Another day, another Middle East triathlon announcement.
Challenge has announced the date for its Bahrain race, to be held at night on the 20th of November upcoming. It's billing the race as the "world's first half distance night triathlon" and, no, an evening race in the Middle East is not your average triathlon.
Challenge also announced that this Bahrain race will serve as the grand final of the Nasser Bin Hamad Triple Crown. The first leg took place in Dubai, and it was won by Daniele Ryf and Terenzo Bozzone. The second leg was to have taken place at Challenge Oman, a race that was called off three weeks ago, "in the best interests of both the athletes and the local community," according to Challenge's CEO, Zibi Szlufcik.
The second leg of the Triple Crown has not yet been announced, and speculation has fallen on the 70.3 Worlds in Zell am See-Kaprun, Austria, as a stand-in. This would not be a pleasant turn of events—so to speak—for Challenge, which envisioned the Triple Crown as an all-Challenge affair. But His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa has pledged $1 million to him or her who can take all three Triple Crown races, and the prince will want to make sure his money is earned. That would require a stacked field at all three Triple Crown events, and Austria is sitting out there as one race strategically situated on the calendar guaranteeing a stacked field.
Mikel Calahorra is the new general manager of the event collaboration between Bahrain and Challenge. He is a Spaniard by birth, top age group triathlete, resident of Bahrain and the coach of His Highness.
Today's announcement comes one day after Ironman 70.3 events were announced in Bahrain (December 5 of this year) and Dubai (sometime in 2016).
Certainly Bahrain is the place to be if you're a triathlete and if you want to race a half-distance in Autumn. November 20 falls on a Friday, and on that day the average high and low for Bahrain is 79° and 71° Fahrenheit respectively. The race, under the nighttime sky, lit by the lights of the city, in a warm and dry mid-70s temp, will be stunning.
Situating a race under the stars and lights is a creative stoke yielding a potentially breathtaking experience.
Add to that the competition between Challenge and Ironman, each looking to put its best foot forward, it would be hard to imagine either event not being produced with ardent attention to excellence.
Challenge Bahrain will open for online registration Thursday upcoming, June 11, with "an early bird special of US$280 for individual athletes."
The Middle East is one of the fastest growing markets in triathlon, rivaling the surging numbers of races and contestants in Southeast Asia/Oceania and Latin America. In all three of these regions it's not simply expats and enduro-tourists fueling the numbers, but indigenous registrants.
The Middle East is a fast-changing, fluid race landscape and the feeling is that a number of other countries will want in on the action. We, here at Slowtwitch, will eat our hats if another major race, in yet another Middle Eastern Emirate or Kingdom, is not announced in the Middle East during the month of June.
