Courtesy: USAT

USA Triathlon has announced its 2004 Races of the Year as chosen by a sub-committee of the USAT Age Group Commission (AGC). The winners were selected from athlete nominations.

Large Triathlon of the Year (more than 250 entrants): Boulder Peak (Aug. 8, 2004; Boulder, Colo.; www.5430sports.com/peak) - Comments included, "exceptionally well organized", "very challenging" and "beautiful venue."

Large Duathlon of the Year (more than 100 entrants): