ITU World Championship Triathlon event to once again centre on Leeds’ Roundhay Park

Making a splash: Leeds' Roundhay Park will be staging the ITU World Championship series event again this summer.

The event, which hosts amateur and professional races, has been coming to Leeds since 2016 with a route starting in Roundhay Park and encompassing much of Leeds and its city centre before finishing in Millennium Square.

Due to the pandemic and the restrictions around spectators at events, the 2021 race was contested entirely in Roundhay Park.

And organisers have decided to stick to that format for the June 11-12 event.

Waterloo Lake hosts the swimming legs of the races, while the bike and run courses will utilise the roads and paths around the park and see participants make their way past iconic locations such as Mansion House, Barrans Fountain and Upper Lake.

The bike route for the standard distance open races will see participants take to the roads outside Roundhay Park, whilst the shorter sprint and GO TRI races will see participants remain on roads immediately in and around the park.

The finish for all the races from GO TRI to World Triathlon Championship Series will be back near the lake, with the single finish line offering all participants the same experience throughout the weekend.

British triathlon chief executive Andy Salmon said: “Roundhay Park is a great setting to be able to host swim, bike, run. The routes provide the chance to see a lot of what the park has to offer and, having it all within the same site, makes for a great atmosphere for both the participation and elite racing.

“Providing the same finish is fantastic because it helps to connect all levels of triathlon in the same weekend. We’ll have individuals completing their first ever event and elite teams battling it out in the exciting mixed relay all crossing the same line.”