February 13, 2015 (Quebec City, QC) – The second edition of the Québec ITU Winter Triathlon came to a close on a “wickedly” cold day of -16° C with a -30° C wind chill that had more than one athlete suffering last weekend. Crowning glory went in dramatic style to Olga Parfinenko and Pavel Andreev from Russia. Nearly 40 Elite triathletes and 119 Age Group competitors from six different countries participated in the second edition of the International Triathlon Union’s new format for the winter triathlon: snowshoeing, skating, and cross-country skiing.

Elite men's start. ©Richard Whelan

As part of the Quebec World Winter Masters Games and sanctioned by the International Triathlon Union (ITU), the Québec ITU Winter Triathlon-Elite is reserved for top-level athletes. Particpants followed three different courses out through Quebec City’s splendid inner city park, the Plains of Abraham, with its spectacular view of the St. Lawrence River 100 metres below. The Elite competitors – 28 men and 12 women – covered 5km on snowshoes, 11km on skates, and 9km on skate skis, with a maximum time limit of 90 minutes, slightly extended Sunday due to the frigid temperatures. Total prize money was $8,000.

Top 5 elite men's podium. ©Richard Whelan

Pavel Andreev, a former B-team skier for Russia and a four-time European winter triathlon champion (run-bike-ski), successfully added speed-skating to his repertoire this year after a difficult go at the Québec City Winter Triathlon last year. Close enough to the leaders coming out of the speed skating portion, his excellent skate-skiing allowed him to build up a big lead in the last two skiing laps, finishing with a time of 1:12:31, a minute and a half ahead of Québec’s 2nd place Marc-André Bédard, who was Canadian biathlete of the year in 2010, and Joel Desgreniers, a former speedskater, in 3rd (for more race details, see audio interviews coming soon).

Top 5 elite women's podium. ©Richard Whelan

The women’s race unfolded in a similar manner, with Olga Parfinenko, a former Russian national skier, coming out of the 30 speed-skating loops in 6th place only to knock off her competitors in a slow but sure fashion over the next three xc skiing laps. She reeled in competitive skater and race leader Canada’s Evelyne Blouin with half a lap to go, and then the next three women, finishing with a time of 1:25:09 with an 8-second margin over Ontario’s Lindsay Webster and 18s ahead of Québec’s Claude Godbout.

Claude Godbout (Can) finished 3rd in the women's event. ©Richard Whelan

In 2014, the race organizers, Groupe Pentathlon (GP), presented the world premiere of this new triathlon format, and this year, the G.P. organized a dozen events around the world, including in Sweden and Finland.

Transitioning at -17 C ©Richard Whelan

“The triathlon discipline is showing very strong growth, here, as it is worldwide, and the number of enthusiasts has virtually exploded over the past few years,” said Francois Calletta, producer and CEO of Groupe Pentathlon. “We’re happy to see that the winter version of the triathlon is also growing in popularity, and the Elite segment of the competition eloquently speaks to the high caliber of athletes that participate in it.”

30 laps of the skate course. ©Richard Whelan

Luc Landriault, president of Triathlon Canada and member of the International Triathlon Union’s Multisport Committee echoed Calletta’s enthusiasm about the winter discipline: “We knew that the new format has great potential. Everything is going faster than expected and, on February 14, at the Lahti Winter Triathlon, in Finland, a development meeting will shed some light on the next stage for the sport.”

Andreev 1st, Desgreniers 3rd. ©Richard Whelan

Results

Elite Men
1. Pavel Andreev, Russia 1:12:31
2. Marc-André Bédard, Canada (QC) 1:13:56
3. Joel Desgreniers, Canada (QC) 1:14:01
4. Ryan Kelly, USA 1:15:01
5. Ryan Atkins, Canada (ON) 1:15:07
6. Aidan Lennie, Canada (QC) 1:16:24
7. Pierre-Olivier Boily, Canada (QC) 1:16:45
8. Vincent Blais, Canada (QC) 1:17:55
9. Adam Johansson, Sweden 1:18:15
10. Olivier Babineau, Canada (QC) 1:19:03

Elite Women
1. Olga Parfinenko, Russia 1:25:09
2. Lindsay Webster, Canada (ON) 1:25:17
3. Claude Godbout, Canada (QC) 1:25:27
4. Evelyne Blouin, Canada (QC) 1:25:43
5. Annie Gervais, Canada (QC) 1:25:46
6. Sarah Bergeron-Larouche, Canada (QC) 1:30:35
7. Stéphanie Collard, Canada (QC) 1:33:51
8. Elvy Lapointe, Canada (QC) 1:35:36
9. Clémence Trudel, Canada (QC) 1:42:56