ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado attended the Handing over Ceremony of the Olympic Flame by the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) to the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games in the Panathenaic Stadium yesterday in Athens, Greece. Prior to the ceremony Casado took part in the Torch Relay as a Torchbearer. Since the lighting of the Olympic flame in Olympia on 10 May it has been carried in an eight-day relay across Greece. Casado was among the Torchbearers on the final day of the relay in Greece before it was officially handed over to a London 2012 representative during the early-evening ceremony. The flame was then flown to the UK where it will undergo a 70-day relay beginning at Land’s End. The flame will travel 8,000 miles around every region of the country before arriving in Stratford’s Olympic Stadium to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on 27 July. Coinciding with the Handing over Ceremony, Casado also attended the opening of the 18th World Collectors Fair in the historical monument of Zappeion Megaron, the first building in the world to be constructed to serve Olympic needs and synonymous with the Olympic movement. Hosted by the International Olympic Committee and HOC from 17 to 20 May, the fair gathers collectors from all over the world and includes an Olympic Memorabilia Exhibition “Greece and the Olympic Games: 1894 – 2012”.

With less than five months to go before the 2012 ITU World Champions are crowned in the fourth year of triathlon’s premier series, Auckland’s preparations to stage the ITU World Series Grand Final are well underway. November last year saw Auckland host the Barfoot & Thompson ITU Triathlon World Cup to glowing reports. In fact the day couldn’t have been better from a local perspective, the spring weather was on its best behaviour, Kris Gemmell and Andrea Hewitt delivered home town success and huge fields took part in the age-group races over sprint and standard distance. But international visitors planning on coming to Auckland for the 2012 Barfoot & Thompson ITU World Triathlon Grand Final and Age-Group World Championships be warned – you ain’t seen nothing yet! With last year seen as something of a dress rehearsal for the big show, this year’s hosting of the ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final and Age-Group World Champs from October 14 to 23 aims to set a new benchmark for World Championship events around the world. Event CEO Dave Beeche leads a large team working feverishly on planning and preparing an event that will have a lasting impact on the sport in New Zealand and leave a lasting and brilliant impression on visitors in New Zealand to race or support family or friends. “This is going to be huge, fantastic for the city of Auckland, New Zealand the sport of triathlon but most importantly our international visitors. Last year was a big success but we have not been resting on our laurels, this year is so much bigger in so many ways but the goal is to once again deliver an event that will do the sport and the country proud. “There are many reasons to come to Auckland in October this year but the biggest plus for those participating or watching the racing is the ‘hub’ nature of the venue. Racing will be based in the CBD, with transition and race headquarters right on the downtown waterfront at The Cloud, a wonderful state of the art covered structure that is a legacy of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. “From the moment people check in to their hotels in the CBD, they can forget the need for a car; forget the need for long trips anywhere, all you will need is a map – which we will provide, and some walking shoes. Supermarkets, coffee, restaurants, bars, race headquarters, transition, massage, and swimming – everything you need will be within 10 to 15 minutes walk of your hotel.” And you need not worry if you haven’t yet qualified to...

The two-year ITU Olympic Qualification Period is almost at an end after the penultimate race in the city where triathlon was invented. The ITU World Triathlon San Diego held plenty of hopes and dreams, some were realised, some were not. Here is the updated Olympic simulation, which is a guide to what the London field what look like if qualification finished tomorrow, and an early look at the Madrid round of the ITU World Triathlon Series. Elite Women’s Simulation As the final automatic qualification event for USA Triathlon, a key focus was on who would join Gwen Jorgensen and Sarah Groff in London. The top contenders were Laura Bennett and Sarah Haskins, who both represented the USA in Beijing and that battle was on right from the start. Both are strong swimmers and both emerged within a lead group of eight that included Helen Jenkins and Erin Densham. While Haskins tried a few times to break off the front in the bike, she didn’t, and they came in T2 together. Bennett flew through in 20 seconds, while Haskins took 28, and that ended-up being a defining moment. While Haskins did almost catch Bennett in the run, the 37-year-old pulled away and went on to bronze – her first series medal and her second Olympic team. In other individual selection news, Netherlands’ Rachel Klamer met her national federation’s qualification criteria with a 12th place finish. This acted as a confirmation result for her early pre-selection in 2011. Maaike Caelers also put herself into contention with 11th, enough to move herself onto the Olympic simulation. Lisa Mensink had held down a second place for the Netherlands, but her day finished early with a crash leaving T1. That crash also ended her own hopes of competing in London, she sustained a fractured shoulder, however Caelers result was enough to keep the Netherlands with two spots for now. In other important results, Lydia Waldmuller moved Austria into the picture, taking over the European new flag spot from Finland’s Kaisa Lehtonen, while Hungary moved from two places to one. A week after collapsing before the finish line in Huatulco, Vendula Frintova recovered and put the Czech Rebublic back in with a chance to send two women. So far Frintova and Radka Vodickova hold down those two places. Claudia Rivas also met the Mexican Triathlon Federation’s qualification criteria to confirm her place in London. The competition to see who can field the maximum three athletes in London didn’t change after San Diego, except for...

