Walchsee ETU Middle Distance & Aquabike 2020
We are planning a Team Challenge Tri Camp mass assault on both the Middle Distance or Aquabike events at the 2020 ETU European Championships in Walchsee Austria on 25th to 28th June.
For team members that are not looking to try and gain Team GB selection, there is open races for both events, this will allow you to race with the team and enjoy the full events with all team members.
Some team members will have already submitted a result and some may already have a pre qualification for either the Middle or Aqua event teams, so we have a team forming already for these events. Its such a great location, it’s a bucket list race.
The Challenge Tri Camp Team know the area well and have raced and run training camps in Walchsee in the past few years, it is like racing in the sound of music.
Helen says you can drink the lake water its so clean! We have added a few pics to give you an idea of the location and also a race course video, worth a little look. I should however say that its not cheap to stay in Austria but it would be well worth a trip, and great for us to race as a team.
As some of you may know, Brent is the British Triathlon Team Manager for both the Middle and Aquabike teams, and as he does for all athletes, he is very happy to help or advise on possible TeamGB qualification and the process.
For the Aquabike team the rules and the qualification are different to that for Middle Distance as its an emerging event, however over the past 3 years it has grown 3 fold year on year.
In the fullness of time Aquabike will be as popular as Triathlon at GB level, due to the fact that it offers the opportunity to race even if you have a run injury, or want to fit in an extra race without the weight bearing exercise element, allowing for a much quicker recovery period.
The Middle Distance is a standard 1.9k swim, Austria will be a wetsuit swim as the lake stays at approx 21/22 degrees all year round due to its location, and its spring fed rather than mountain run off.
The Bike is a 90k cracker, it has everything, it starts at approx 700m above sea level so is at a slight altitude so the climbs can be interesting, and the run is around the lake so pretty flat but very, very scenic. The Aquabike is just the same but no run obvs. See video at the bottom of the page.
For Aquabike, we have cut and pasted the team-selection criteria below, and also added a link to the BTF event page, but please just mail or message if you are unsure or need any help.
Copied from the BTF event page
There are no specific qualifying races for the ETU Aquabike European Championships. Applicants need to supply evidence of their best Aqua Bike, Middle or Long Distance Triathlon performance at an event achieved between July 2018 and the final registration deadline of Friday 21st February 2020
To be eligible for a qualifying place all athletes will be required to have completed their nominated race within 120% of the winner of their age group.
“Qualification Aquabike events need to have the minimum distances of 1500m swim and 50-mile bike to be eligible for qualification.
You can also submit a DNF or full result from a Long /Middle Distance Triathlon result in which chip timing shows evidence of your swim and bike times.
If you have neither competed in an aqua-bike, middle distance or long distance triathlon, you can submit results from two separate events. For example a 50 + mile TT/Sportive on the bike, and a swimming/triathlon result including a 1500m (minimum) swim time. When submitting your performance, you should enter just one of these results. You will then need to include the second within the supporting information section”.
For Middle Distance qualification and possible team selection, you must provide a result that is from a Middle Distance race and meets all the BTF criteria please see the link below, if you are unsure just ask as I helped shape the selection criteria.
Middle Distance Qualification Link
It would be great to get as many Team athletes as we can to race in Walschee all together supporting each other. Once we know who is interested and how many will be able to qualify, or want to race the open races (a great option), we will put together a plan and also add you to our closed Challenge Tri Camp Team FB page.
If you are interested in the Aqua Bike and don’t have a 1500m swim time but have completed a 50 mile Sportive, still lots of events open, so get booking ready for possible Aquabike team selection. The closing date for team registration and possible selection is 15th November 2019.
Its also worth saying that if you are selected to race for Team GB you do not receive any financial help or assistance, however its a great privilege in my view to pull on the the GB tri suit. Athletes have to pay £10 to register for possible qualification, and if selected a further £20 selection fee, plus the cost of the race entry itself.
This is a really popular event and the hotels will get booked up very quickly, we advise that you should choose a hotel or B&B / Homestay in Walchsee itself and we can help you with this.
This is the link to the race website Challenge Walchsee
Email Helen at helen@challengetricamp.co.uk or talk directly to Brent or Nick to find out more about this event.
Want to learn more about triathlon or done more events than you can remember and looking for support and a team to be apart of, then why not join our race team, its open to all, no matter where you are on your triathlon journey and offers a full range of benefits. Join our race team.
