Come già successo l’anno passato con l’acquisizione delle gare Challenge in Danimarca, la WTC ha acquisito la società organizzatrice dell’Half Challenge e del Challenge Barcelona.

Tritlon Spain SL è stata acquisita da Ironman e le sue gare dunque cambiano la loro “denominazione”: in calendario il 18 maggio c’è ora infatti l’Ironman 70.3 Barcelona, mentre il 5 ottobre si disputerà l’Ironman Barcelona.

Salgono così a sette le gare del circuito Ironman e Ironman 70.3 che si disputano in Spagna.

Di seguito, il comunicato stampa ufficiale.

IRONMAN^® ANNOUNCES TWO NEW RACES IN BARCELONA, SPAIN 

IRONMAN Acquires Tritlon Spain SL – Challenge Barcelona and Half Challenge Barcelona

To become IRONMAN^® Barcelona and IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Barcelona

TAMPA, Fla. (April 15, 2014) – IRONMAN announced today the acquisition of Tritlon Spain SL, owners and organizers of Challenge Barcelona and Half Challenge Barcelona. These races will now be operated as IRONMAN^® Barcelona and IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Barcelona and will be held on October 5, 2014 and May 18, 2014 respectively. In addition, a future long-distance triathlon will take place in Peguera, Mallorca. IRONMAN will now have seven races in Spain, including IRONMAN^® Lanzarote, IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Lanzarote, IRONMAN^®Mallorca and the Thomas Cook IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Mallorca.

“We are thrilled to continue expanding our global event calendar with the acquisition of Tritlon Spain,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of IRONMAN. “Tritlon has laid the foundation for what we believe will be amazing IRONMAN races that have a strong spirit and community support. IRONMAN will build on this to deliver an unparalleled athlete experience.”

“We approached IRONMAN because we were looking for a way to grow our races while assuring the highest quality standards for our athletes, partners and host cities. We are excited about working with the global IRONMAN team and, so far, it’s been nothing but a pleasure as they bring a high level of professionalism to the table,” said Francesc Camarasa, Managing Director of Tritlon.

With this announcement Calella will bolster its reputation as one of Europe’s up-and-coming triathlon hotspots. This tourism and sport destination is located at the “Costa del Maresme”, just 50 kilometers from the city of Barcelona.

“These races have become key dates in our annual event calendar with positive economic and social impact on our community. With IRONMAN, the sport of triathlon will fully arrive in our region and we welcome the athletes, partners and global team with open arms and hearts”, adds Montserrat Candini, Mayor of Calella.

IRONMAN Barcelona will have a 50,000 € professional prize purse and will be a P-2000 race. Additionally, the race will offer 50 age group slots to the 2015 IRONMAN World Championship taking place on Oct. 10, 2015 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

IRONMAN 70.3 Barcelona will have a 25,000 € professional prize purse and will be a P-750 race. Additionally, the race will offer 30 age group slots to the 2014 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship taking place on September 7, 2014 Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada.

For more information on IRONMAN Barcelona visit www.ironman.com/barcelona and for IRONMAN 70.3 Barcelona visitwww.ironman.com/barcelona70.3. Registration will open tomorrow, April 16, 2014 at 12:00 pm ET.

For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, visit www.ironman.com.

About IRONMAN
The iconic IRONMAN^® Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN^®brand in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^® by crossing finish lines at the world’s most challenging endurance races. Recognized for excellence through distinguished events, world-class athletes and quality products, IRONMAN has grown from a single race to a global sensation with more than 190 events across five unique brands: IRONMAN^®, IRONMAN 70.3^®, 5150™ Triathlon Series, Iron Girl^® and IRONKIDS^®. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.