A group of ITU coaches gathered in Slovakia last weekend to take part in an ITU Level 1 Club & Community Coaching Course. A total of 20 coaches from Israel, Slovakia and Croatia attended the course in Hotel Dom Sportu in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava. The course was organized by ITU Development Coordinator for Europe, Zeljko Bijuk (CRO) and Secretary General of the Slovakian Triathlon Union, Jozef Jurasek (SVK) and included both theoretical and practical sessions. The ITU Level 1 Club & Community Coaching Course, included information ranging from the swim, bike and run to transitions, basic nutrition and coach responsibility. Lectures were held in the Dom Sportu, former home of the Slovakian Olympic Committee and presently used by Slovakian sports federations. Participants of the course had the opportunity to take part in an aquathlon race during their lunch break. The race took place in the lake behind the host hotel and allowed attendees to practice some of their newly learned techniques under the supervision of ITU facilitators Tibor Lehmann (HUN), Zsolt Szakaly (HUN) and Bijuk. The course was positively received by the young and ambitious coaches, many still active triathletes who all share the same enthusiasm to help promote triathlon in their respective countries.  Click here for more information on ITU Development

Last year was a historic one for Cross Triathlon, after four years of continental championships ITU hosted its first world titles in Extremadura, Spain. Over 400 athletes competed across the elite, junior, age-group and paratriathlon categories in the swim, mountain bike and cross-country run discipline. This year, the sport takes another step forward as ITU partners with XTERRA for the second edition for the 2012 Shelby County ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships and XTERRA Southeast Championships. Oak Mountain State Park, located in the southernmost part of the Appalachian Chain, boasts a trail praised by competitors as one of the most fun, fast, scenic and difficult with credit attributed to the work of Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers (BUMP) along with Alabama’s DCNR State Park Division, Shelby County and the City of Pelham. BUMP has spent more than 100,000 hours in design and construction of new trails over the past 20 years. The event will feature $20,000 USD in prize money for elite athletes, who will compete over a 1.5km swim, 30km mountain bike and 10km trail run. Elite Women’s Preview Canada’s Melanie McQuaid took out the first ITU Cross Triathlon world title in Spain last year, and will return to defend it in Alabama as will the two other women who finished on the podium with her in Extremadura, the USA’s Shonny Vanlandingham and Emma Garrard. However, it’s a tough field to pick a favourite, as McQuaid, Vanlandingham, Switzerland’s Renata Bucher and Great Britain’s Lesley Paterson all have good form on the course in Shelby County. Last year, McQuaid bettered Vanlandingham and Bucher in the podium 1-2-3, but in 2010 it was Vanlandingham who beat McQuaid to the title as Paterson claimed bronze. McQuaid won in 2009, with Paterson collecting silver, while Vanlandingham won in 2008, where Paterson finished third. Adding to the competition is that Bucher and Paterson, who took out last year’s XTERRA world title, had to have a photo to decide who won in Las Vegas just last week, showing that the battle for the podium is set to be a thrilling one here. Vanlandingham, the 2010 XTERRA World Champion who is making her return from an ACL injury in this race, said earlier this year it was no surprise that a strong women’s field was competing. “I’ve raced all over the world, and I just love coming back to Oak Mountain every year. It is perhaps the best course in the nation,” she said. Others to watch include Canada’s Danelle Kabush and Austria’s...

