A strong contingent of professional female triathletes will arrive on the shores of Sir Bani Yas Island this weekend as they look to kick their race season off in style at the inaugural Challenge Sir Bani Yas on 5 April. If the desert island location wasn’t cool enough, the island is also home to some 17,000 free roaming wild animals including cheetahs, gazelles and giraffes – quickly earning this new triathlon, which is bringing long course racing to the UAE for the first time – the title of ‘the wildest race in triathlon’.
Keep reading to find out which elite women will be stepping up to the start line, and get our take on who the key contenders are for the podium spots.
An early lead for Sara Perez Sala?
With Alanis Siffert, who finished top of the Challenge Family bonus rankings last year and didn’t have a single race result below 2nd place, sitting this one out. Spain’s Sara Perez Sala comes into Challenge Sir Bani Yas as the top seed. Sala finished 3rd at Challenge Turku last year. And she was also a guide for Susanna Rodriguez at the Paris 2024 PTVI Para Triathlon – where the duo won gold. As a former Olympic swimmer, it’d be very surprising to see anyone but Sala coming out of the water first on Saturday. And it’s almost guaranteed to be a non-wetsuit swim, which will further play into Sara’s strengths.
The fast, relatively flat start to the bike course could give her an opportunity to extend her lead. But the sharp climb around the 35km mark could give some of the other strong bikers a chance to reel her back in if they’re willing to push the pace. That should make for some exciting dynamics on the bike!
Aurelia Boulanger and Diede Diederiks to lead the chase out of T1
Aurelia Boulanger of France firmly established herself as an athlete to watch with her performances in 2024. Finishing 2nd in the Challenge world rankings at the end of 2024. She also had an incredibly strong start to last year with three 1st place finishes in a row at Challenge Cesenatico, Challenge Salou and Challenge Cagnes sur Mer. She’ll be looking to get her 2025 season started in similar style, for sure. Boulanger has shown herself to be strong on the bike, and at Challenge Xiamen last year we saw her dig deep and claw her way back through the field on the run.
I think we can expect Boulanger to be leading the chase behind Sala out of T1 alongside The Netherlands’ Diede Diederiks. Diederiks is one of the strongest cyclists set to take to the course, and if the pair can work together (within draft legal distances, of course) they could quite quickly bridge any gap Sala might have opened up after the swim.
Home race for Lottie Lucas
Challenge Sir Bani Yas will be pretty much a home race for Lottie Lucas. The up and coming athlete had a strong start to 2024, continuing her upward trajectory of 2023, with a 3rd place finish at Challenge Taiwan early in the season. Unfortunately, sickness bugs derailed the rest of her 2024 season so she’ll be coming into Challenge Sir Bani Yas with plenty of fuel for the fire.
Based in Dubai, Lottie should be well accustomed to the heat that could make things tough for other athletes, setting her up as a prime contender for a podium place.
Ones to watch: Chloe Sparrow and Rosie Wild
British triathletes Chloe Sparrow and Rosie Wild are my two ‘ones to watch’ coming into Challenge Sir Bani Yas. Sparrow is up there with the strongest swimmers on the start line, which could set her up to be well in the mix early on. 2024 was her debut PRO year, and we saw her finish consistently in the top 10 – including a 2nd place finish at Challenge St Polten. After such a strong start to her elite triathlon career, it’ll be exciting to see what form she brings to the Sir Bani Yas start line.
Rosie Wild, a Captain in the British Army, was another 2024 pro triathlon debutant. A military trailblazer, she made history in 2020 when she became the first woman to pass the demanding Parachute Regiment entry test. That physical and mental toughness has clearly translated well into elite triathlon, with a strong first year as a PRO that saw her finish in the top 10 three times. Her ability to – as she wrote on her Instagram recently – embrace that “it’s a privilege and a freedom that you get to be tough” could well give her the edge when the unforgiving heat of the desert island really kicks in come race day.
Podium picks
What’s exciting about the women’s race at Challenge Sir Bani Yas is that it’s difficult to pick one clear favourite. The race could pan out in a number of ways, and I think we’ll get the opportunity to see who some of the next gen stars of the sport could be who’ll start to break through this season. That being said, I’ve tasked myself with making podium picks – so I’ll do my best to narrow it down!
I think we’ll see Aurelia Boulanger work her way to the front of the race, eventually reeling in Sara Perez Sala before they get into T2. A chase pack of Diederiks, Lucas and potentially Sparrow are likely to be in close pursuit. But I think Boulanger will just about manage to fend them off, as long as she stays on top of her hydration and heat management. All eyes on Sir Bani Yas island to see if my crystal ball is on point, or if it needs a bit of a tune up!
- Aurelia Boulanger
- Diede Diederiks
- Sara Perez Sala
Take a look at our podium picks for the men’s race as the likes of Sam Laidlow, Kieran Lindars and Henri Schoeman take to the start line. And find out more about Challenge Sir Bani Yas in our dedicated race guide.
