This Saturday, The Hague-Kijkduin will welcome the third ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships with over 650 athletes slated to compete in the 1km swim, 26km mountain bike and 9km cross-country trail run. 

We wish good luck to the following athletes who will be representing Australia:

Reigning champions Lesley Paterson (GBR) and Conrad Stoltz (RSA) return to defend their titles on a unique course known for its choppy beach start and sandy bike and run trails. Click here for the full preview.    

About the race:

This year marks the third ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships in history. The World Championships field includes athletes from a record breaking thirty different nations, including representatives from Brasil, Japan and Peru. Seaside resort Kijkduin, located in the southwestern part of The Hague, combines the superb facilities of an international city with a beautiful environment embodied by the ocean and dunes. Athletes will face unique challenges on the course, with the ocean start known for it's choppy surf, followed by bike and run trails on soft sand. 

SCHEDULE:

Elite Men - Saturday 13 July - 11:30pm AEST Click here for time in your area 

Elite Women - Sunday 13 July - 12:10am AEST Click here for time in your area

WEBSITES:

www.triathlon.org 

START LISTS:

Click here for women's start list 

Click here for men's start list 

LIVE COVERAGE:

Live text coverage from The Hague at @triathlonlive on Twitter.

TOTAL PRIZE MONEY:

$35,000 USD (equal for men & women) 

COURSE PROFILE:    

Swim - One-lap, 1km swim. Wetsuits expected for the approximated 17-18 degree water.

Bike - Four-lap, 26km mountain bike leg, 40% of which is on the beach. The technical parts are in the dunes, where the athletes are faced with steep hills and soft sand. 

Run - Three-lap, 9km course on the dunes and on the beach. In the dunes the athletes have to climb and descend steep hills. The finish is on the crowded boulevard of the seaside resort of Kijkduin (The Hague).  

STORIES TO WATCH FOR:  

Elite Women's Race -

US-based Lesley Paterson (GBR) took out the ITU Cross Triathlon world title in the USA last year and is the woman to beat. She will face the fierce competition of the 2012 European Cross Triathlon Champion Helena Erbenova (CZE), who has the advantage of already knowing the course. Erbenova is also the reigning ITU Winter Triathlon World Champion and has won XTERRA races in Greece, Switzerland and France this year. Then there are Jacqueline Slack (GBR) and the experienced Renata Bucher (SUI) who divided the majority of titles in XTERRA World Tour races amongst each other this year. 

Elite Men's Race - The two-time reigning Cross Triathlon Wolrd Champion Conrad Stoltz (RSA) is back to defend his crown as the king of cross triathlon. However, Stoltz might not have it all his way in The Hague, with a very tough field lined up including Spain's, Victor Manuel Del Corral Morales who knows the course and is a very strong runner that can strike in the last kilometer of the race. Belgium's Kris Coddens is tipped as one of the favorites by the Dutch organization. Ben Allen of Australia is also a strong threat, as he has already won five World Tour events this year and showed he can beat everyone. Others to watch include the USA's Branden Rakita, Great Britain's Asa Shaw, France's Brice Daubord, Slovakia's Tomas Kubek and Argentina's representative at the London Olympics Gonzalo Raul Tellechea. Dutch hopes lie with Tim Dullaart, Diederik Scheltinga and the experienced Edo van der Meer.

PAST ITU CROSS TRIATHLON WORLD CHAMPIONS:  

             WOMEN                                     MEN 

2012     Lesley Paterson (GBR)            Conrad Stoltz (RSA) 

2011     Melanie McQuaid (CAN)          Conrad Stoltz (RSA)