Great Britain’s Jonathan Brownlee kicked off his Olympic season with a dominant performance in San Diego, winning his second ITU World Triathlon Series event ahead of Switzerland’s Sven Riederer and South Africa’s Richard Murray. In the race that had a huge impact on the Olympic picture, Brownlee was part of a small break at the start of the bike. However that didn’t last long, as a huge pack of over 50 athletes hit T2 together. From there it came down to the run, and Brownlee and Murray charged to the front on the first lap. They went toe to toe for almost half of the 10km run, before Brownlee laid down the trademark family kick to win in 1 hour 48 minutes and 47 seconds, his first race in almost seven months. “For me it was the first race of the season, I didn’t really know what to expect,” Brownlee said. “Seven months is a long time out, I was in a bit of shock at the race briefing thinking wow, ‘It’s been a long long time since I’ve been in one of these,’ I went into the race very relaxed really because I knew I didn’t have to do anything, I didn’t have to finish top nine, top four or anything, I just had to race my own race, and yeah, I was pleased.” “The swim and the bike were good, I wasn’t sure what to expect on that, but I have been running well all winter and my cross country races have been good. I felt good on the run. I felt a bit tired towards the end, I think I lacked a bit of racing there. Sven Riederer is a tough guy, he’s chased me down a few times before, in Beijing he chased me down down and he never gives up. Someone offered me a Yorkshire flag towards the end and I was to tired to take it, I thought I’m not going for that in case I blew up towards the end, I thought that would look a bit silly. It was a good race, I’m pleased to win, it shows that the training has gone well over the winter and I’m looking forward to the next race really.” Behind him, Riederer and Spain’s Mario Mola were catching Murray, and Riederer eventually passed Murray to stamp another series medal onto his resume. It was enough for 2004 Athens Olympics bronze medallist to confirm his London 2012 Olympics spot, and also means he is now the equal most successful man in series history without a win. Riederer now has five medals, three bronze and two silver, alongside Alexander Bryukhankov. Riederer said his race strategy came off perfectly. “I tried to save my energy on the bike, I was riding at the end of the pack and then in the end I was pushing for...

Great Britain’s Helen Jenkins continued her brilliant start to 2012 with a dominating run to crush the field in San Diego, in a race that had a huge impact on London Olympic qualification. After an eight-women bike breakaway put 2 minutes and 30 seconds on the first chase group coming out of T2, Jenkins and Australia’s Erin Densham went to the lead into the first lap of the 10km run. In see-sawing battle between the Australian Olympic hopeful and Jenkins, Densham pulled away to almost 10 metres in front in second lap before Jenkins stunningly reeled in the difference and turned the tables. In an incredible second half, she went ahead to record a time of 1 hour 58 minutes and 21 seconds, over a minute ahead of Densham’s time of 1:59:26. The USA’s Laura Bennett claimed third, her first series podium, and with it her second consecutive Olympic Games berth. Jenkins said it had been hard, but the support on the run had helped her through. “It was just such a good race, we really had to work really hard for that. I really pushed the swim and we really worked hard on the bike and that was hard all the way,” Jenkins said. “I really enjoyed the run course, it was really cool, there was so many people out there supporting…it was awesome.” Densham’s third consecutive major podium for 2012 was a huge boost for her own Olympic selection hopes. Densham was the first Australian, with Emma Moffatt finishing ninth, Ashleigh Gentle 10th, Emma Jackson 14th and Emma Snowsill 17th. So far, only Moffatt has been named in the Australian team for London. “I was hurting out there, I just hope I’ve done enough. Ideally I would have taken a break after Sydney and not raced here, but I’ve had to push through and I really do hope that’s enough,” Densham said. In the nail biting race for the third USA women’s spot, Bennett chose the perfect time to record her first series podium. Given that Gwen Jorgensen and Sarah Groff both qualified their places in London last year, the battle for the third women’s spot was expected to come down to Bennett and another Beijing Olympian Sarah Haskins. It turned out to be exactly that, as both were in metres of each other for almost the entire race. It was only in the final lap of the run that Bennett knew she had claimed her second consecutive Olympic Games spot, after she finished fourth at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. “It’s tough when you have go up against a good friend,” Bennett said. “I put a lot of pressure on this day, last year in...

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) recently completed its final site visit before the rapidly approaching London 2012 Olympic Games. ITU Technical Delegates for London, Thanos Nikopoulos, ITU Senior Manager - Technical Operations and Leslie Buchanan, ITU Anti-doping Director, were welcomed by John Lunt, Triathlon Competition Manager and a number of key London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) members. Andrew Taylor, Triathlon Technical Operations Manager and Robert Puestow, Triathlon Field of Play Manager along with Jasmine Flatters, Triathlon Services Manager and Anna Price, Training Venue Manager were all on hand to discuss the final details of the upcoming two day competition in London. Nikopoulos and Buchanan took the opportunity to finalise all sport aspects with Lunt as well as meet with the other functional areas including venue operations, overlay, photo operations and look. As the final site visit before the Games, Nikopoulos and Buchanan were pleased with the high level of cooperation between ITU and LOCOG and are confident of a spectacular and successful triathlon competition this summer. “We are really pleased with the excellent level of preparation by the LOCOG triathlon competition management and operational areas,” said Buchanan. “During this last visit we were able to agree upon the final issues and are very much looking forward to an outstanding triathlon competition in London and welcoming the triathlon family with exceptional facilities and services.” Triathlon at the London 2012 Olympic Games takes place in Hyde Park in central London. Competition begins with a 1.5km swim in the Serpentine before the bike leg leads past several major London landmarks such as Buckingham Palace, Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner and Constitution Hill and back into Hyde Park, where athletes complete the run. The elite women’s race will take place at 9:00am on 4 August, with the elite men competing at 11:30am on 7 August. Click here for the ITU Olympic website

