Recap of the 2011 TriStar season

A total of 4,000 triathletes from all over the world were the protagonists of the TriStar Series 2011 season in 9 events with 15 triathlons. Following a continuous growth in this season based on the successful format TriStar111 (1km swimming, 100km cycling and 10km running), the number of TriStar destinations will increase next year to 12 already announced. All the TriStar distances (11.1, 33.3, 55.5, 111 and 222) have been officially recognized by the ITU. Nevis, Mallorca, Worms-Germany, Madrid, Lyon, Otepää-Estonia, Minnesota, Monaco and Split hosted 15 different triathlons in 2011. Deauville, Berlin and Sardinia will join the list next year. These unique and attractive tourist destinations offer unique cycling courses greatly enjoyed by triathletes. The racing fun is guaranteed. The 111 format is ideal for athletes’ quick recovery after the competition as well. All the TriStar races could be followed online at www.TriStarLive.com.
The greatest protagonist of the Star Events season has been the Swiss triathlete Olivier Marceau with two victories (TriStar111 Mallorca and StarMile2.5 Nevis), with a second place in the TriStar111 Nevis and fourth place in the TriStar111 Estonia. Marceau has seen the TriStar podium more times than any other professional and is today the best world specialist in the 111 format.

TriStar Nevis
Australian triathlete Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack, the reigning World Champion, took the first victory of the season in 3:34:18 in one of the first triathlons held in 2011 in the whole world. Olivier Marceau and Wolfgang Guembel from Canada were second and third, respectively, over the 111km raced in TriStar111 Nevis, a paradise for triathletes. British athlete Emma-Kate Lidbury was the female winner, followed by Fernanda Keller and Guylyne Louis. The winners of TriStar33.3, held at the same time, were Gilles Janssen from Netherlands, and the British athlete Laura Briggs. A spectacular StarMile2.5 – open water swimming race in the middle of the Caribbean – won by Olivier Marceau, complemented the Nevis’ triathlons. www.tristar111nevis.com

TriStar Mallorca
Thehistoric Olympic Triathlon Portocolom gave way to the first TriStar55.5 and TriStar111 Mallorca, also held in April. The start-list was one of the richest in the season with a huge constellation of stars including the names of Chris McCormack, Marcel Zamora, Normann Stadler, Lothar Leder, Ain-Alar Juhanson, Olivier Marceau, Esben Hovgaard, Joel Jameson, Francesc Godoy and Georg Potrebitsch. The double ascent to the Sant Salvador hill made ​​the race pretty hard. Olivier Marceau was the impressive winner, joined on the podium by the Spanish top triathlete Marcel Zamora and World Champion Normann Stadler, second and third respectively. The Irish athlete Eimear Mullan was the winner, in ​​her professional debut, ahead of Tamsin Lewis from England and Heidi Jesberger from Germany. Richard Calle and Catalina Villalonga, both from Spain, achieved a victory in the TriStar55.5 Mallorca race, which was held on the same day. www.tristarmallorca.com

TriStar Worms-Germany
TriStar Worms-Germany is one of the fastest races of the TriStar World Series. Among the 1,000 athletes representing 21 nations at the start line of the second edition of TriStar111 Worms-Germany, it was the German athlete Markus Fachbach (3:16:59) and Britta Martin from New Zealand (3:44:45) who achieved the victory. Johann Moldan was second, only1min30 behind Fachbach, and Stefan Schmid third. In the women category, Beate Goertz was second and Debbie Verstraeten from Belgium third. The TriStar33.3 Worms-Germany was won by Germans Maik Fluck and Anna-Lena Pohl. In 2012’s calendar, this race will move to June and the bike segment will change specifically to enable the organization to ensure that the quality stays on the same high level as in 2011, even with a greater number of participants. www.tristar111germany.de

TriStar Madrid
The capital of Spain hosted the second TriStar111 race in Spain in 2011. As a novelty, because of the particularities of the cycle route (10 laps of 10 km at the Casa de Campo), drafting was allowed. Local triathletes José Almagro, a former professional cyclist, and Esther Leal, were the winners on this hot and fun day. The circuit has been appreciated by the spectators who could follow the whole race from beginning to the end. Almagro won in a harder competition than it appeared a priori in 3:52:34, followed by Jaime Menéndez de Luarca and Álvaro Velázquez. In the women category, Leal, second in Spanish Long Distance Championship, made a final time of 4:50:35, 5 minutes ahead of Fátima Blázquez (two times Olympic cyclist). The Dutch triathlete Marlies Galesloot finished third in 5:08:26. www.tristarmadrid.com

