With James Teagle, Sam Wade, Tom Davis, Reece Barclay plus Australian Olympian, Aaron Royle, and almost 20 other professional athletes on the start line, Challenge Wales is preparing for its first edition. Taking place on Saturday, June 18th, over the middle distance, a tough battle is expected amongst the pros.
The organising team note that… ‘Challenge Wales will undoubtedly offer great racing, especially since there is no outspoken favorite among all the professional athletes racing. The level of all of them is high and on paper seems fairly equal, which will make the battle for victory all the more interesting. Among the women, Lucy Byram seems to be the biggest favourite, but great things can certainly be expected from Claire Weller, Natalie Lawrence and Tara Grosvenor as well.’
The event weekend begins on Friday, June 17th with the Fishguard Swim – an open water sea swim with 1.6km and 3.2km distance options. Challenges Wales is set for Saturday, June 18th. On the Sunday, June 19th, the event team will also organise the Fishguard Sprint Triathlon.
On the Saturday, the Challenges Wales swim takes place in Fishguard Bay, which is protected by a breakwater on both sides. The two-lap swim enables athletes to exit the water to crowds before re-entering the water for a second and final lap.
The bike course begins with a steady 5km ascent allowing athletes to fuel, before a fast section all the way to St David’s, Wales’ smallest city. Here athletes will have a spectator reception as they pass the square and on towards Trefin.
On leaving St David’s athletes will again enter another quick section offering sea views of the Atlantic Ocean, before climbing into Trefin and Mathry. Here athletes turn for St David’s once again to head back to T2.
The run course features a paved coastal run which takes all athletes out on the town’s breakwater as part of a four-lap loop with sea views. On the fourth loop athletes head back to The Parrog, before entering the red carpet finish area.
