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For USA Triathlon’s Sport Performance team, the series provides an up-close look at the athletes knocking on the door of the National TeamProgram—like VanOrt.


“This domestic series can make or break an athlete with ITU aspirations,” said Katie Baker, USA Triathlon’s National Team Program Manager. “Athletes who do well can move to the next level and earn a spot in USA Triathlon’s Project 2012 or Project 2016 programs, which will open the door to competing in ITU World Cups and eventually World Championship Series events.”


VanOrt, a standout collegiate runner at Notre Dame and USA Triathlon’s 2010 Age Group Triathlete of the Year, hopes to use the series “to gain experience, as well as see how I stack up against some of the best swimmers and all-around triathletes in the world.” He is planning to race in at least three of the series events.


Gwen Jorgensen, who went from competing in her first triathlon to earning USA Triathlon Rookie of the Year honors in 2010, sees the series as a way to build on a promising start to her career and help her fellow Americans reach the next level.


“I want to push myself in every race to not only improve, but help others improve as well,” said Jorgensen, a former University of Wisconsin swimmer and runner. “This is the only way to get USA athletes to the top — to push each other to our limits. I believe it will be an exciting year and think the 2011 Elite Race Series will showcase the USA talent.”


By displaying the top Americans in the sport, Dyrek feels the series can also reach goal No. 2 — educating U.S. multisport enthusiasts about Olympic-style, draft-legal racing.


While popular in Europe, draft-legal events rarely have been contested stateside; however, these events will bring this exciting multisport format to five venues across America. The fact that these events are draft legal differentiates the USA Triathlon Elite Race Series from other professional, domestic series.


“This is what you’re going to see in the Olympics — draft-legal, spectator friendly, multiple loops, very fast — so it’s very unique in its position,” Dyrek said.


USA Triathlon hopes to develop some consistency to the series, which existed previously under names like The Race to Athens and The Haul to the Great Wall. By giving the series a consistent name year in and year out, USA Triathlon can continue to build on the brand.


Going forward, athletes will know that the place to go for draft-legal events in the U.S. is the USA Triathlon Elite Race Series. Putting on quality events in 2011 can go a long way in quickly establishing that brand. “If the athletes have a good time and enjoy the race, they’ll want to come back,” Dyrek said.


Establishing consistency in the schedule also is of importance, according to Dyrek. He would like to see the series emulate a handful of Canadian ITU Continental Cups, which have been around for 10-plus years and have an established annual following.


“To have that consistency is important so that the athletes know when and where they are racing,” Dyrek said. Ideally, the U.S. races would not overlap with other events on the ITU calendar to assure as many events as possible of having top-notch international fields.


In the near future, USA Triathlon would like to expand on the series “hopefully by adding a World Championship Series event or a World Cup event to the calendar,” Dyrek said.


In addition to the actual races, these events provide key opportunities for USA Triathlon to connect with a number of its top athletes. The majority of the National Team Program athletes competed in Clermont, and the Sport Performance staff held a cycling skills camp in conjunction with the event.


USA Triathlon’s Collegiate Recruitment Program, which produced both Jorgensen and VanOrt, will hold camps alongside select events.


Additionally, a draft-legal junior race or one of USA Triathlon’s Elite Development Races will be held in conjunction with the regular series stop. These events will give the nation’s top junior triathletes and future professionals an opportunity to race on the same courses as established elites.


“It is very important to have juniors rubbing shoulders with the elites. The best way for this to happen is for juniors to race on the same course as the elites and have the opportunity to observe their older, more experienced counterparts,” Baker said. “It gets juniors excited about draft-legal racing and what the future may have in store for them and gives them a better perspective of what they need to concentrate on to make it to the next level.”


In addition, age group events will be contested in each Elite Race Series city with qualifying spots for USA Triathlon’s 2011 Age Group Nationals in Burlington on the line. For more information on the USA Triathlon Elite Race Series, visit www.usatriathlon.org/events/190.


John Martin is the communications and media relations manager at USA Triathlon. Martin joined the USAT staff in January 2010 after working for six years as an assistant director of athletic communications at the University of North Carolina, his alma mater.


USATRIATHLON.ORG USA TRIATHLON 51

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