The ITU long-distance triathlon world championship will be staged in Sweden in 2015

Organisers are giving athletes the chance to test out the course this year by staging a 500 field race on the course.

As a precursor to the 2015 event, the Swedish open championships in long-distance triathlon will be held on the same course in 2013 and 2014. Titled Vättern Triathlon, 500 places are available for this year’s championship, held on June 29, with 250 athletes having already signed up.

Held in lakeside town Motala, the picturesque race will be facilitated by the organising committee of Vätternrundan, an annual 300 km cycle ride with more than 23,000 participants annually. The organisers aim to make Vättern Triathlon an annual event, continuing after the world championship.

Motala is a town in south-central Sweden, halfway between Stockholm and Gothenburg, on the shores of Lake Vättern. The area is fairly flat, offering a gentle course that will invite athletes to produce personal bests on the day.

The swim course will be two 2,000 metre laps around Motala Bay in Lake Vättern, the fifth largest lake in Europe. This deep lake is known for its exceptional water quality and the race is held in a sheltered, fairly shallow inlet with pleasant water temperatures in the summer.

The 120 kilometre cycling stage takes the athletes out into the unspoilt countryside north of Motala on roads overlooking the lake on a three-lap course, enabling spectators to see their athletes multiple times. The running stage goes along the shores of the lake on the west side of town in three 10 kilometre laps, finishing in the town centre in a magnificent spectacle.