On the eve of the women’s race at the ITU World Triathlon San Diego, four of the sport’s biggest names met with the media at the event’s official pre-race press conference.  Reigning World Champion Helen Jenkins and double Olympic medallist Bevan Docherty were joined by two of America’s brightest stars, Gwen Jorgensen and Jarrod Shoemaker.  After opening addresses from ITU President Marisol Casado and USA Triathlon CEO Rob Urbach, the athletes talked about their goals for this weekend, their paths to San Diego and of course, the Olympic Games. Helen Jenkins (GBR) “It’s really exciting just to know the Olympics are going to be in your own country. At the same time I’m trying not to get too excited this far out from the Games.” “I’m just trying to keep everything simple and it’s more about getting the training in and doing the work because this year is the important year. I’m trying to keep that in perspective and that’s my goal - try to get to London in the best possible shape.” Gwen Jorgensen (USA) “Honestly, I’m so new to the sport that I don’t really have a favourite type of course. I know it’s beautiful, and it will be great for spectators. I think there will be lots of spectators out there. I think it will be exciting, good for the experience of the race; I’m excited about it.” “I am just blessed to have people supporting me. Everyone has been great, my teammates, some from other countries. Everyone has been helpful, teaching me so much.” Bevan Docherty (NZL) “The key word there is maturity. I’m getting older now and I can only peak so many times a year. In an Olympic campaign, there is only one race that counts. It’s still a journey to get to the Olympics but if you play your cards right and are smart about it, you put yourself in the best possible position come August.” “I don’t think I’m a great runner, I just think I’m a great all-around triathlete. In just a straight-out run, I don’t think I’m all that great. London is going to be very fast so in terms of a test event, I suppose this venue will be great.” Jarrod Shoemaker (USA) “The goal for all of us is to race as hard as we can because you never know what happens in one of these races. It’s about putting yourself in a position to succeed. My goal is to go out and have fun, enjoy and race as fast as I can. Catch Jenkins, Jorgensen and the rest of the elite women at 14:00 PST on Friday 11 May live at triathlonlive.tv.  While Docherty, Shoemaker the elite men begins at...

With only 78 days until the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Olympic flame was today lit at Olympia during a ceremony organised by the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC). The lighting symbolically marks the beginning of the Torch Relay that will bring the flame to the Olympic Stadium in London on 27 July. In line with tradition, the flame was lit, following the time-honoured ritual of using the sun’s rays and a parabolic mirror, by a High Priestess - Ino Menegaki - at the Temple of Hera in Ancient Olympia. The priestess then entered the Ancient Olympic Stadium, in a procession choreographed by Artemis Ignatiou, and used the flame to ignite the torch of the first runner of the Relay, Spyros Gianniotis. A British-born Greek open water swimming world champion and three-time Olympian, Gianniotis then transferred the flame to Alex Loukos, one of London 2012’s young ambassadors in Singapore in 2005, who has Greek heritage and lives in the London borough of Newham.  The Olympic flame will now begin an eight-day journey across Greece, travelling to the island of Crete before going to Piraeus, Thessalonica, Xanthi and Larissa among other areas before arriving in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, on 17 May for the official Olympic Flame Handover Ceremony. The Olympic flame will then be flown by plane to RNAS Culdrose in Great Britain on 18 May before the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay – presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung - gets underway at Land’s End on 19 May. The flame will visit more than 1,000 villages, towns and cities in the UK during its journey, covering some 8,000 miles over 70 days, as it is carried by 8,000 inspirational torchbearers. The flame will end its journey at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.  In the presence of the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Mr Spyros Capralos;  the Chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, Sebastian Coe; the Mayor of Ancient Olympia, Efthymios Kotzas; and the Chairman of the HOC’s Olympic Torch Relay Commission, Spyros Zannias, IOC President Jacques Rogge said in his speech: “With this ceremony, we begin the final countdown to a dream that came to life seven years ago in Singapore, when London was selected to host the 2012 Games. The energy that passes from the sun to the...

Some GB triathletes accept their most likely route to London 2012 will be as helpers for the Brownlee brothers or Helen Jenkins.

