The professional race for Valley First Challenge Penticton (VFCP) is switching from the full distance to half in an effort to attract more top-level competitors.
The full distance triathlon consists of a 3.8 kilometre swim, 180-km bike and 42-km run, while the half distance is 1.9-km/90-km/21-km.
“There are more long distance races on the professional circuit now, making it increasingly harder to attract top professionals to race here” said Kevin Cutjar Challenge Penticton co-race director in a press release. “We used to see some of the best athletes in the sport go head-to-head in Penticton. This has changed over the past five to 10 years and in the last two years, both men and women champions have posted world class performances, winning by 15 to 20 minutes, yet these efforts go largely unnoticed due to lack of competition.”
Challenge Penticton office has received inquiries from several top Canadian, U.S. and other international professionals, looking to compete at the half distance race, which falls six weeks before the Hawaii Ironman.