Full field to celebrate thirty years of triathlon

A FULL field of more than 1000 competitors is expected to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the Byron Bay Triathlon.

Hundreds of people will converge at the finish line at the Byron Bay Surf Lifesaving Club to cheer home the competitors on Sunday, April 27.

The event will be highlighted by the Olympic distance triathlon of a 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run.

It is part of the North Coast Triathlon Series with sprint distances and new aqua events designed to get juniors involved.

Race director Mike Crawley said the Byron Bay and Kingscliff triathlon brings in record-breaking numbers.

Byron Bay is usually the last event of the local season; however Kingscliff has been rescheduled to Sunday, May 25 after it was postponed during Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

“Byron Bay has been one of our most popular events and we do a lot of work with the local community to make it a success,” Crawley said.

“It has changed over the years, but in terms of the destination and the event itself, it’s a hard one to top.

“We’re continually breaking records and catering to the maximum amount of people these events hold.

“The Byron event is a great celebration, and it was always popular as an end-of-season weekend for triathlon clubs.

“We get a lot of professional triathletes but we always focus on kids and people who are competing to achieve a personal goal.”

Local triathletes Clayton Fettell, Joey Lampe and Courtney Gilfillan are among the previous winners.

A large contingent from south-east Queensland triathlon clubs and university teams now compete in individual and group events.

The sprint distance comprises a 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run, while the kids course covers a 200m swim, 6km bike and 1.5km run.

There will be road closures on the day with special event signage posted throughout the community in advance of the event.

Flashing VMS signs in key areas will be in place with detour signage from 5am until the last competitor finishes.

To find out more about the course or to register, visit byrontri.org