Jonny Brownlee and Helen Jenkins complete a British double with victory in the San Diego World Triathlon Series.

Will Clarke believes he has done enough to persuade Britain's Olympic selectors he is worthy of a triathlon call-up.

Britain's Helen Jenkins finishes second in the opening round of the World Triathlon Series, behind Australia's Erin Densham.

Alistair Brownlee's physio says an Achilles injury will not jeopardise the triathlete's Olympic hopes.

Great Britain's triathlon world champion Alistair Brownlee hopes to be fit for the Olympics despite a tear to his Achilles.

Four-time world ironman champion Chrissie Wellington tells BBC Radio 5 live she does not regret giving up her ambition to compete in the Olympic triathlon.

How Lucy Hall overcame a stray dog to become British Triathlon's latest success story.

Great Britain's triathlon world champion Alistair Brownlee tears his Achilles just six months before the Olympic Games.

Lance Armstrong marks his return to competitive sport by finishing second in a half ironman event in Panama.

Today's 21st Ironman Lanzarote Canarias had a Spanish winner in the form of the multi-talented Victor Del Corral, winner of last year's Alpe d'Huez Long Course, and an extremely versatile athlete with wins in all formats and distances. He can now add Ironman winner to that extensive CV. Denmark's Michelle Vesterby took her first Ironman win with a gun-to-tape victory, holding off the return of 'mum' Bella Bayliss despite a very tough last 10km on the run. MEN There was a British foursome to the fore during the swim with Dan Halksworth, Stephen Bayliss, Philip Graves and Oliver Simon locked together and reaching the shore in a fraction under 48 minutes. In his return to Ironman racing, two years after a DNF in Lanzarote which lead to a sabbatical from the full distance format, Philip hit the front quickly on the bike and proceeded to set the fastest ride of the day, 4:48:40 and reach T2 with a healthy lead. Del Corral also broke the five hour mark (4:54:31), but having already lost five an a half minutes on the swim, he was close on 12 minutes behind at this stage, reaching T2. Bayliss and Halksworth had both ridden strongly and arrived at T2 in the mix, third and fourth respectively. The big question though, was how would Graves run? Well, Del Corral was certainly running well, and while Graves was much improved on his 2010 performance, the Spanish athlete was closing steadily and passed the Briton around the halfway mark with Graves pulling out of the race shortly after. With Graves out, Bayliss was in to second but his 2:54 marathon couldn't make inroads on the quality 2:50 of Del Corral, while Portugal's Sergio Marques ran through to pass multiple Lanzarote winner Bert Jammaer (BEL) to take third. LADIES Denmark's Michelle Vesterby took her first Ironman title with a gun-to-tape victory, the foundation of which was a swift 51:43 swim, well clear of likely challengers Bayliss and Bij de Vaate. No change on the bike for Vesterby, but it was Spanish athlete Saleta Castro who headed Bij de Vaate into T2 an the start of the marathon, nine and ten minutes respectively behind, with Bella a further four minutes back. Vesterby looked set for the win, but all to play for behind. The tough course plays to the strength of Bella Bayliss, and while catching Vesterby proved beyond her reach, a 3:14:06 marathon (provisionally fastest of the day), did close the gap and bring her into second in her first Ironman event as a mum. Well done Bella. Pos Men Women 1st Victor Del Corral (ESP) 8:44:39 Michelle Vesterby (DEN) 9:58:06 2nd Stephen Bayliss (GBR) 8:53:37 Bella Bayliss (GBR) 10:06:12 3rd Sergio Marques (POR) 9:02:58 Heleen Bij de Vaate (NED) 10:17:34 4th Bert Jammaer (BEL) 9:04:41 Veerle D'Haese (BEL) 10:25:12 5th Patrick Jaberg (SUI) 9:06:25 Nicole Woysch (GER) 10:37:19

