New NZ Long Course Race

ROTH/QUEENSTOWN—On January 27, 2007, a new long-course race will arrive in Queenstown, New Zealand bearing the name CHALLENGEQueenstown. For the first time, athletes will now have the opportunity to race over the 2.4-mile swim/112-mile bike/26.2-mile iron-distance in a race bearing the Challenge label outside of Roth, Germany, home to the Quelle Challenge Roth, the world’s largest long-course triathlon.

The gorgeous city of Queenstown, surrounded by the spectacular scenery of New Zealand’s lush South Island, is no stranger to triathlon, playing host to the International Triathlon Union world championships in 2003.

CHALLENGEQueenstown will extend the Challenge label—developed in the last five years since the Quelle Challenge Roth became an independent race—to the South Pacific. Organized by New Zealand race director Matt Tuck, CHALLENGEQueenstown will also stand for the same qualities found in its German partner: a race that provides excellent value for the price of entry, that extends a warm welcome to athletes and their families and that promotes sport tourism.

Herbert Walchshöfer, director of TEAMChallenge GmbH in Roth, said he’s certain that he’s found the right partners for expansion of the Challenge label in New Zealand.

The race will not offer qualifying places to the sold-out Quelle Challenge Roth but will instead provide athletes with another opportunity to enjoy a race under the Challenge label.

“We have worked for five years in Roth to build a brand that stands for quality, continuity, good value and a warm welcome—and now the race can simply not take any more entrants,” said Walchshöfer. “This is also the reason that in the not-too-distant future we will be in talks with other contacts about other licensing opportunities.”

Entry fees will be $NZ450, or about the same cost as the entry, in Euro, of the Quelle Challenge Roth (240 Euro). The amenities offered to athletes will be the same as those provided in Roth, including a pre-race pasta party, finish party and awards ceremony. For elites, a prize purse of $NZ90,000 will be on offer.

The race will start with a swim in Lake Wakatipu with views of the snow-capped mountains, with a two-loop bike course that runs from Glenorchy and back. It’s a ride that promises to have enough of a challenge to be selective but also incredibly scenic. The run course takes athletes on fairly flat journey along the lake.