Preview: 2012 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships and XTERRA Southeast Championships

Shelby County, Alabama, USA (16 May 2012) -  Last year was a historic one for Cross Triathlon, after four years of continental championships ITU hosted its first world titles in Extremadura, Spain. Over 400 athletes competed across the elite, junior, age-group and paratriathlon categories in the swim, mountain bike and cross country run discipline. This year, the sport takes another step forward as ITU partners with XTERRA for the second edition for the 2012 Shelby County ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships and XTERRA Southeast Championships.

Canada's Melanie McQuaid and South Africa's Conrad Stoltz are both back to defend the inaugural ITU Cross Triathlon titles they won in Spain last year, but both will be tested with strong Elite Men's and Elite Women's fields. Read the full preview here.

About the race:
It is the second ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships in history, after last year's debut in Extremadura, Spain. This year the venue is Oak Mountain State Park. As Alabama's largest park, Oak Mountain provides nearly 10,000 acres of pine-studded ridges and lush green hardwood bottoms.  Located in the southernmost part of the Appalachian Chain, it boasts a trail praised by competitors as one of the most fun, fast, scenic and difficult with credit attributed to the work of Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers (BUMP) along with Alabama's DCNR State Park Division, Shelby County and the City of Pelham. BUMP has spent more than 100,000 hours in design and construction of new trails over the past 20 years. The elite athletes will compete over a 1.5km swim, 30km mountain bike and 10km trail run.

SCHEDULE:
Elite Women - Saturday 19 May - 14:00 (UTC/GMT -5) Click here for time in your area
Elite Men - Saturday 19 May - 16:00 (UTC/GMT -5) Click here for time in your area

WEBSITES:
www.triathlon.org
www.xterraplanet.com

START LISTS:
Click here for women's start list
Click here for men's start list

LIVE COVERAGE:
Live text coverage from Shelby County at @triathlonlive on Twitter.

TOTAL PRIZE MONEY:   
$20,000 USD (equal for men & women) 

COURSE PROFILE:   
Swim - Two-lap, 1.5km swim. Taking place in the clear waters of Double Oak Lake, the course is two 750-metre laps with a short beach run between loops and back into transition.
Bike - Three-lap, 31km mountain bike leg, that passes through the main athlete village and around scenic Double Oak Lake.
Run - Two-lap, 10km run of scenic trail with one major climb