Abu Dhabi: The iconic Yas Island will be the new home for the ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi for 2017. The showpiece event in UAE’s sporting calendar is switching base from Corniche with an eye on hosting the 2021 ITU Triathlon Grand Finals.
The capital is set to place the bid for the prestigious event and Yas Island fulfils all the needed criteria to host the mega event. This was announced by Khalid Al Qubaisi, Abu Dhabi Sports Council’s spokesperson after revealing the new course around the Yas Marina Circuit.
“Corniche was a great spot but Yas will bring something different. It will increase the capacity by 60 per cent. From 2,200 participants to 3,500 for this year and our aim is to reach 6,000 athletes in three years’ time,” said Al Qubaisi adding that, the island is ‘self-contained’ and the spectacular views, hotels and other amenities makes it logistically ideal.
The event which will be held on March 3-4 will also feature around 120 of world’s elite triathletes and brand ambassador athlete Omar Nour was the view that the new venue will be ideal.
“It will be a fantastic switch because the route is going to vine in and out of the iconic landmarks of Yas Island. It is very rare that the professional or amateur riders get a chance to ride their bikes on a Formula one track and so it is exciting,” said Nour, adding that, strong bikers will have good advantage during this year’s showdown.
The focus for the 2017 season was to ‘maximise’ the participants’ experience, felt Chris Haber, Managing Director of World Sport Arabia and race organisers.
“After first two years of staging the Triathlon, one of the things we wanted to focus was on participant’s experience. We knew that from the elite prospective they all wanted to come down here and it looked wonderful on TV.
“So we wanted to improve their experience and Yas Island does that. Operationally, we have bigger areas after transition. We have got smoother spectator and participant experience and it has eliminated a lot of congestion and bottle-necks. There will be more space to activate other events around the main race, like exhibitions,” said Haber adding that the five year plan to host the event at Yas would help in a big way in fulfilling Abu Dhabi’s aspiration of hosting the Grand Finals in 2021.
“Grand Final comes at the end of the World Triathlon series calendar and it is the World Championship race for the elite. It acts as a final for all the amateurs as well to qualify and come and take part in the Grand Finals. So 5,000 amateur participants qualified from all categories will be there and it will be five-day event.
“Around 10 to 12 thousand participants and will have a huge economic impact as well. Hence, Yas Island fits in to handle all those challenges and is crucial for the bid which will happen over the course of six months,” revealed Haber.
