Historic Drummondville Triathlon

-By Patrick Janukavicius 

For almost 30 years the Drummondville triathlon has been a Quebec favourite. Situated just over an hour outside of Montreal, the race is easily accessible.  Australian triathlete Chris McCormack won the race in Drummondville in 1996 when it was an ITU event before he even started racing Ironman, let along winning the World Championship in Kona.

“The triathlon first started in 1990 with 60 participants,” says François Girard, co-race director. Eventually, in 1995, “the first ITU World Cup in North America took place in Drummondville,” he adds. The ITU event also took place in 1996.

Next Saturday, June 14, the race will feature an elite category as part of the Quebec Cup, on top of age-group races in the sprint and Olympic distances as well a duathlon option. Additionally, there will be races for the kids.

One of the outstanding features of the Drummondville triathlon is the number of relay teams that they’re able to attract. “We are expecting over 100 relay teams this year,” says Girard. “It’s a really great culture that we’ve cultivated that every year, locals with come out and race.”

The swim takes place in St-Francois river. A challenging part of the race, is that some years the current can be pretty strong. Spectators can easily follow swimmers from the banks of the river as athletes swim a large square course.

Transition can be a little tricky as it’s sloped. The bike  course has small rolling hills which makes for a fast course. After the bike, the race finishes with a nice and flat run.