Weekend preview: Eight Canadians take on Tiszaujvaros ITU Triathlon World Cup featuring semi-finals format

From press release

The ITU World Cup season continues this weekend with the sixth stop of the ten-part ITU World Cup calendar arriving to the iconic Hungarian town of Tiszaujvaros. The northern Hungarian town returns as a host on 9-10 July, making it one of the longest running World Cup venues in ITU history. Part of a week-long party, the race is seen as a favourite for many top athletes.

For this year’s 20th anniversary of the Tiszaujvaros ITU World Cup, the race will maintain its semi-finals and finals format, with three semi-finals for the men and two for the female triathletes taking place on Saturday, with the finals to be held on Sunday.

Women’s elite race
For the first semi-final, 22 athletes will be on the pontoon for the three lap 750m swim course, before taking their bikes for a two-lap 20km flat bike. The 5km run is also going to be fast and flat, with a course designed for the whole town to get behind the athletes.

The top 14 athletes in each semi-final will qualify for the final, to be held on Sunday, with another two places awarded to the next two best times.

Canadian women Elisabeth Boutin, Paula Findlay, Emy Legault and Dominika Jamnicky will toe the start line.

Men’s elite race
In the men’s race, the top 9 athletes in each semi-final will qualify for the final, to be held on Sunday, with another three places awarded to the next three best times.

Now in its 20th year, Tiszaujvaros is just two hours from Budapest and thanks to its status as the second longest running ITU event, is known as the triathlon capital of Hungary. ITU adds that the World Cup has one of the best atmospheres of any on the ITU calendar, and is a summer tradition in Tiszaujvaros, as the event has a festival like atmosphere.

Canada has four men racing — Xavier Grenier-Talavera, Alexis Lepage, Jeremy Obrand and Matthew Sharpe.