The ITU Duathlon World Championships are held on an annual basis and consist of a 10km run, 40km cycle and 5km run. Since the inception of the Multisport World Championships in 2017, the Duathlon World Championships have been a well-attended and celebrated event of the ITU Multisport World Championship schedule, with Denmark’s Andreas Schilling and Austria’s Sandrina Illes crowned champions at the event in Fyn, Denmark, in 2018.

On Saturday, April 27 the 2019 Pontevedra ITU Multisport World Championships will launch with the Duathlon World Championship races, with more than 1,200 athletes contesting. The day begins with the Sprint Duathlon for the age-group athletes at 8am (local time), followed by the elite men and women’s races respectively. Dualthlon paratriathlon and junior racing will take place on Sunday, April 28. All events streaming live on the new-look TriathlonLIVE.tv content platform.

The elite races are weighted with triathletes and duathlon specialists from France, Spain and Belgium, three highly competitive teams. A large group of Kenyan athletes will line up to battle for podium positions.

Emilio Martin, Spain’s two-time duathlon world champion:
“My goal is to repeat my 2014 podium here in Pontevedra, I’m going for everything, I’d like to fight for gold. My training indicates that I’m in good shape for the race. I am ambitious, in the end the race will put me in my place. Competing at home carries more pressure, but it is lightened by the public’s mood -it helps me- and it certainly is an advantage over my rivals. Here in Pontevedra and throughout Galicia there is a huge love for this sport, the public goes crazy and I am sure that the organisation will be great, since almost no country in the world reaches the quality of events that are done in Spain, we organise the best international competitions. The atmosphere will be incredible”

Irene Loizate, duathlon champion from Spain:
“I come in good shape, I will try to do it as best I can. I will try to fight for the podium, although I know it will be difficult. The six lap bike course has some technical areas, I think that benefits me a bit, especially if there are no large groups. Illes and Levenez are the main favourites. Also, the weather will improve, so with dry asphalt, we can go faster safely. “
The 2019 ITU season may already be well up and running, but ten days are set to provide race fans with an absolute treat over on TriathlonLIVE.tv from the end of this week, with more racing drama than ever to watch unfold live and in full.

From Saturday 27 April through to the 4 May, the 2019 Pontevedra Multisport World Championships will also be streaming live on ITU’s new-look platform The duathlon gets the festival up and running with the elite races at 11.30am local time, followed by the cross triathlon elites on 30 April and aquathlon on 2 May. Javier Gomez goes for the long distance triathlon world title at 8am (GMT+2) on 4 May, the same time and day as the aquabike races.

Review the 2019 Pontevedra ITU World Championships athlete start lists