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The British Aquathlon Championships are set to take place this weekend, with over 200 competitors all racing to win the coveted British titles at the BRAT Aquathlon on Saturday 19 May 2012. The event is the second of eight British Age-Group Championships in 2012 and will see athletes race in the picturesque setting of the West Midlands Water Ski Centre. Athletes will embark on a fast 750m swim before a 5km run around the perimeter of the water ski lake. The run will be a flat two-lap traffic free run with only a short incline to trouble the competitors. In addition to the British Age-Group Championships, the event also doubles as the British Elite Youth and Junior Aquathlon Championships, the second race of the 2012 British Triathlon Junior Super Series. Recent winner of the European junior triathlon title, Georgia Taylor-Brown will compete aiming to continue the form shown in Eilat and get valuable points on the leaderboard in the British Triathlon Youth and Junior Super Series. Georgia commented: “I am really excited about racing this weekend, I love the British Triathlon Events they are always packed with so many competitors and spectators and it's just so much fun! From the Europeans I gained so much confidence and as for this weekend’s performance I just want to go out and enjoy the race and hopefully come away with a positive result!” Fellow British Triathlon Olympic Talent Squad athletes Sophie Coldwell, Sian Rainsley, Nicole Raymond and Ellie Walton will join Georgia in the elite women’s race. In the men’s race, Miles Burton the current leader of the youth standings will compete aiming to make it two wins in succession having won the British Elite Youth Duathlon Championships in March. He will be joined on the start line by fellow squad member Iestyn Harrett. Duncan Hough, Vice President of the BRAT club organising the event commented ahead of the weekend’s racing: “BRAT Club is pleased to be hosting a British Championship and wants to show triathletes what a triathlon club can deliver. The venue itself has bunds around the lake ensuring a flat and wind free swim, with blue flag water quality. With our on-site clubhouse there is a warm welcome awaiting all the athletes at the finish line.” Ian Braid, British Triathlon Director for Major and National Events, added: “The British Aquathlon Championships will provide a fast and exciting race for both competitors and spectators. To take part in any of our British Age-Group Championships is always a memorable occasion for any athlete, and this weekend age-group athletes will have the unique chance to race alongside some of our most talented young athletes including our recently crowned European junior champion.” The event is organised by BRAT Clubs, with more information available on www.3dtri.co.uk, results will be available on Tri247.

At this years Virgin London Marathon Expo, Annie Emmerson interviewed Sonny from ICAN Triathlon (www.icantriathlon.com) in Spain. The ICAN organisation will be organising a Half Marathon/Marathon (March 2013) and Half & Full iron-distance triathlon (29th September 2012, moving to May from 2013) in the Paguera/Calvia region of the always popular holiday destination of Mallorca. Endurance sporting options seem to be booming in Spain over the last two years, with lots of events being added to the schedule. Check out this interview to find out more.

This is the weekend that normally sees me wandering the island of Lanzarote trying to figure out who will be where and when - and enjoying a bit of sunshine at the same time. But with the better half taking a break from Ironman (she's found something even more bonkers to occupy her swimming, cycling and running time) it's a weekend at Dorney Lake in prospect as the first of the mass open water event weekends hits the venue. By Sunday night over 2,500 athletes will have done either the SuperSprints or the BTF's sprint distance qualifier for Auckland and I'm essentially looking to move home to the clubhouse there for the next six weeks until the Olympic rowers and canoeists close it down for the Games. Ironman Lanzarote, see our preview HERE, isn't the only WTC event on the calendar, there's also the Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas which could see a new British record if Paul Amey's early season plans work out, Ironman 70.3 Florida and Ironman 70.3 Austria - previews for those HERE. Powerman Falkenstein takes place in Germany, no obvious startlist for that at the moment. The ITU World Cross Triathlon Championships are being held this weekend at Pelham, Alabama and although JSSV won't be there a handful of age groupers will be making the journey. Richard Stannard, Llewellyn Holmes, Darelle (Daz) Parker and XTERRA World Champion Lesley Paterson are on the elite startlist, where Conrad 'the caveman' Stolz and Melanie McQuaid are the defending ITU World Champions. We have a national championship event of our own this weekend, the British Aquathlon Championships (preview HERE) are at the West Midlands Waterski Centre on Saturday with the venue also hosting the BRAT Triathlon on Sunday. Fancy something a little longer? Marazion in Cornwall has the KernowMan Middle Distance with a standard distance as well while the Slateman in Llanberis (doubled in size this year) features a 1k swim and 51k bike plus 11k run in the shadow of Snowdon. Conventional standard distance races are on the map at the Mumbles, Bradford on Avon, and the Hercules 1.0 at Welwyn Garden City. Cherry picking from the rest, you can get the full listing form the link at the bottom of this piece, we have the Crystal Palace Triathlon, the second Bedford Sprint (the first was wiped out by the weather a couple of weeks ago), the first of the Hillingdon Triathlon series and the Full Boar events at Market Bosworth Water Trust. Off-road racing can be found at the Keswick Mountain Festival which has two distances on offer for those looking to keep the knobbly tyres rolling and there's a solitary duathlon at Eastbourne. Apart from the national event there are aquathlons and swims at Liquid Leisure, Prestwick, Derwent Water and Box End Park (that one being re-scheduled from a couple of weeks ago) on Saturday. One thing there's a significant quantity of this weekend are events for the younger athletes: they have races at Charnwood, East Grinstead, Fleming Park, Leeds, Newcastle, Pencoed, Gloucester and Southwold (excellent brewery there, by the way as an incentive for the adults to make the trip!). FULL WEEKEND RACE LISTINGS

