Professionals Amy Van Tassel and Jordan Bryden highlight the field for this year’s Ultra520K Canada Aug. 5 to 7.
Bryden, a Calgary native, is on Team Canada for the Long Course event in the International Triathlon Union Multisport World Championships Festival in Penticton, Aug. 18 to 27, while Van Tassel is among two Americans.
The field consists of seven Canadians, two Mexicans, a Spaniard and two from Japan.
“It’s going to be obviously small, but it’s going to be pretty intimate, that’s the thing that you get with these smaller groups,” said race director Steve Brown. “The intimacy level is way better. Everybody gets to know another.”
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Brown’s only concern has to do with the smoke blowing in from the forest fires. However, he hasn’t heard any complaints from the athletes being bothered by it.
Mexico’s Van Sanchez, 22, will attempt to complete the event after doing Subaru Ironman Canada last weekend. Sanchez placed 590th overall finishing in 13 hours, 31 minutes, 51 seconds, ranking eighth in the 18 to 24 division.
Over the three days the athletes, with the help of crew, look to finish a 10-kilometre swim, 425.6-km bike and 84.4-km run. The swim begins in Skaha Lake. The bike segment is broken into two stages. Stage one follows the swim and consists of a 149.8-km (93-mile) bike ride, beginning in Okanagan Falls over the Richter Pass returning to Okanagan Falls. The elevation climb is 1,240 metres. Stage two consists of a challenging 275.8-km (171.4-mile) bike ride, beginning in Penticton and ending in Princeton. The elevation climb is 1,760 meters. The run goes from Princeton to Summerland, wrapping up in Memorial Park.