Search
shop

The (Easter!) Weekend Preview: 20-22 April 2019

What's in the Easter Weekend Preview? The Cannes International Triathlon and XTERRA Greece both feature past or present British World Champions....
Chief Correspondent
Last updated -
Get the ultimate guide to destination racing

It’s the Easter Weekend Preview…!

It’s a Bank Holiday weekend and the weather forecast is looking – overall – pretty good. If you are racing or training and making the best of a day or two extra off work, have fun!

As you would expect, the racing schedule is relatively light both internationally and closer to home, but there is a cracking race going on in France at a venue more famed for its glitzy film festival. We’ll also see a reigning (double) British World Champion starting as a strong favourite for another victory, this time in Greece.

Orca Weekend Preview

INTERNATIONAL RACING

All is quiet on the M-Dot front this weekend, ahead of IRONMAN Texas in just over a week’s time. Challenge Family’s European season is also on hold this week ahead of Challenge Gran Canaria on 27th April. There is a Challenge event this weekend however, Challenge Cerrado in Brazil. That one looks to be an all Brazil affair in terms of Elite athletes.

Not surprisingly, a low key week for the ITU too, with just an Asian Cup event in Dexing, China and and a CAMTRI American Cup Sprint Triathlon in Bridgetown, Barbados. No British Elite athletes at those – though Matthew Wright (BAR) is a familiar name over here have raced many Super Series races in the past and, I believe, having gone to University in the UK.

That would then all point to the Cannes International Triathlon being the headline overseas race of the weekend. This is a cracking event with a challenging (and fun) bike course, one I did myself four years ago (though at the time they did have a half distance race!). The distances on the French Riviera are 2km swim / 107km / 16km, with the bike course definitely the highlight of the race – especially if you like a few climbs and descents. Honestly, it’s a brilliant event, very easy to get to from the UK and comes highly recommended for futures years.

Polar Cannes International Triathlon 2018 - Photo: Jose Luis Hourcade

The race has featured some great winners in the past – Javier Gomez, Lucy Charles-Barclay, Sebastian Kienle and Leanda Cave among them – and there will be some classy athletes racing again this year.

KAILUA KONA, HI - OCTOBER 13: Cameron Wurf competes on the bicycle portion during the IRONMAN World Championships brought to you by Amazon on October 13, 2018 in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for IRONMAN)
Cameron Wurf (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images for IRONMAN)

Of those, we know that über-biking Cameron Wurf (winner of IRONMAN Wales in 2017) will be racing against Great Britain’s Tim Don. After a frustrating mechanical issue at IRONMAN South Africa two weeks ago which lead to a DNF, Tim will likely be a lot less fatigued in Cannes than he might otherwise have been, which could be good news for his prospects here (though not ideal for Kona qualification, obviously). As a previous winner of the Alpe d’Huez Triathlon, he’s more than capable when gradient rises on the bike course.

Tim Don / Cannes International Triathlon 2019
Photo credit: Activ’ Images

Other Pro athletes scheduled to race include Tyler Butterfield (BER), Diego Van Looy (BEL), Camilla Pedersen (DEN), Jeanne Collonge (FRA), Emma Bilham (SUI), the 2017 Champion and winner last week of Triathlon Portocolom, Alexandra Tondeur (BEL), Margie Santimaria (ITA), Charlotte Morel (FRA) and Flora Colledge (GBR).

Off-road this week, the focus is XTERRA Greece in Vouliagmeni. That was the race won last year by Nicole Walters. No Nicole this year – start list is HERE – but Lesley Paterson, the ITU Cross Triathlon and XTERRA World Champion will start as the favourite. XTERRA regular Doug Hall is predicting a good battle in the men’s race between defending champion Arthur Forissier (FRA), speedy biker Xavier Dafflon (SUI) and Francois Carloni (FRA), the 2018 European Tour Champion.

Lesley Paterson - ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships 2018

DOMESTIC RACING

No Championship events or Age-Group qualifiers on the schedule this week, so that leaves the following multisport calendar:

*** UPDATE ***

Thanks to Andrew Woodroffe for spotting my error – this weekend is actually the Scottish Duathlon Championships! Originally scheduled for 31st March, I must have missed the date change somewhere along the line, of the race which once again will be held at the Stirling Duathlon (full details HERE). The event will include the Scottish Champs (Standard Distance) and the Scottish Student Champs (Sprint Distance). Both events are non-drafting, over 10km / 42km / 5km and 5km / 21km / 5km respectively. The top three Scottish finishers in the Standard will earn £400, £200, £100 each.

