The organisers of the AJ Bell 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series Sunderland have released the routes of this year’s new event. Set to take place on July 29-30, the event sees the UK destination of the World Triathlon Championship Series shift from Leeds to Sunderland in North East England.
As well as participation races in a variety of distances, the World Triathlon Championship Series will see the world’s elite short course racers compete in Sunderland, with Roker seafront providing a backdrop to the action.
All event activities, from the family event to the elite racing, will start on the beach with a sea swim and conclude at the same finish by Marine Walk.
The bike segment will also give Roker Park the opportunity to show itself to participants, spectators and volunteers, as well as to a worldwide audience, with the elite bike and run courses seeing the park feature live on BBC Sport as part of the elite broadcast.
Whilst the elite run will include the park, the run for the mass participation races will take place around Sunderland Marina before participants head back to the finish line back on the beachfront.
AJ Bell 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series Sunderland is a flagship event as part of the collaborative work between Sunderland City Council and Triathlon England to develop swim, bike, run participation and resource within the local community.
There are four different distances on offer for participants over the AJ Bell 2023 World Triathlon Championship Sunderland weekend.
Swim Bike Run Mini will provide families with children aged 4+ the opportunity to swim 50m and run 1km, whilst the BIG Swim Bike Run provides an introduction to the sport with a 200m swim, 10km bike and 2.5km run.
The sprint distance will set entrants take on a 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run, with the standard distance option challenging participants to swim 1,500m, bike 40km and run 10km.
All distances will reach the same finish line that the elite athletes will race to. Over July 29-30, there will also be an elite doubleheader as Sunderland hosts individual and mixed relay racing.
British Triathlon CEO, Andy Salmon, said “The seafront in Roker provided a great backdrop to British Triathlon’s Grand Final in 2022 and offers an amazing setting for swim, bike, run.
“Releasing the routes is always a really exciting moment because it shows participants, the host city and everyone involved in the event exactly where the action will take place. This year, with the World Triathlon Championship Series and live BBC coverage of the event, the participants, Roker and the wider Sunderland area will show swim, bike, run in Britain at its best.”
Councillor Graeme Miller, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said “We’re incredibly excited to be hosting the UK leg of the World Triathlon Championship Series here at Roker this July. It’s not every day that you get to see some of the world’s finest athletes running past your front door.
“The triathlon weekend promises to be a brilliant event for residents and visitors alike. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to showcase our stunning seafront and I’m especially thrilled that our residents get to be part of an event with the world’s best.”
