Athletes, from those new to the sport of triathlon to seasoned professionals, will be hitting the Peach Classic Triathlon course this Sunday in the longest running continuous triathlon in the province.
“The event offers something for every athlete from beginners to experienced athletes looking for a good challenge and good competition,” said Steve Brown, race director of the Peach Classic which is in its 36th year.
For some, it could mean a chance to represent Canada. The Peach Classic Triathlon is also a national qualifier in the aqua/bike world championship which will be held in Spain in 2019. The qualifier features a 1.5-kilometre swim and a 40 km bike.
The Peach Classic, July15, also includes a sprint race (750 metre swim/20 km bike and five km run) and a standard distance course (1.5 km swim, 40 km bike and 10 km run). Organizers expect the registration to cap out at about 350 athletes in total.
Residents are asked to be aware of the course and possible disruptions to normal traffic from 6 a.m. to noon. Downtown traffic will be most affected with the closure of the 100 block Main Street, except for controlled access to the Lakeside Resort and Pier Water Sports. Anyone parking in the 100 block will not be able to exit until after noon.
The race starts at 7 a.m. from Rotary Park, with the sprint swim followed by the aqua/bike four minutes later and then the Olympic swim three minutes after that.
The bike course uses Lakeshore Drive and cyclists will head west to the roundabout at the SS Sicamous (bike turnaround), and back along Lakeshore Drive, north on Front Street through Marina Way roundabout, up Vancouver Hill and on to the Naramata area.
The run course starts at Rotary Park transition zone on Lakeshore Drive and proceeds east on Lakeshore Drive; diverts through Okanagan Lake Park and the Japanese Gardens, along Marina Way, up Abbott Street hill, and then up Vancouver Hill to Vancouver Place where they will join the KVR.