The 2017 ITU World Triathlon Series debuts this weekend, bringing the top triathletes from all over the world to compete in the most prestigious nine-stop tour event for the sport. For the third consecutive year, the series will begin in Abu Dhabi, with the women kick-starting the race on Friday, followed by the men on Saturday.

Both start lists are stacked with talent, with Commonwealth Games gold medalist Jodie Stimpson (GBR) returning to defend her Abu Dhabi title, while ITU World Champion Mario Mola (ESP) looks to pick up a hat trick of Abu Dhabi wins. He will face the likes of compatriot five-time ITU World Champion Javier Gomez, as well as Olympic bronze medalist Henri Schoeman (RSA).

For the second time, Abu Dhabi is offering up a standard-distance event, but debuting a brand new course that will stretch over the famed Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix course — a new feature that is sure to add to the excitement of a new season.

Women's ITU Preview
Men's ITU Preview
Season Preview
Season Media Guide

About the Race

The event will be headquartered in front of the Viceroy Hotel at the Yas Marina, where a spectator-friendly environment including a 1,000-seater grandstand, a bike park, a friends and family area and refreshment kiosks will be offered. The elite event will feature a pontoon start with the top men and women on the ITU World Series rankings competing for line honors in the opening event of the 2017 season. Over the weekend, there are duathlon, sprint, relay, standard and maxi-distance events to provide everyone with the perfect challenge. Abu Dhabi has also committed to seeing our great sport grown amongst its youth by organizing kid and youth triathlons.

Schedule

Elite Women
Friday, March 3
15:55 p.m. local time/6:55 a.m. ET - Click here for the time in your area 

Elite Men 
Saturday, March 4
15:55 p.m. local time/6:55 a.m. ET - Click here for the time in your area 

Website

abudhabi.triathlon.org

Start Lists

Click here for the women's start list 
Click here for the men's start list 

Prize Money

$150,000 USD (equal for men & women)  

Live Coverage

Follow all the events live with timing and text updates at triathlonlive.tv and on Twitter at @triathlonlive.

About the International Triathlon Union (ITU)
The International Triathlon Union is the world governing body for the Olympic sport of triathlon and all related multisport disciplines including duathlon, aquathlon, cross triathlon and winter triathlon. ITU was founded in 1989 at the first ITU Congress in Avignon, France. It has maintained its headquarters in Vancouver, Canada, since then and also has offices in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Madrid, Spain. It now has 169 affiliated National Federations on five continents and is the youngest International Federation in the Olympic Games. Triathlon was awarded Olympic Games status in 1994 and made its Olympic debut in Sydney 2000. Triathlon is also featured in the Asian Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games. Paratriathlon was accepted into the Paralympic Games in 2010 and made its Paralympic debut in Rio 2016. ITU is proudly committed to supporting the development of the sport worldwide through strong relationships with continental and national federations, working with its partners to offer a balanced sport development program from grassroots to a high-performance level. For more information, visit triathlon.org.