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The 10th edition of Challenge Roth will take place this weekend with a stellar field of the world's best triathletes primed to take aim at victory.

ROTH, Germany (7 July 2011) — An impressive group of the world’s best triathletes is assembling in the triathlon-mad German hamlet of Roth for the 10th running of Challenge Roth, the world’s largest long-course triathlon.

The race has drawn a record field of 5,250 athletes (3,300 individual starters and 640 teams) from 61 nations for race day on Sunday, 10 July.

The women’s field is headed by two-time winner Chrissie Wellington of Great Britain, who last year set a world’s best time when she broke the tape in an incredible seventh place overall in a time of 8:19:13.

The always-smiling Wellington, a three-time Ironman world champion, said at Thursday’s media conference that her goals remain very straightforward: “I feel strong and I feel fit, and I love racing this course. My aim is to win the race and win the race with a smile, and hopefully I can win with a fast time. So much affects the time that we do, the weather and the conditions particularly, so my aim is to win and go as fast as possible. I feel in a good shape to do a very fast time.”

Wellington will face a tough women’s field that includes Australia’s Rebekah Keat, the newly crowned Challenge Cairns champion who second here last year; Aussie Belinda Granger, now in her eighth year of Roth competition; and new German star Julia Wagner. Also vying for the title are Scotland’s Catriona Morrison and American Heather Gollnick, both veterans of previous Challenge Roth races

The race will start at 6:30am, with 14 waves of swimmers heading off in five-minute intervals down the Europakanal to start their journey of a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and 42km marathon run.

The men’s race, meantime, is shaping up as a duel between young gun Sebastian Kienle, who came second here last year in his long-course debut, and fellow German Andreas Raelert, winner of Ironman Frankfurt last year and a close second at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii behind a resurgent Chris McCormack.

The pair have already faced off this season in the half-distance Challenge Kraichgau, with Raelert taking the win and Kienle second more than a minute in arrears. “It’s been a race that’s been on my mind for my entire career,” Raelert said of the opportunity to race in Roth. And while he said he’s had a “a perfect start to the season,” he likewise would not speculate whether breaking the world record, or the race record of 7:50:27 set by Luc van Lierde here in 1997, would be possible. “Oh my God, it honours me to be mentioned in connection with the world record time.” He said achieving such a mark would be dependent on a host of factors, including the conditions, the competitive spirit to push each other in the athletes and of course everyone’s form on the day.

Kienle, meanwhile, who set a bike course record here last year, said that while a record would be nice, his primary goal would be to have the best time on the day, whatever that time turns out to be. “I would like to be as far ahead as possible. The world record time…it’s not the most important thing for me. I would like to see other ways of measuring performance other than time. If I’m able to beat Andy this Sunday, then I don’t give a damn whatsoever about the time.”

For more, and for live coverage all day Sunday, visit www.challenge-roth.com.

Virtual spectators around the world can watch all the action online over three channels on Challenge TV. The first will capture all the drama as it unfolds with live coverage on the leaders from the start line to the finish line. The second channel will feature TV quality live cameras on key points around the course such as the famous Solarer Berg and the finish chute. The third channel will feature a live ticker service in German and English plus webcams around the course.

Friends and family can track their athlete’s progress around the course on Google Maps, with the athlete’s icon moving based on the average speed between timing mats ensuring they can capture their finish live online.

General entry for next year’s Challenge Roth will re-open on July 18 at 10.00am CET with a sell-out expected within minutes.

The Challenge Family features 13 races across three continents, including Challenge Roth, Challenge Wanaka (New Zealand), Challenge Fuerteventura and Challenge Barcelona (Spain), Challenge Kraichgau (Germany), Challenge Cairns (Australia), Challenge Copenhagen and Challenge Aarhus (Denmark), Challenge Vichy (France), Challenge Walchsee (Austria), Challenge Henley-on-Thames (UK) and Challenge Cape Town (South Africa).

For more, and for live coverage all day Sunday, visit www.challenge-roth.com.

Virtual spectators around the world can watch all the action online over three channels on Challenge TV. The first will capture all the drama as it unfolds with live coverage on the leaders from the start line to the finish line. The second channel will feature TV quality live cameras on key points around the course such as the famous Solarer Berg and the finish chute. The third channel will feature a live ticker service in German and English plus webcams around the course.

Friends and family can track their athlete’s progress on the course with Google Maps. All coverage can be accessed through www.challenge-roth.com.

General entry for next year’s Challenge Roth will open on 18 July at 10am CET with a sell-out expected within minutes.

The Challenge Family features 13 races across three continents, including Challenge Roth, Challenge Wanaka (New Zealand), Challenge Fuerteventura and Challenge Barcelona (Spain), Challenge Kraichgau (Germany), Challenge Cairns (Australia), Challenge Copenhagen and Challenge Aarhus (Denmark), Challenge Vichy (France), Challenge Walchsee (Austria), Challenge Henley-on-Thames (UK) and Challenge Cape Town (South Africa).

Words: Amy White/Challenge Family

Image: Challenge Family