Buffalo To Host USA Triathlon Elite Nationals

More than 100 top international triathletes will toe the starting line Saturday, Sept. 24 at the fourth stop of the 2011 USA Triathlon Elite Race Series, the Nickel City Triathlon in Buffalo, N.Y.

See the complete press release from USA Triathlon below:

The event also serves as the 2011 USA Triathlon Elite National Championship and an International Triathlon Union Pan American Cup. With national titles on the line, many top U.S. athletes and Olympic hopefuls are scheduled to compete in the Olympic-distance event, which consists of a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run.

The elite women’s race is set for 11 a.m. Eastern, followed by the men at 2 p.m. Eastern.

The Nickel City Triathlon also features Olympic-distance (Sept. 24) and sprint-distance (Sept. 25) events for age-groupers. All events will be held at Gallagher Beach on the shore of Lake Erie. Visit Eclipsemultisport.com for more information or to register for the age-group events.

Among the top American elites currently on the start list are 2012 U.S. Olympic qualifier Gwen Jorgensen (Milwaukee, Wis.) and 2008 Olympian Jarrod Shoemaker (Maynard, Mass.). Shoemaker and Laura Bennett (Boulder, Colo.) are the defending USA Triathlon elite national champions. Visit triathlon.org for current women’s and men’s start lists.

A $75,000 total prize purse, which includes $25,000 for the top five American finishers, will be on the line for the elites with $6,250 going to the top male and female finisher. An additional $3,750 will go to the top U.S. male and female.

Kaitlin Shiver (Satellite Beach, Fla.) currently leads the women’s Elite Race Series with 30 points through three events, while Hunter Kemper (Colorado Springs, Colo.) is one of three men atop the standings with 25 points. The Buffalo event offers double points, with 50 points going to the winners, so this event will go a long way in determining the overall series victors.

The USA Triathlon Elite Race Series is a domestic, five-event series that delivers an opportunity for the nation’s top Olympic-distance triathletes to compete for $275,000 in prize money and a series title – all while honing the draft-legal racing skills necessary to challenge for the podium at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The five events that comprise the series are in Clermont, Fla. (March 5), Monroe, Wash. (June 25), San Francisco, Calif. (July 9), Buffalo, N.Y. (Sept. 24) and Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Oct. 9). Visit Usatriathlon.org for more on the 2011 USA Triathlon Elite Race Series.