Man who brought you Tyler Mislawchuk brings back one of Canada’s favourite triathlons

A beloved Canadian race in the home province of Olympian Tyler Mislawchuk is returning this summer after a bumpy few years as it rode out Covid-19 and a zebra mussels invasion.

Brought to you by the very man who discovered a young Mislawchuk as a hockey player looking for cross-training options, race director Dave Lipchen is at the helm of the Riding Mountain Triathlon in Manitoba, which celebrates its 4oth anniversary this year. The race returns to a full triathlon course after it was forced to run as a duathlon last year when the invasive species zebra mussels shut down the swim venue.

Parks Canada recently announced that it would allow watercraft on Clear Lake (also known as Wasagaming), the site of the race in the Riding Mountain National Park. The decision comes after a successful campaign last summer to curb the spread of zebra muscles in the lake. Parks Canada last year banned all watercraft, making it impossible for the race organization to provide safety crews on the lake for the swim portion of the race. As a result, Lipchen was forced to run the popular race as a duathlon.

Not long before, Lipchen was forced to confront the challenges presented by Covid-19. The long road back to a full triathlon has been challenging, he told The Brandon Sun newspaper.

“It was very tough to try to survive it. I’m not going to lie on that one,” Lipchen admitted. “It makes me question what’s the point of doing anything if everything gets completely wiped out every single time something is up.”

But like the sport of triathlon, the road to the finish line comes with its ups and downs. Lipchen’s persistence has ultimately preserved a race that is important to the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which don’t have as many race options as some of its neighbouring provinces.

Parks Canada announced a new program last month in its efforts to combat the spread of the invasive species, permitting a return to boats on the lake once again. As opposed to its previous zero tolerance approach of fully restricting watercraft, its new program aims to reduce the spread and continue to allow use of the lake by watercraft users.

Lipchen is pleased that the program change opened the door again for his event, but sees the decision as a double edge sword.

“It’s a tough one. Obviously zebra mussels will explode and we will have to deal with that, but on the other hand, it’s like the ultimate invasive species, and everywhere already anyway.”

But Lipchen has faith that as one of Manitoba’s long running triathlons it will continue to weather the ups and downs for years to come.

“This one is engrained,” he said. “It’s one of the earliest races in Triathlon Manitoba’s history. Once again though, a race is just one piece of the puzzle. The community is awesome. The national park is awesome. It’s beautiful. It has challenging everything. It has nice rolling hills. The water is beautiful. There is a very big business support community there with all the hotels and all the restaurants and shops.”

This year’s race includes a super sprint, sprint, Olympic, duathlon, aquabike and a Kids Of Steel race held on the weekend of August 16.