- The Gran Canaria event is on track to set a new record for elite participants at its race on April 26 in Anfi del Mar
With several months still to go until its event, the Challenge Mogán Gran Canaria is already heading towards what is shaping up to be a new record for the number of professional triathletes at its next race on April 26, 2025. With over 30 confirmed elite participants, the Gran Canaria event repeats as the one with the most PROs in the Challenge circuit and one of the races with the most stars of the sport lining up at the start.
This race, which opens the season in Europe and serves as a launchpad for the international calendar, has consolidated over the years as a meeting point for professionals from more than 20 nationalities who know that the annual calendar’s direction is set in Gran Canaria. The event has already surpassed 30 confirmed professional triathletes and continues to build its roster of world stars, including iconic names like British triathlete Jonathan Brownlee, who returns this year after debuting in Mogán in 2022.
He won’t be the only rival to face. Among the confirmed participants for 2025 are the British Sam Wordley; Spanish triathlete Sergio López; the top 10 in the Netherlands, Heleen Moes; Portugal’s number one, Vanessa Pereira; and the British Ben Akin, among others.
With 69 days still to go until its ninth edition, French triathlete Corentin Chouvelon has also secured his spot; Portugal’s number two, Joao Pereira, who remains loyal to this international opener in Gran Canaria; and young South African triathlete Matt Kaminer, who is ranked eighth nationally.
The fan-favorite triathlete, Zaira Lorenzo, will also take part in Challenge Mogán Gran Canaria, representing the colors of the Canary Islands as a local professional. So far, the Tenerife native is the first Canarian PRO to confirm her spot in Challenge Mogán Gran Canaria, the race where she made her debut as an elite triathlete, with a course she knows well.
After years of surpassing thirty professionals, Challenge Mogán Gran Canaria is the iconic starting point for international triathlon, making it a global meeting place for the sport and the Challenge race that gathers the most professionals each year. In the 2024 edition, it turned the island into the epicenter of world triathlon with 27 nationalities and more than 40 professionals, a figure it aims to consolidate in 2025, building on years of international growth.
With both short and middle-distance formats, Challenge Mogán Gran Canaria is a reference event in all of Europe, as the data shows. More than 26% of the triathletes will travel to the island from Great Britain, while 15% of the participants who have chosen this triathlon destination to start the season will come from Germany.
Among the nationalities with the most athletes for 2025, Spain stands out, representing 23% of the confirmed athletes, as well as the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Belgium, France, Norway, and Ireland, bringing together athletes from about 20 countries.
The Challenge Mogán Gran Canaria has hosted triathlon icons such as Patrick Lange, Sam Laidlow, Aaron Royle, Florian Angert, Pieter Heemeryck, Andy Dreitz, Anne Haug, Jan Frodeno, Alistair Brownlee, Emma Pallant, Nicola Spirig, Lisa Norden, Pabla Dapena, Iván Raña, Sara Pérez Sala, Judith Corachán, and many other greats.
Epicenter of triathlon’s elite
The Challenge Mogán Gran Canaria will be held at Anfi del Mar beach with two race formats: the short-distance competition, featuring 1.5 km swimming, 40 km cycling, and 10 km running, and the flagship middle-distance event, both on April 26.
The middle-distance race will be a challenge of 1.9 km swimming, 90 km cycling, and 21 km running, filling Anfi del Mar with elite sports on April 26. Starting and finishing at Anfi del Mar beach, Mogán will be the epicenter for weeks of training by the world’s best athletes in this discipline, gathering the elite from across Europe. With an average temperature of 22 degrees Celsius, calm waters, safe roads, and top-level hotel and sports facilities, Mogán has been chosen several times as the best triathlon destination in the world.
The eternal spring of this location, one of the places with the most hours of sunlight annually in Europe, has made the island a privileged training spot year-round, but also a place for rest and competition for hundreds of triathletes. Mogán offers the ideal conditions for triathlon, making it one of the most sought-after destinations to train and compete, with over 23 km of coastline, calm seas, a network of challenging and safe roads, and mild temperatures all year round, setting it apart from colder European winters.
Challenge Mogán Gran Canaria is the only international triathlon in Gran Canaria, part of the Challenge Family network, made possible thanks to the support of the Mogán Town Hall, the Cabildo of Gran Canaria through Turismo Gran Canaria and the Insular Sports Institute, with the collaboration of the Government of the Canary Islands through Turismo Islas Canarias and its Ministry of Territorial Policy, Sustainability, and Emergencies, as well as the Canary Islands Triathlon Federation (Fecantri), Gran Canaria Tri Bike Run, Bike Sensations, Cádomotus, The Market Puerto Rico, and aquaBona, among others.
