On Aug. 8, 2021 the inaugural 255 Triathlon – “the longest triathlon in the world” – will take place in Goodwood, England. Organizers have chosen a special location for the event – the racetrack where Greg Lemond won the World Championship road cycling title in 1982. Athletes will swim five km, bike 200 km and finish the day with a 50-km run.
According to race organizers, this will be the longest one-day triathlon event in the world. That might be a stretch, though, considering the length of some other ultra triathlons and Xtri events.
It’s not the first time a triathlon has been held on a racetrack, of course. We don’t even need to go that far back in time, either, because last month we still got to enjoy an incredible race on a NASCAR track for the PTO 2020 Championship at Challenge Daytona. And, in March, 2021, athletes will get to experience similar epic and fast racing with the inaugural Challenge Miami.
At the 255 Triathlon athletes will – just like at Challenge Daytona – swim in a lake next to the racetrack before riding 52 loops on the 3.8-km-long circuit. The run course will consist of 10 loops of five km each that takes participants on the track and through the paddock.
In the paddock athletes will even get a chance to feel like real race car drivers as they are allowed to make use of a pit stop for refueling.
