The Most Popular Triathlon Training Camp Locations

Somehow March is already upon us and as triathlon fans most of us would be eagerly anticipating this coming weekend, where the 2021 World Triathlon Championship Series was meant to be kicking off in Abu Dhabi.

Unfortunately, due to the ongoing global pandemic the first fixture of the season has been postponed, leaving many athletes with a longer wait than usual to start off their seasons. With the next world series race in Yokohama two months away, we have decided to look at where most professional athletes will be spending their time in the run up to the Olympic Games.  

1 – South Africa (Jeffreys Bay/Stellenbosch) 

South Africa in recent years seems to have overtaken Australia as the go to location for Southern Hemisphere training locations in the winter months. Over the previous season, the Origin Performance Squad, led by Ian O’Brian have spent time training in the Eastern Cape town of Jeffreys Bay. The group boasts Team USA hopefuls Matt McElroy and Eli Hemming as well as Brazil’s star triathlete Vittoria Lopes. In addition to Jeffreys Bay, Stellenbosch has proved to be another popular and possibly more well-known destination. Tim Don and Jan Frodeno filmed their infamous ‘48 hours Inside Specialized Tri’ in Stellenbosch whilst this is also the base of South African youngster Jamie Riddle, who spent a large portion of his breakthrough campaign in 2020 training their alongside Swiss athletes Max Studer and Andreas Salvisberg. January daytime temperatures usually reach around 27 degrees in Stellenbosch, and the low humidity makes it a perfect environment for warm weather training. 

2 – Scottsdale, Arizona (USA) 

In America, Boulder is the place best recognised with triathlon training excellence. However, Arizona is fast becoming the go to place. Whilst Flagstaff is popular amongst runners, Scottsdale, which is just over 150 miles away, offers a warm weather alternative at a much lower altitude. In recent years it has been used by Jono Hall and his Multisport Brain Group and proved especially successful for Tyler Mislawchuk in the lead up to his Olympic Test event win in Tokyo and first WTS podium in Edmonton.  

3 – Playitas Resort, Fuerteventura 

Perhaps the most well-known spot for winter training camps on the WTS circuit, Playitas resort is based on the Canary Island of Fuerteventura, just off the coast of North Africa. The year-round warm temperatures and great facilities have led to it becoming a regular haunt for the Joel Filliol Crew, which consists of the last six WTS men’s world champions and the 2019 ITU Women’s world champion Katie Zaferes. The resort has also recently been used by Super League’s younger stars Vasco Vilaca of Portugal and the German Simon Henseleit. With a January average temperature of 18 degrees, it may not be as warm as the two previously mentioned destinations, but with only three days of rainfall a year on average the weather is much more dependable.  

4 – St Moritz, Switzerland. 

At an altitude of 1,800 metres, St Moritz is one of Europe’s most perfect locations for altitude training. Whilst the town can be affected by snowfall in the year, the training benefits of being at altitude attracts a lot of high caliber athletes. Not only was St Moritz the main camp used by Alistair and Jonny Brownlee in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics, but it is also home to the Tri Sutto training group, coached by the enigma that is Brett ‘The Doc’ Sutton. Sutton has coached Swiss athletes Daniela Ryf and Nicola Spirig to Olympic and Ironman glory whilst also using St Moritz as a base for his international athletes such as Chrissie Wellington, Melinda Granger and Emma Snowsill – all of whom are well renowned for their exemplary triathlon ability.  

5 – Sierra Nevada, Spain. 

Last but certainly not least is another European high-altitude location. Over the past few seasons, Arild Tveiten and his Norwegian Olympic Team have been regularly inhabiting the small Andalusian town, which sits at 2,320 meters above sea level. The famous C.A.R or Centro de Alto Rediemento is a combined hotel and sports facility which is owned by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. It has an 8-lane athletics track, 50m pool and gym facilities as well as living/eating facilities.  

So, there it is, our five most popular training camp locations. Don’t be surprised to see several elite athletes posting social media stories of themselves at any of these five locations as they prepare for what will hopefully be a great season of racing. With facilities like these accessible, I’d be surprised if any of the pro’s every want to go home!