TriStar Lyon
TheFrench capital of gastronomy witnessed the first TriStar111 held in this country, with nearly 400 participants and a high-level group of professionals. Despite of the rain, the day was very intense and engaging for spectators. The men’s podium was completely French. Sylvain Sudrie took the victory (4:16:33), followed by Guillaume Romain and Nicolas Fernandez. French athlete Juliette Benedict was the champion in the women category with 4:59:20, 15 minutes ahead of the Swiss athlete Lisa Stucki, who finished second and Australian Christine Hemphill, on the third place. The girls prepared for the spectators a nice final battle for the podium. The TriStar55.5 Lyon was won by Antony Landreau and Agnes Laratta, both from France. www.tristarlyon.com

TriStar Estonia
On5-7 August, Pühajärve lived the most fun triathlon festival in Estonia with three races: TriStar11.1, TriStar33.3 and TriStar111 Estonia and a 5km run competition – StarRun. German Thomas Hellriegel won and set fastest circuit record so far with 3:12:53, less than 20 seconds ahead of Bryan McCrystal from Ireland. Third was the local triathlete Kirill Kotsegarov. In the women category, English athlete Rachel Joyce was the winner with 3:30:44, followed by the Finnish Merja Kiviranta and Tiina Boman. The young Russian Vasily Krestyaninov won the TriStar11.1 Estonia and was third in TriStar33.3. Laura Kallas got the victory in the 11.1 distance. Allar Soo and Sille Puhua were the winners of TriStar33.3 Estonia (0,3km swimming, 30km cycling and 3 km running). www.tristarestonia.com

TriStar Minnesota
In late AugustTriStar held its first triathlon in the United States. The idyllic nature park of Maple Grove, Minnesota, was the perfect setting for the TriStar111 Minnesota, which shared the weekend with the Maple Grove Triahtlon, and where German triathlete Maik Twelsiek cut the TriStar record by 8 seconds to 3:12:45. Americans Karl Bordine and Devon Palmer were second and third respectively. Jenny Wilcox was the first winner of the TriStar Minnesota in women category, ahead of Julie Hull and Leah Prudhomme. Macca, the favorite to win, had to leave the competition due to mechanical problems in the bike leg. www.tristarminnesota.com

TriStar Monaco
The Formula 1of Triathlon returned to Monaco to offer one of the most exclusive and desirable races for the nearly 1,000 athletes participating in the individual category or as a part of a relay team. The demanding cycling course and a light rain at the start of the day tightened the competition. The German triathlete Johannes Moldan scored a big victory in this legendary Formula 1 scenario in the streets of Monte Carlo, thanks to the long bike segment and his potential to tackle the hard running part. The youngest triathlete in competition, Rodolphe Von Berg, was second and Karl Shaw third. Olivier Marceau could not fight to repeat his victory of 2010 at this stage because of several falls with the bicycle. The French triathlete Johanna Daumas (4:17:28) led the whole race from the start, 5 minutes in advance of the Irish Eimear Mullan (winner in Mallorca), who could somewhat reduce the distance from Daumas in the finishline close to the Casino and the legendary Café de Paris. Barbara Bracher from Switzerlan finished third. www.tristar111monaco.com

TriStar Split
The intense 2011 season concluded with the inaugural TriStar111 Split. Croatia was the destination which closed the Star Events calendar. Austrian Andi Fusch took the victory in this demanding triathlon in 3:49:51. Philipp Podsieldik, second, was less than 3 minutes behind him, and Dejan Patrcevic from Croatia finished third. The finish line was located only a few meters from the famous palace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. The victory in the female category went to Barbara Alber from Germany, who led the race from the start to the end. Lauren Simenc from Slovenia was second and Karla Oblac, third, in one of the most sporty cities of the world. www.tristarsplit.com

More Info: www.tristarseries.com and www.star-events.cc