How would you like to race at the GE Canary Wharf Triathlon on Thursday 28th June? Read on for how you can. Click HERE for more on the 2012 event, and also watch some of the great Tri247 video highlights of the 2011 edition. GE is calling on new and experienced triathletes to apply for places in one of two invitation teams in the corporate challenge at the GE Canary Wharf Triathlon on 28th June. Two relay teams, one male and one female (consisting of three members each) will be recruited through the GE triathlon facebook page. A public vote will decide the final team members from a shortlist chosen by the GE Great Britain Triathlon Team and 2008 Olympic Triathlete and Coach, Marc Jenkins. Those applying can register to compete in one of the three super-sprint triathlon legs, a 400m swim, a 10K cycle or a 2km run and list their personal bests and experience in their application. The GE Canary Wharf Triathlon is an exciting new race in the 2012 British Triathlon Super Series calendar with some of the world's top elite triathletes expected to take on the super-sprint eliminator format. Through a series of heats, 50 elite starters will be ruthlessly whittled down to 20 for the grand final in what promises to be a high-octane spectacle set against the iconic backdrop of Canary Wharf. Those wishing to apply for the chance to represent one of two of the GE Triathlon facebook teams should go to www.facebook.com/GEtriathlon. The strongest applicants for swimming, cycling and running will be shortlisted and voted on by the GE Triathlon facebook page members. GE is looking to recruit the fastest male and female swimmer, cyclist and runner for each leg of the relay, which is expected to be a highly competitive event. The winning teams will be competing in a 'corporate challenge wave' along the same course as the elite athletes prior to the men's and women's elite super-sprint finals that evening.

A dream setting in London's back yard Vachery Triathlon Festival 25-27th August 2012 Venue - Vachery Estate, Horsham Road, Cranleigh, Surrey GU6 8EJ Vachery Pond is an open water swimmers dream. It's a tree lined spring fed 900m long private reservoir and it's the swim venue for the Vachery Triathlon Festival. It's an astonishing fact that this beautiful expanse of open water remains unknown to the public at large when it is only minutes from London and its major motorways and it is located right in the middle of the British Triathlon Federation's South East region with the country's highest levels of triathlon participation in the country. The Festival organisers hope that this remarkable stretch of water and its convenient location will help the 25-27 August Bank Holiday's Vachery Triathlon Festival, a weekend of road and Xtri cross triathlon racing, with camping and fun activities for kids of all ages become an annual must do event for the region's triathletes. Vachery pond is part of the 12th century Vachery Estate near Cranleigh, Surrey. The estate is located in the shadow of the Surrey Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The surrounding country lanes are well known and loved by cyclists of all abilities and without doubt they'll be even more famous if Mark Cavendish can stay with the leaders as they repeatedly climb the ZigZags on nearby Box Hill to win a gold medal at the Olympic road race later this year. The Olympic connection doesn't stop there. As you would imagine with such an ancient unspoilt expanse of water Vachery Pond has not got permanent access, a slipway or steps to deal with the large number of swimmers the event will attract. The organisers chanced upon a handy solution by hiring the actual pontoon that the London Olympic triathletes and Long distance swimmers will dive from into the Serpentine and Olympic history. The moment the London Olympic event ends it will be packed up and transported directly to The Vachery Estate where it will be stored before being floated on the Pond. Fingers crossed if one of the Brownlees bros or Helen Jenkins win gold the opportunity to follow in their footsteps on that pontoon will inspire some great swimming at Vachery Pond. The weekend fun begins at midday on Saturday 25th August when the campsite (immediately next door to the transition area and race village) opens. Athletes for the following day's races are able to register then or up to an hour before their race start. The Saturday afternoon and evening is all about relaxing, enjoying the location and maybe a pre-race drink at the bar with family and friends The road triathlon race programme starts early on Sunday morning 26th August with Sprint and Standard distance events for individuals and a relay for teams. The road triathlon bike courses are on country roads that are relatively flat and feature new smooth tarmac surfaces. Cross triathletes get a very rare pre-race lie in, because the Festival's cross tri action which includes the only round of The Scott Xtri series in the South of England starts in the afternoon after the roadies have finished racing. The swim section is the same as their road counterparts. However the cross bike section is on a 15km lap route designed by eight times XTERRA world championship round winner Sam Gardner. His fast lap course features water's edge single-track and uses tracks and trails to visit every area of woodland on the large estate. Road and off-road triathlons use the same 5 and 10km run courses which are on relatively flat tracks, trails and paths including part of the nearby Downs Link, a disused railway line forming part of the 37 miles (59km) long-distance path linking St Martha's Hill, near Guildford, to near Shoreham on the south coast. More information about the event on the 25-27th August is available at www.vacherytriathlon.com. The Vachery Triathlon Festival 25th - 27th August features the following races on Sunday 26th August 2012 Morning race schedule (road-triathlon) Road individual Sprint distance triathlon - 750m swim; 16km bike and 5km run - £40 BTF member, £44 non member Road individual Standard distance triathlon - 1500m swim; 40km bike and 10km run - £50 BTF member, £54 non member Road team relay Standard distance triathlon - 1500m swim; 40km bike and 10km run - £60 a team Afternoon race schedule (cross-triathlon) Individual cross triathlon sprint distance - 750m swim; 15km bike and 5km run - £40 BTF member, £44 non member Individual Scott Xtri Series standard distance - 1500m swim; 30km bike and 10km run - £50 BTF member, £54 non member Relay Team Xtri standard distance - 1500m swim; 30km bike and 10km run - £70

