Super League 101: Everything to Know About This Weekend’s Malta Race
Super League is bringing thrilling, spectator-friendly racing to triathlon. Here's what you need to know about the second race of the 2018 series.
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After its opening 2018 event in Jersey one month ago, Super League Triathlon (SLT) is back and this time it’s landing on the historic Mediterranean island of Malta. USA’s Katie Zaferes and France’s Vincent Luis both go into Super League Malta at the top of the SLT leaderboards after superior performances in Jersey.
As with all SLT events, the pro athletes will be taking on two of five challenging SLT formats. This weekend will showcase the two-staged Equalizer on Friday and Sunday, and the Eliminator on Saturday.
About the Formats
The Equalizer is a two-stage challenge of persistence and raw power. Stage 1 is an Individual Time Trial (a swim leg in Malta) that will determine the starting time gaps for the second stage. Stage 2 is a rapid swim-bike-run-swim-bike-run fight for the top spot. The Equalizer levels the playing field and showcases racing in its purest form.
- Stage 1 – Swim Individual Time Trial (SITT)
- Stage 2 – Swim-bike-run-swim-bike-run
The Eliminator tests the resilience, stamina, and speed of the athletes in a pressure-cooker format where field position proves key over timing. The athletes must finish high enough to not be eliminated, while managing their effort against fatigue. The athletes need to showcase their tenacity to endure three stages of the traditional swim-bike-run.
- Stage 1 – 300m swim – 5km bike – 2km run (10-minute break)
- Stage 2 – (Top 15 finishers from Stage 1) 300m swim – 5km bike – 2km run (10-minute break)
- Stage 3 – (Top 10 finishers from Stage 2) 300m swim – 5km bike – 2km run
How to Watch
Visit Superleaguetriathlon.com to watch all the live action at each Championship Series event, or catch the races and highlights at Facebook.com/superleaguetri. The women compete in the Eliminator on Saturday at 4:15 a.m. PDT/7:15 a.m. EDT, with the men following at 6:30 a.m. PDT/9:30 a.m. EDT. The final stage of the Equalizer will take place on Sunday (from 4:30 a.m. PDT/7:30 a.m. EDT).
The Lineups
Women
Charlotte McShane (AUS) #24
Claire Michel (BEL) #13
Danielle De Francesco (AUS) #94
Desirae Ridenour (CAN) #17
Elena Danilova (RUS) #97
Emma Jeffcoat (AUS) #22
Erin Storie (USA) #78
Joanna Brown (CAN) #11
Jodie Stimpson (GBR) #08
Katie Zaferes (USA) #16
Kirsten Kasper (USA) #91
Klaudia Sebők (HUN) #23
Megan Foley (USA) #75
Rachel Klamer (NED) #07
Sarah Alexander (USA) #76
Summer Cook (USA) #99
Taylor Spivey (USA) #29
Yuko Takahashi (JAP) #27
Men
Andreas Schilling (DEN) #00
Ben Kanute (USA) #75
Hayden Wilde (NZL) #53
Henri Schoeman (RSA) #04
Igor Polyanskiy (RUS) #11
Jack Felix (USA) #78
Jayden Schofield (AUS) #95
João Pereira (POR) #99
Jonas Schomburg (GER) #09
Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) #05
Léo Bergere (FRA) #52
Luke Schofield (AUS) #77
Matthew Sharpe (CAN) #91
Oliver Turner (JER) #76
Richard Murray (RSA) #07
Tyler Mislawchuk (CAN) #65
Vincent Luis (FRA) #29
The Next Event
After Malta, the athletes head to Spain next weekend for Super League Mallorca.