Winter multisport is making a statement in Utah in ‘08. XTERRA Winter Worlds will make its inagural apperance in March, and now Wasatch Area Race Productions (WARP) has announced the BASH winter triathlon slated for February 23rd. We caught up with Erik Vernon from WARP to get his insight on the new event.

TriHive (TH)): Why a winter race?

Erik Vernon (EV): A winter triathlon is a great event for triathletes to keep in shape for summer. The ITU is also making a push to get winter triathlon included in the 2010 Winter Olympics, and with the world class winter facilities and great athletes in this state, Utah could potentially become a mecca for future Olympic winter triathletes.

TH: Are there really that many multisport athletes that also cross country ski?

EV: I don’t know the exact percentage of multisport athletes that cross country ski, but the Monticello winter triathlon had over 100 competitors last year so there are several who nordic ski. I think there are going to be two groups of people who compete at BASH: triathletes who want to keep in shape or learn another sport, and nordic skiers that bike and run in the summer to stay in shape. Most multisport athletes also started as single sport athletes either as a runner, swimmer, or cyclist and I anticipate that multisport athletes will be more receptive to nordic skiing than someone who has remained a single sport athlete.

TH: Like Battle At Midway (BAM), are you hoping to draw elites?

EV: Our main goal with BASH is to make it a fun family activity, and provide a great way for triathletes to stay in shape for their summer races. We want people to come participate in a low key event and afterward enjoy the activities that Soldier Hollow and Heber Valley have to offer, including things like cross country skiing and tubing at Soldier Hollow. Since there are few winter triathlons in the nation we may see a few elites show up for the competition, but we will not have a pro or elite division like we do at BAM.

TH: Is this tied in with the USA Triathlon winter series?

EV: No.

TH: Soldier Hollow would be a tough ski, especially for a beginner. Will there also be a Sprint event for those looking to try it out?

EV: There will only be one race distance at BASH and it is comparable to a sprint triathlon with a 5km run, a 15km bike, a 10km ski. Soldier Hollow also has approximately 13km of beginner ski trails and the ski course stays mainly on these trails and should be easy enough for beginners to classic or skate ski. If people feel uncomfortable about skiing at Soldier Hollow they also have the option to enter as two or three person team. In 2009 we are also looking at adding a division for traditional winter triathlon relay team. With these teams each member does one third of all disciplines, or in other words each team member will run 2km, bike 5km, and ski 3km. This will also make the race very spectator friendly since the course will loop back to transition.

TH: What else is up your sleeve?

EV: Stay tuned, we’re always coming up with something good! In 2008 BAM and BASH will be our only events. We have some ideas for other races, but we will not be adding them until 2009 or beyond. There are two things we consider when adding a new race: 1) Will the new race reduce the quality of our current races, and 2) Can we make the new race a high quality event like our current race list.

TH: What else should we know about the event?

EV: The Desert Sharks Triathlon Club and WARP are hosting a winter triathlon clinic that is open to the public. The clinic will be held on 19 January 2008, and you can find additional information at the following web link. http://www.bashwintertri.com/pdfs/WinterTriClinic.pdf

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