Physio4Life, Putney have another of their FREE open days taking place this Sunday, 20th May 2012, raising funds for Help for Heroes. Telephone: 0208 704 599 Physio4Life: 125 Upper Richmond Rd, Putney SW15 2TL admin@physio4life.co.uk www.physio4life.co.uk Here are the details which include a number of free talks and workshops.

The weekend sees Richard Stannard racing in the US at the ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships, part of the XTERRA Southeast Championships. Richard is the currently British Cross Triathlon Champion, having won the event last year at the XT Festival, Hawley Lake, Surrey. The 2012 British Cross Triathlon Championships takes place next month, Sunday 10th June, Coniston Grizedale (www.ukmtbtri.co.uk). The event also makes up part of the 2012 Scott X-Tri Series. The event consists of a 1.5km lake swim from Coniston boating centre, 28km MTB in Grizedale Forest and North Face trail and 9km run course which takes in part of the "Old Man of Coniston." £40 BTF members, £45 non-BTF members and you even get (free!) the chance to race alongside our own Jet Set Super Vet Stuart Lumb. What are you waiting for? Entries still available. ENTER ONLINE HERE

Rob Wilby is racing at Ironman France next month as part of Team Livestrong (www.livestrong.org), alongside Lance Armstrong who will be racing his first Ironman this year in Nice. After his introduction last month, here Rob updates us on his (lack of...) training and a very cold, very wet Manchester Marathon. A warm day in the south of France should be easy after that. If you are able to donate a few £'s towards Rob's fundraising campaign (see link below), he would also be very grateful. This Editor for one, is very aware of just how valuable the work in finding solutions to cancer is. So, a quick update from me on my training for Ironman France. It'll be quick because there's not a lot of training to update you on! I entered the Manchester Marathon because I knew that I'd need a kick in the pants to get some long runs done, and that without an event in the near future it wouldn't happen. It did the trick. I lined up with a grand total of three long runs under my belt, totalling about seven hours of running between them, done on the way home from work along an old railway line between Warrington and Manchester. The way things turned out on Marathon race day, I'd have been better off spending the time in the pool. We had torrential rain for 48 hours, screaming Northerly winds and a temperature hovering around 4° degrees. Shivering with hundreds of other poor souls in the park coffee shop 15 minutes before the race was due to start, I decided better of stripping off to my vest and shorts and instead ran the whole way in my thermals, Gore Tex jacket, hat and gloves. Ah, summer in Manchester. I was still cold most of the way round, and got colder as the lack of miles in my legs led to the inevitable slowing down over the last 10k. Still, there were plenty of smiling faces on the supporters who were out in their hundreds, handing out jelly babies along the route. If they gave out Kona slots for consuming roadside sweets, I wouldn't need to even try my luck in the roll down. With a little over five weeks to race day, I think I've got time to bank a couple more long runs and hopefully the weather will break for long enough for me to get in a couple of century rides. I'm hoping that my body remembers that it's done this a few times before! More importantly, it's time to start the fundraising campaign. I've pledged to raise $2000 for Livestrong, and it's time to start badgering everyone I know for a few quid. So, I'm going to start with you. Over 8 million people were diagnosed with cancer last year, and only about 30% of cancers can currently be cured, even if detected early. The money you donate will go to help improve the quality of life of the global cancer community. If you can spare £5, or any amount, please visit my page at http://laf.livestrong.org/site/TR/Endurance/Endurance?px=1029054&pg=personal&fr_id=1321