Routes announced for AJ Bell 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series Sunderland

With one of the world's biggest triathlon events coming to Sunderland this summer bringing the opportunity for thousands to swim, bike, run in the city, organisers have released the routes that will host the action on 29-30 July.

As well as participation races in a variety of distances, the World Triathlon Championship Series will bring the best in the world to compete in Sunderland, with Roker seafront providing a stunning backdrop to the action.

All the activities, from the family event to the elite racing, will start on the beach with a sea swim and conclude at the same finish by Marine Walk, providing participants with the same experience across the line. To find out more about the various opportunities to take part, visit the event website: https://sunderland.triathlon.org/2023.

Triathlon is swim, bike, run and following the sea swim will be a bike route that showcases the best of Roker by taking place along Whitburn Road towards Seaburn. With views out over the North Sea and plenty of opportunities for spectators to line the course, it is an ideal setting for the bike leg.

The bike segment will also give Roker Park the opportunity to show itself to participants, spectators and volunteers, as well as to a worldwide audience, with the elite bike and run courses seeing the park feature live on BBC Sport as part of the elite broadcast.

Whilst the elite run will include the park, the run for the participation races will take place around Sunderland Marina before participants head back to the finish line back on the beachfront.

You can view maps for all the races on the event website https://sunderland.triathlon.org.

AJ Bell 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series Sunderland is a flagship event as part of the collaborative work between Sunderland City Council and Triathlon England to develop swim, bike, run participation and resource within the local community. Find other swim, bike, run opportunities in Sunderland here.

There are four different distances on offer for participants over the AJ Bell 2023 World Triathlon Championship Sunderland weekend.

Swim Bike Run Mini will provide families with children aged 4+ the opportunity to swim 50m and run 1km, whilst the BIG Swim Bike Run provides a great introduction to the sport with a 200m swim, 10km bike and 2.5km run.

The sprint distance, an achievable distance that was one of the most common in Britain in 2022, will set entrants a 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run, with the standard distance option challenging participants to swim 1,500m, bike 40km and run 10km.

All distances will reach the same finish line that the elite athletes will race to. Over 29-30 July, there will be an elite doubleheader as Sunderland hosts individual and mixed relay racing.

Get to know AJ Bell 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series Sunderland and what the weekend will bring to the city online at https://sunderland.triathlon.org.

Speaking on the announcement of the routes, British Triathlon CEO, Andy Salmon, said: "The seafront in Roker provided a great backdrop to British Triathlon's Grand Final in 2022 and offers an amazing setting for swim, bike, run.

"Releasing the routes is always a really exciting moment because it shows participants, the host city and everyone involved in the event exactly where the action will take place.

"This year, with the World Triathlon Championship Series and live BBC coverage of the event, the participants, Roker and the wider Sunderland area will show swim, bike, run in Britain at its best."

Councillor Graeme Miller, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: "We're incredibly excited to be hosting the UK leg of the World Triathlon Championship Series here at Roker this July. It's not every day that you get to see some of the world's finest athletes running past your front door.

"The triathlon weekend promises to be a brilliant event for residents and visitors alike. It's also a fantastic opportunity to showcase our stunning seafront and I'm especially thrilled that our residents get to be part of an event with the world's best."