Triathlon:

  • Clitheroe Pool TriathlonDETAILS
  • Epworth Early Triathlon – DETAILS
  • Torbay Spring Triathlon – DETAILS
  • Hampton Pool Sprint Triathlon (Monday)DETAILS

MK City Triathlon

Duathlon:

  • Hillingdon Duathlon Series #1 (Monday) – DETAILS
  • MK City Trail Duathlon DETAILS
  • Gravesend Cyclopark Easter DuathlonDETAILS
  • Carew Airfield Junior DuathlonDETAILS
  • Portsmouth Duathlon SeriesDETAILS
Hillingdon Duathlon
Hillingdon Cycle Circuit

The Hillingdon race (at Hillingdon Cycle Circuit) will be a run-bike-run-bike-run event and entries will be available on the night (5:30pm start time) – but you can save money by entering in advance HERE. Traffic free and low key, a nice introduction to the 2019 season if you are local and fancy a race on Monday!

For the last two weeks I’ve ended by saying I’m also going to be racing this weekend. This week? Well, I’m due to be ‘racing’ on both Friday and Sunday! Don’t expect me to be anywhere near the top of any results lists. Have a good weekend everyone!

Orca Weekend Preview

Weekly Suggested Products from ORCA
226 perform race Suit3.8 Orca wetsuit
226 Perform Race Suit3.8 Orca Wetsuit
John Levison
Written by
John Levison
TRI247's Chief Correspondent, John has been involved in triathlon for well over 30 years, 15 of those writing on these pages, whilst he can also be found commentating for events across the UK.
Discover more
Caroline Pohle Lena Meissner ironman 703 jonkoping sprint 2025
PremiumHow to pace a triathlon to leave it all out there WITHOUT blowing up
FORM Smart Swim 2 PRO lens close up
FORM Smart Swim Pro 2 Goggles review: can these high tech goggles actually help you to train smarter and swim faster?
Premium‘The difference from triathlon is so big – there’s no comparison’: Maya Kingma on life in the Women’s WorldTour peloton
Laura Siddall Challenge Roth 2025 finish line
PremiumLaura Siddall: 10 things I’ve learned from my professional triathlon career
TRIFIT VORTEX tri suit
The small but mighty tri brand you NEED to know about: Why TRI-FIT are on a mission to disrupt the triathlon apparel scene
latest News
Kristian Grue wins Norseman 2025
Norseman 2025: Grue and Skala conquer ‘Zombie Hill’ and the world’s TOUGHEST triathlon
Hayden Wilde happy T100 Singapore 2025
Hayden Wilde – is he BACK for T100 London after injury nightmare?
Sam Laidlow run Roundhay Park IRONMAN Leeds 2025
‘I’m ready for it’ – Sam Laidlow on why triathlon is hitting new heights in 2025 ahead of IRONMAN World Champs
Alistair Brownlee Olympics Triathlon London 2012 Podium Gold
Olympic icon Alistair Brownlee reveals most British thing ever when it comes to fuelling recovery
Lionel Sanders IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside 2025 celebration finish line
Lionel Sanders provides BIG update on triathlon comeback
triathlon on your terms
Never miss out with our triathlon alerts & digest. Get a dose of adventure & inspiration with Boundless.
The 247 Group

The home of endurance sports

TRI247-LOGO_Primary-Black_RGB-1

CHOOSE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO BECOME PART OF SOMETHING EPIC

We’re on a mission to elevate the world of endurance sport, becoming your go-to resource for expert training tips and inspiration, unbiased reporting and creating a platform for grassroots voices. But we can’t do it without you on board! Choose a TRI247+ membership option below and become part of something epic.

£7.95/month

Unlimited access. No ads. A whole library of tips, advice and inspiration at your finger tips, and the chance to shape the future of triathlon journalism.

100+ new articles/month

You’ll also gain access to our other premium websites:

Have an account? Sign in

£47.95/year
£95.40/year

50% Discount

100+ new articles/month

Unlimited access. No ads. A whole library of tips, advice and inspiration at your finger tips, and the chance to shape the future of triathlon journalism.

You’ll also gain access to our other premium websites:

Have an account? Sign in

Share to...