Challenge Family Adds New Australia Triathlon

The Challenge Family officially announced yet another addition to its 2011 race lineup with the Challenge Cairns Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The Challenge Family has become well known for offering athletes an opportunity outside of Ironman to compete in long-distance races. The group is also known for providing a first-class experience to both professionals and age groupers. The new Australia race will take place June 5, 2011.

See the press release below:

Set in one of the world’s most iconic tropical locations, Challenge Cairns Great Barrier Reef will take place on June 5, 2011. It will feature a course memorable for the 3.8km swim in the warm crystal clear waters off Yorkeys Knob, the 180km bike leg that travels up arguably the most scenic coastal roads in Australia towards Port Douglas and a 42.2km run that includes the Cairns boardwalk before finishing in the heart of the city of Cairns.

“This is a hugely exciting development for the Challenge Family and we’re delighted to bring a new style and quality of racing to athletes, both age group and pro, in Australia,” said Felix Walchshöfer, Challenge Family CEO. “So many Australians have already enjoyed the Challenge experience around the world, including many of the sport’s biggest names and now they can do so on their home turf. We have been working for almost two years towards launching Challenge in Australia and as they say, all the best things are worth waiting for. We have secured the most amazing course that includes what must be the greatest bike leg in the world. And, thanks to the hard work of John O’Sullivan and his team from Queensland Events for the Queensland Government, together with Tourism Queensland and Cairns City Council, we are delighted to announce we will work exclusively with Queensland, Australia’s – Home of Triathlon.”

Challenge Cairns Great Barrier Reef promises to attract some of the biggest names in long distance triathlon with its 100,000 Euro prize purse, the second richest in iron distance racing. The Challenge Family will work with renowned event organisers, USM Events, and managing director, Geoff Meyer, said the prize purse reflected the Challenge Family commitment to athletes.

“We delighted to offer such a significant prize purse to the athletes that also extends to the relay teams sector of the event,” he said. “This, together with the outstanding location and commitment of our key stakeholders, will result in one of the world’s iconic races that will not only benefit the Cairns community but position Queensland as a major player in the global triathlon market. Working with Challenge is a wonderful opportunity and we look forward to bringing the Challenge experience to Australia.”

The Challenge Family global series of events currently features the following events in 2011:
January 15 – Challenge Wanaka, New Zealand
May 1 – Half Challenge Fuertaventura, Spain
May 29 – Half Challenge Barcelona Maresme, Spain
June 5 – Challenge Cairns Great Barrier Reef, Australia
June 5– Half Challenge Kraichgau, Germany
July 10 – Challenge Roth, Germany
August 14 – Challenge Copenhagen, Denmark
September 4 – Half Challenge Walchsee-Kaiserwinkel, Austria
September 18 – Challenge Henley-on-Thames, UK
October 2 – Challenge Barcelona Maresme

More races to be announced shortly.

Entries will open in November 2010 – for further information, visit Challenge-cairns.com or Challenge-family.com.