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ABU DHABI TRIATHLON 2011 by Julia Hodkinson

The only complaint I have about the Abu Dhabi triathlon is that they call a 1.5k swim, 100k bike and 10k run, the “Short Course”. The “Long Course” is twice that distance and in 36 degree afternoon heat it’s a serious challenge – one that I’ll keep for another year.

What a dream of a course it is, though: the swim in the Gulf of Arabia, the bike along to coast to Ras Island and round the F1 race track, and the run around the famous Corniche district of the city. The Long Course competitors get to do it all twice and those in the Sprint event, which is half of the Short Course, miss out on the F1 track.

This was the second Abu Dhabi tri, and with a field of 1500 from 51 countries across the 3 races it was almost double the size of last year. The Elite race boasted the strongest field assembled outside the Hawaii World Championships with 61 elite athletes - who together hold 24 World Championships, 50 Ironman titles and over 100 national titles - taking part. And unusually the Elites went off just 20 minutes before the age groupers, meaning that we were all very much integrated once the race got going.

My swim was a single lap out round some buoys and back. The beach and transition were in the grounds of the Emirates Palace Hotel which must be one of the grandest hotels in the world. It cost $3bn to build (yes, 3 billion US dollars) and is 1km long from wing to wing. No, Phil and I weren’t staying there! The bike leg was pancake-flat with perfectly smooth roads completely closed to traffic. The Ras Island F1 course was truly amazing and worth the 100km ride just to get to cycle round this huge, brash, futuristic temple to the motor car which, I’m told, is only used for a couple of races a year.

 By the time I got off the bike the temperature was rising and I was glad to be running 10km and not 20. The run was flat and picturesque with so many drinks and sponge stations that despite the heat it was easy to keep cooling off. As I finished my run the pros were getting back from their 200km bike and setting off to run, looking as if they’d done nothing all morning and were off to do 5km!

The men’s race was won by Belgian Frederik Van Lierde, in a time of 6h:43:14 - a winning margin of just 18 seconds over compatriot Marino Vanhoenacker, who came second. Brit Julie Dibens won the elite female race for a second year in a row in a time of 7h:14:23, having led from start to finish.

Conditions on the day were definitely more severe than last year, with stronger winds on the bike and higher temperatures on the run. I’m told that last year was more “normal” and we just had a tough day.

I’d definitely recommend the race to anyone thinking of doing something a bit different overseas next year. There are daily flights and loads of hotels offering good deals. We stayed at the event hotel which was offering a significant discount for competitors, registration was there, they had secure and supervised parking for bikes and we got to mingle with all the pros! The organisation was astonishingly good and for an entry fee of around £60 we got a pasta party, great feed stations en-route, food at the end of the race, post-race evening party, goody bag and a fantastic race. I think I’ll be back for more….maybe even the Long Course!