Elite competition to be held on 27-28 March in northwest Saudi Arabia
Super League Triathlon is heading to NEOM for a thrilling season opening spectacle that will see top triathletes try to take down All-Stars from the worlds of swim, bike and run in a truly spectacular setting.
Legends of sport including Cadel Evans, Paula Radcliffe, and Inge de Bruijn will be aiming to build on their reputations by defeating the world’s leading triathletes such as Kristian Blummenfelt, Henri Schoeman, Rachel Klamer and Radka Kahlefeldt over three thrilling events at Super League Triathlon NEOM 2020: The Opener.
NEOM’s breathtaking desert backdrop will provide a stunning location on 27-28 March for what is sure to be the most talked about multisport event before the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. NEOM is a region in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea being built from the ground up as a living laboratory. It will be a destination, a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building a new model for sustainable living, working and prospering.
The incredible mix of Tour de France winners, Olympic gold medallists and world record holders are sure to generate excitement and give Super League’s triathletes the chance to win some bragging rights by taking them on in standalone races in the sports that made them legends.
Super League will help showcase NEOM to the world as a destination and a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building a new model for exceptional livability, creating thriving businesses, and reinventing environmental conservation. This high-profile and world-leading event will feature men and women racing for an equal share of the $100,000 prize purse.
Athletes so far confirmed are:
All-Stars: Cadel Evans, Jens Voigt, Puck Moonen, Paula Radcliffe, Inge de Bruijn.
Female triathletes: Rachel Klamer, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Lisa Norden, Radka Kahlefeldt, Emma Pallant, Laura Lindemann, Lisa Perterer, Ilaria Zane, Kim Kilgroe, Amelia Watkinson, Sameera Al Bitar.
Male triathletes: Henri Schoeman, Kristian Blummenfelt, Richard Murray, Ben Kanute, Josh Amberger, Jonas Schomburg, Michael Arishita, Ollie Turner, Justus Nieschlag.
Super League Triathlon co-founder and CEO Michael D’hulst said: “Super League is all about innovation and the spectacular, and so staging such an incredible event in NEOM is an exciting proposition. Our All-Star athletes are global superstars with incredible CVs and so will give our triathletes a run for their money racing over individual disciplines in different and captivating formats. It will certainly be interesting to see how our athletes rank against the All-Stars. At Super League we believe in inspiring by our actions and we believe we can generate a positive legacy for the development of the region.”
Jan Paterson, Managing Director, Sport at NEOM said: “NEOM is proud to welcome some of the world’s best athletes and Olympians to compete in the Super League pre-season triathlon. NEOM is ideally located to host this exciting event, cradled in a region that is home to breathtakingly diverse terrain and a hospitable climate which includes coastal, mountain and desert. Events like Super League Triathlon are exactly the type of experiences we want to host at NEOM as we build a global hub for sport, which will unite communities, shape its healthy lifestyle, and contribute to its innovative economy. We look forward to welcoming the elite triathletes and sports fans from around the world for this exciting competition.”
The Super League athletes will compete in all three disciplines over the two days with the All-Stars racing in their specialist discipline and offered the chance to see how they fare in the other categories. The full athlete line-up and exact race formats will be announced in the coming weeks.
As always, you can catch up with all the latest Super League Triathlon action on superleaguetriathlon.com and via the SLT Facebook channel.