With the snow topping the mountains all over the Northern hemisphere, February is the month for one of the newest additions to the ITU calendar: winter triathlon. In the next few weeks, winter triathletes from all over the world will get their running shoes, skis and mountain bikes to try their best in the Asiago WinternTriathlon World Championships, the Cheile Gradistei Winter Triathlon European Championships and the Quebec S3 Winter Triathlon World Cup.
Winter triathlon is one of the latest disciplines to be incorporated into the triathlon family, with elite athletes usually tackling a snow run of approximately 8km, 14km on the bike and 12km of cross-country skiing.
The Winter Triathlon World Championships will return to the Italian Alpine town of Asiago from 7-9 February, with the Russian duo of Pavel Andreev and Daria Rogozina looking to defend the titles they won there 12 months ago. The 2020 World Champs in Asiago will see not just the Elite but also the U23, Junior, Para, Mixed Relay and Age Group athletes all racing for medals and titles.
In total, 193 athletes will be vying for the World Crown this year, coming from 17 different countries, and with 7 national teams competing in the 2x2 Mixed Relay in the Alps. The course will take athletes through a magical and dramatic landscape. In October 2018 a massive storm raged through the region, ripping up trees and exposing areas that had remained hidden for centuries. People coming to the region will also have a chance to discover some historical sites associated with tragic events of World War I, as well as simply exploring the spectacular scenery available along nearly 100 km of paths and trails.
Asiago will be the 22th edition of the Winter Triathlon World Championships, an event that has been hosted in Italy already seven times: Malles in 1997; Bardonecchia in 1999; Brusson in 2002; Flassin in 2007; Cogne in 2013 and 2014 and Asiago in 2019.
Just a few weeks after Asiago, the Canadian city of Quebec will, for the 5th consecutive year, host the ITU S3 Winter Triathlon World Cup, a format in which the athletes compete over a run, ice skating and ski course, on February 23.
And the following week, to finish a great month of winter triathlon all over the world, winter-lovers will travel to the home of Count Dracula, Cheile Gradistei, for the Winter Triathlon European Championships, taking place in the very same venue that last hosted the World Championships in 2018 and the European Championships in 2019.