Triathlon Business International (TBI) and Interbike announced the winners of the TBI-sponsored International Triathlete of the Year, Breakthrough North American Triathlete and Triathlon Innovation Awards last night at Interbike’s Awards Celebration at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
The International Triathlete of the Year is USA’s Gwen Jorgensen, Breakthrough North American Triathlete is USA’s Katie Zaferes and the Triathlon Innovation Award winner is Quintana Roo’s Pro level PRfive triathlon bike.
The athlete nominees were selected by TBI Board members for performances in domestic and international races between 15 October 2015 and 31 July 2016. The International award recognized excellence in triathlon performance for men and women among international pro-level athletes.
The Breakthrough award recognized the professional or amateur triathlete who had a breakout race year. This athlete could come from the best young rider ranks or could be a triathlete that had a banner year, and has become a force to be reckoned with both domestically and internationally.
The Innovation award represents any product that was deemed a model year 2016 product and was available for review between 1 July 2015 and 15 June 2016. This product was also required to have been in production and available at retail in this timeframe. This award covers all categories of triathlon, including bikes, wheels, components, accessories, clothing etc. Nominees were considered based on overall design, performance, spec, price, styling, etc.
“This year’s TBI awards were given to three deserving choices,” said TBI President Richard Adler. “Gwen is unique in American history and her record in Olympic distance racing in 2015/2016 is unprecedented. Katie had her first WTS career victory and several podium finishes, and both Gwen and Katie represented the US in Rio. As for QR’s PRfive, it’s a premier, top-rated bike and our award isn’t its first award for innovation.”
Gwen Jorgensen finished on the podium in all her International Triathlon Union (ITU) race starts during the voting period, including World Triathlon Series (WTS) Yokohama and WTS Leeds, which were her 16th and 17th career WTS titles. Jorgensen was also a member of the US ITU Mixed Relay World Championship team, bringing home the first-ever gold for the US in the event, and she finished second at WTS Gold Coast and third in Hamburg. She was the United States’ top qualifier for the 2016 Olympics, and while the Games fell outside the voting period, she brought home the first gold medal ever for the US.
Katie Zaferes claimed her first career World Triathlon Series victory in 2016 at the World Triathlon Hamburg on 16 July. Earlier in the year, she posted back-to-back sixth place efforts, first at World Triathlon Gold Coast and then again at World Triathlon Yokohama. By finishing sixth in Yokohama, Zaferes clinched the third and final Olympic berth on the US Olympic Triathlon Team.
The Quintana Roo PRfive is considered to have ‘superbike performance, without the superbike price’. It shares a frame and ‘cutting edge aerodynamics’ with its award-winning cousin, the PRsix. The bike is light, up to 400g lighter than some competitors’ frames. The PRfive starts at US$3,700 with Ultegra components and is offered in four colour schemes. Earlier this year, the PRfive was named LAVA magazine’s 2016 Editor’s Pick for Gear-of-the-Year, Bike Technology.
Awards were presented by Slowtwitch.com editor and publisher, Dan Empfield. Empfield himself is a USA Triathlon Hall-of-Famer; TBI/Interbike Industry Leader of the Year; and a TBI founding board member.
Interbike 2016 takes place on 21-23 September at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. TBI initially joined forces with Interbike in 2012 to host the Triathlon Pavilion, originally a 5,000 square foot area, making 2016 the ‘fifth consecutive successful year of collaboration between the two entities.’ The show is the largest annual gathering of the bicycle industry in North America. Show hours are 09:00 to 18:00 on Wednesday and Thursday, and 09:00 to 16:00 on Friday.
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