February 26, 2018 (Quebec City, Que.) – Maxime Leboeuf from Canada (QC) and Lovisa Modig from Sweden were crowned champions at the fifth edition of the Quebec ITU Winter Triathlon – named this year the International Triathlon Union (ITU) S3 Winter Triathlon World Cup. With a time of 1:11:58, Maxime Leboeuf won the honours.

For the women, the victory of Lovisa Modig with a time of 1:25:51 took many female athletes by surprise. Cash prizes totalling $8,000 were awarded among the top five elite athletes – men and women – with the best performances.

For the men, Olivier Babineau finished second with a time of 1:14:05 while Christopher Busset took third place on the podium with a time of 1:14:14. For the women, Kristina Lapinova from Slovakia made it to the second step of the podium with a time of 1:30:26, followed by Evelyne Blouin, in third place with a time of 1:33:46.

Held within the framework of the 14th Pentathlon des neiges de Québec presented by MEC — the largest winter multisport event in the world — the ITU S3 Winter Triathlon World Cup offered three separate challenges. The Elite challenge, with 25 athletes, and the Age Groups challenge, with 72 amateurs athletes, covered 5 km on snowshoes, 11 km on skates, and 9.5 km on cross-country skis. The third challenge, the Sprint challenge, brought together nearly 32 participants for whom, for the most part, this was a first-time experience in winter triathlon.

The Pentathlon des neiges is continuing until March 4. Several challenges are scheduled in which more than 5 500 participants will perform solo or in teams of two to five people in five disciplines: biking, running, cross-country skiing, skating and snowshoeing. The program includes activities where families, children, amateur athletes, or high-performance professionals are invited to discover and enjoy the pleasures of winter. Click www.pentathlondesneiges.com to see the schedule.

Results (brief)

Elite Men
1. Maxime Leboeuf, Canada 1:11:58
2. Olivier Babineau, Canada 1:14:05
3. Christopher Busset, Canada 1:14:14
4. Michal Kubaliak, Slovakia 1:15:46
5. Vincent Blais, Canada 1:16:22
6. Erik Johannson, Sweden 1:17:39
7. Bruno Freudenreich, France 1:17:43
8. Marc-André Bédard, Canada 1:18:56
9. Martin Tremblay, Canada 1:20:09
10. Eric Lavigne, Canada 1:20:22

Elite Women
1. Lovisa Modig, Sweden 1:25:51
2. Kristina Lapinova, Slovakia 1:30:26
3. Evelyne Blouin, Canada 1:33:46
4. Sarah Bergeron-Larouche, Canada 1:39:01
5. Laura Miclo, France 1:39:42
6. Frédérique Perusse, Canada 1:40:14
7. Mary Thompson, Canada 1:40:50
8. Diana Groter-Van Diemen, Netherlands 1:45:19

About Groupe Pentathlon
Founded in 2005, Groupe Pentathlon is a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop innovative sporting events that have a major impact and that bring people together so they can enjoy life-enhancing emotions and experiences. Groupe Pentathlon organizes, among other things, the Pentathlon des neiges sanctioned by Triathlon Québec. The Pentathlon des neiges presented by MEC is the only event of its kind in the world, and is the world’s biggest winter multisport event. To complete the Pentathlon des neiges, athletes are required to perform in various disciplines consecutively ‒ biking, running, cross-country skiing, skating and snowshoeing ‒ either solo, in tandem, or as a team. In 2014, Groupe Pentathlon innovated by presenting the world premiere of the new version of the ITU’s winter triathlon – snowshoeing, skating and cross-country skiing.