European finalists for 70.3 Worlds
In the next step to complete a planned internationalization of the sites for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, the World Triathlon Corporation announced that the 2015 event will be held in Europe. Four cities have been selected as finalists – Haugesund (Norway), Region Moselle (Luxembourg), Nice (France), and Zell am See-Kaprun (Austria) and that should satisfy the passionate European athletes who had complained that having the race only in North America is a difficult logistical and financial pill to swallow.
All of these sites listed as finalist currently host either Ironman or Ironman 70.3 races and all of them have bike legs with tough hills which will provide a challenging test to follow in the example of the 2011 through 2013 world championship site in Las Vegas and the 2014 site in Mt. Tremblant, Canada. The Ironman 70.3 World Championship became instantly popular when it was introduced in Clearwater Florida in 2006 but was criticized for its flat topography which eliminated the advantage of the stronger cyclists.
After 2015, the WTC will move ahead with previously announced plans to rotate the site of the 70.3 Worlds annually, spreading the Ironman brand to parts of the world with fast-growing numbers of amateur triathlon enthusiasts and world class professionals. By rotating the Ironman 70.3 World Championship sites eventually to all continents with significant triathlon participation, the WTC will deflect pressure to change the Ironman World Championship’s traditional Kona, Hawaii venue to a similar rotation.
"We are excited to bring the Ironman 70.3 World Championship to Europe in 2015," said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of WTC. "Already tremendous hosts to IRONMAN races, these four finalist cities provide scenic and challenging courses suited for a World Championship event."
With plenty of time before the September 2015 date, the WTC did not set a date to choose the winner among these four finalists.
