Public officials and representatives from the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau, Eclipse Multi-Sport, and Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper gathered yesterday at Dug’s Dive to officially announce that the city of Buffalo will be hosting the Nickel City Triathlon for the next three consecutive years.
The Nickel City Triathlon will be one of six races held across the country as part of the USA Triathlon Elite Race Series. It will be taking place on September 24 and 25, 2011 at Gallagher Beach and will run throughout areas of South Buffalo. This race will attract over 1,600 athletes from all over the United States, Mexico, Canada and Europe to compete in swimming, bicycling and running, and for a select few, secure a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in 2012. They will also be competing to take home a purse of $75,000, the largest out of all six races in the series.
Not only will the event bring some of the world’s top athletes to the city of Buffalo, but it will also give the local economy a boost. The Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission estimated that this competition will bring in $500,000. The triathlon will also be an occasion to showcase Buffalo’s potential as a venue for these types of athletic competitions.
“The transformation of Fuhrmann Boulevard into the Outer Harbor Parkway and this region’s proximity to Canada gave Western New York a competitive edge in securing this USA Triathlon event,” said Congressman Brian Higgins. “Over the next three years, thousands of athletes from around the world will take to Gallagher Beach, Buffalo’s waterfront, parks, and neighborhoods, placing this great community in the national spotlight and creating new economic opportunities for Western New York. I commend Dan Horan for taking the initiative to pursue this opportunity and the Convention and Visitors Bureau for helping to organize the event.”
“There was a great deal of work involved in bringing a USA Triathlon Elite Race Series event to Buffalo,” said Eclipse Multi-Sport Director Dan Horan. “I am honored and excited to be associated with a world-class event in my hometown.”
The 2011 Nickel City Triathlon will be split into a two-day event. Day one will be comprised of three races: the Olympic age-group race, the Female Elite National Championship and the Male Elite National Championship. The Olympic race will consist of a 1.5-kilometer swim, a 40-kilometer bike and a 10-kilometer run. Day two will consist of the Sprint distance age-group race, the Female Elite Development and the Male Elite Development races. The Sprint race will be a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run. The Development races will be a 750-meter swim, a 20-kilometer bike and a 10-kilometer run. The race course will be designed in a multi-loop format that will allow spectators to take in the full experience.
“The USA Triathlon Elite Race Series offers elite triathletes the opportunity to compete in the type of high-level, draft-legal events that are rarely contested in the United States,” USA Triathlon National Events Director Jeff Dyrek said. “Fans in Buffalo will have the chance to watch America’s Olympic hopefuls in action and witness firsthand the excitement of draft-legal racing.”
The Nickel City Triathlon is being hosted by USA Triathlon, Eclipse Multi-Sport and the Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission. The age group Olympic race and the Sprint race will be open to anyone who would like to compete, regardless of experience. No qualification process will be required for those races. For more information about the event or to register for the race, visit the Nickel City Triathlon website.