The winter triathlon season gets underway in China this weekend with Saturday’s Winter Cup Harbin. Taking place 1300km northeast of Beijing in what is known as the City of Ice, for the first time since 2020 the Sun Island venue will offer up a course consisting of a one lap 4km run and 6km bike and a 2-lap 6km ski to the tape.

The event comes at the start of February, just three weeks before the Winter Triathlon World Championships Pragelato in the Italian Alps, and among the names on the men’s start list is last year’s world championship bronze medallist Franco Pesavento.

The Italian will headline the action in Harabin along with equally formidable world championship medalists and teammates Alessandro Saravalle and Giuseppe Lamastra.

Lamastra took 7th place on this course four years ago and will line up alongside Romanian talent Viorel Palici, Germany’s Sebastian Neef and China’s Chicun Baima. The Mongolian duo of Bayartsengel Luvsandavaa and Altanshagai Nyambuu complete the men’s line up in Harabin.

Home athletes dominate the start list of the women’s race, the young talent Yifei Li, Qiuxiang Ma, Yu Wang, Yula Danzeng, Miao Wang and Senyao Lu looking to take full advantage of a race on home turf, Romania’s national champion from 2022 Edit Keresztes-Vakaria the sole non-Chinese name on the list and ready to make an impact.

For more information and start lists click here.