Super League Triathlon To Spice Things Up In 2022 With Race Format Switch

Super League Triathlon has today revealed which formats the world’s best athletes will race as they bid to land the 2022 Championship Series titles.

There is a newly and improved Eliminator format for 2022 – to go alongside a revamped Short Chute – while the ever-popular Enduro and Triple Mix see a double header of action.

Race formats by venue

• London (September 4): Triple Mix
• Munich (September 11): Enduro
• Malibu (September 17): Eliminator
• Toulouse (October 2): Triple Mix
• Grand Finale TBA (October 29): Enduro

London and Malbiu retain the same formats that produced such exciting racing in 2021, but there is a shake-up for Munich, which changes from the Equalizer, rested for 2022, to the Enduro. That adds an extra element of the unknown with the athletes having to get down the now notorious steep grassy bank twice mid-race.

New venue Toulouse will also enjoy a Triple Mix format, while the Grand Finale reverts back to the Enduro which is sure to produce a thrilling end to Super League’s biggest ever Championship Series.

Super League 2022 race formats explained

Triple Mix

Throwing the traditional swim-bike-run sequence out the window, the Triple Mix shuffles the disciplines over 3 Stages. It tests the versatility of the athletes and whether they can keep track of what comes next in the heat of battle.

Mistakes in this format are costly, and every second counts on Stage 1 and 2 as they define Stage 3’s pursuit start. At the end of each stage, athletes have a few minutes to reset themselves and their equipment. Stage 1 and Stage 2 are mass starts with the order of swim-bike run and run-bike-swim. The accumulated times across Stages 1 and 2 set the timings for a pursuit start in Stage 3, which is bike-swim-run.

There are three Short Chutes up for grabs – for the first athlete across the Mount Line after the swim on Stage 1, for the first athlete across the Dismount Line after the bike on Stage 1 and for the first athlete across the Finish Line at the end of Stage 1. Short Chutes are won for a Team and awarded to an athlete during the race by their Team Manager. Short Chutes are to be taken on the first lap of the run in Stage 3. No team can win more than one Short Chute.

Tactics for survival are fierce as the 90 second rule is also in place, meaning athletes are eliminated from the race if they fall more than 90 seconds behind the leader after any discipline.

Enduro

The Enduro is considered the most brutal format of all. Requiring endurance and tactics, the Enduro is a non-stop burst of nine back-to-back triathlon disciplines without any breaks. The easiest way to think about it is swim-bike-run repeated continuously three times in a row, or over three Stages.

A focus on speed is a key demand of the Enduro because any athlete who falls more than 90 seconds behind the leader will be eliminated.

There are three Short Chutes up for grabs – for the first athlete across the Mount Line after the swim on Stage 1, for the first athlete across the Dismount Line after the bike on Stage 1 and for the first athlete across the Finish Line at the end of Stage 1. Short Chutes are won for a Team and awarded to an athlete during the race by their Team Manager. Short Chutes are to be taken on the first lap of the run in Stage 3. No team can win more than one Short Chute.

Eliminator

The Eliminator was the first-ever format raced in Super League, and has been given a fresh new twist. It tests the resilience, stamina and velocity of the athletes in a pressure-cooker environment where field position proves key over timing. There are three rounds of swim-bike-run with a short break in between each for the athletes to reset their equipment.

However, there is also a cunning twist – a predefined number of athletes are eliminated after each discipline of every stage making positioning crucial. The last three athletes across the Finish Line are eliminated after both Stages 1 and 2. There are no predefined eliminations during Stage 3, though the 90 second rule is in play, meaning athletes are eliminated from the race if they fall more than 90 seconds behind the leader after any discipline.

There are three Short Chutes up for grabs – for the first athlete across the Mount Line after the swim on Stage 1, for the first athlete across the Dismount Line after the bike on Stage 1 and for the first athlete across the Finish Line at the end of Stage 1. Short Chutes are won for a Team and awarded to an athlete during the race by their Team Manager. Short Chutes are to be taken on the first lap of the run in Stage 3. No team can win more than one Short Chute.