2021 championship gets under way on 5 September with the opening event of the series in London.
Following the championship opener in the UK capital, the swim-bike-run series will continue with back-to-back events in Munich, Jersey and Malibu, which will crown the fastest triathletes in the world.
Super League Triathlon 2021 Championship Series
– 5 September: London, UK
– 12 September: Munich, Germany
– 18 September: Jersey, Channel Islands
– 25 September: Malibu, USA
The final start lists for the 2021 Super League Triathlon championship will contain 20 male athletes, 20 female athletes and a number of wildcards – who will confirmed ahead of each event. Race formats include Enduro, Triple Mix, Equalizer and Eliminator.
Spain’s Mario Mola, who won the ITU World Triathlon Series title from 2016 to 2018, and Britain’s Non Stanford, the 2013 world champion, are two of the star names confirmed for the championship.
Stanford joins the likes of Katie Zaferes, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Carolina Routier, Vittoria Lopes, Simone Ackermann and Emilie Morier in the women’s series. While in the men’s series, Mola is joined by athletes such as Vincent Luis, Jonny Brownlee, Alex Yee, Hayden Wilde and Jake Birtwhistle.
In a column on superleaguetriathlon.com, four-time world champion Chris McCormack hailed the championship’s return after a Covid-hit 2020. “I feel excited, I feel relieved, and I feel that this hopefully signifies close to the end of the global pandemic and a return to sport as we know it,” he said.
McCormack, who will manage the SLT Scorpions team, also picked out 2019 champions Zaferes and Luis as the “ones to beat” in 2021. “I think the racing this year will be red hot,” he added. “In my opinion they are still my picks of the athletes to beat because of their flawless abilities over these distances.”
New for 2021: SLT Teams
This year’s championship will also see the introduction of “SLT Teams”. The new concept, which organisers say will “help shape the future of the sport”, takes inspiration from Formula 1 and cycling.
Each of the five teams will be managed by a triathlon legend, who has picked their eight team members via a draft of 40 Super League athletes.
Michael D’hulst, CEO of Super League Triathlon, said: “By adding SLT Teams to our 2021 Championship Series we are expanding the ecosystem of Super League Triathlon to deliver a vision to grow our sport. By setting up teams we are adding additional stakeholders to help develop the concept and truly creating something special, driven by the passion and the desire to give this sport a brighter future.”
The five SLT Teams are:
SLT Cheetahs: managed by world duathlon champion Annie Emerson
– Athletes: Sophie Coldwell, Maya Kingma, Leonie Periault, Anna Godoy, Jonny Brownlee, Tyler Mislawchuk, Tamas Toth, Aaron Royle
SLT Rhinos: managed by 11-time Ironman winner Ronnie Schildknecht
– Athletes: Katie Zaferes, Rachel Klamer, Yuko Takahashi, Valerie Barthelemy, Marten Van Riel, Jake Birtwhistle, Jannik Schaufler, Kenji Nener
SLT Eagles: managed by four-time world champion Tim Don
– Athletes: Jess Learmonth, Taylor Spivey, Vicky Holland, Vittoria Lopes, Alex Yee, Jelle Geens, Max Studer, Marco van der Stel
SLT Sharks: managed by two-time Olympian Michelle Dillon
– Athletes: Beth Potter, Non Stanford, Carolina Routier, Simone Ackermann, Hayden Wilde, Jonas Schomburg, Vasco Vilaca, Tayler Reid
SLT Scorpions: managed by four-time world champion Chris McCormack
– Athletes: Cassandre Beaugrand, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Ilaria Zane, Emilie Morier, Vincent Luis, Matt Hauser, Mario Mola, Shachar Sagiv
Images: superleaguetriathlon.com