Isola d’Elba is synonymous with outdoor activities. From trekking to cycling, from sailing to horseback riding, from kayaking to climbing, from golf to scuba diving, this “rock” scented with Mediterranean scrub attracts crowds of active tourism, enthusiasts and super-trained athletes every year, thanks also to competitions – some international – which are organized from spring to autumn.
Hotel Airone for sportsmen
In this varied landscape, Hotel Airone has always stood out for the attention it pays to sportsmen. For example, it has a qualified diving center inside and as a Bike Hotel it offers its guests an equipped workshop and an indoor shelter for bicycles.
800 athletes from 5 continents
Returning to the competitive events that fill the Elba Island calendar, we would like to point out one above all: Elbaman. Thanks to the impeccable organization, the numbers of this event entirely dedicated to triathlon are impressive: in 2019 (last year it was not held) almost 800 athletes from 20 countries and 5 continents. It is no coincidence that the event, which will take place on Sunday 26 September in 2021, has been included by the Triathlete USA magazine among the best ten competitions in the world on the Iron distance.
Little ironmen grow up
Born in 2004 as a Medium Triathlon, for some years Elbaman was the only Italian competition over a Full distance, that is 3.8 km of swimming, 180 km of cycling, 42.2 km of running: a total of 226 km! Besides the main competition, you will find the Half distance test, called Elbaman73, the relay race and a spectacular Elbaman Kids for children aged 6 to 11, divided into Mini-puppies, Puppies and Beginners.
The swimming fraction takes place in the magnificent bay of Marina di Campo, the cycling one winds with challenging ups and downs along the panoramic and selective western ring of the Island, the race on a flat path crosses the town and the immediate surroundings.
The days before the competition, Marina di Campo is transformed into a small Olympic village. Each athlete fine-tunes the preparation, there are those who swim, those who ride, those who run, in a relaxed and adrenaline-pumping atmosphere at the same time.
We start and the important thing is to finish
When the swimming test kicks off at 7 o’clock in the morning, there are already many companions and onlookers to fill the golden sands of the longest beach on the Island. The first competitors to finish the stage, change quickly, put on their shoes and get on their bikes. The promenade, very animated, suddenly empties, then between incitements and faces already tested by fatigue it is the turn of the race test, which in the end crowns the most complete champion.
The final award ceremony takes place in a cheerful and convivial atmosphere. Every finisher is a winner, these fatiguing lovers recite like a mantra. And so the competitors – from the winner to the last of the amateurs – greet each other by making an appointment for the next edition. But there are not a few who have already decided to spend a few more days with their family on Elba, the island that offers the perfect ingredients to every triathlete who wants to swim, ride and run surrounded by nature.
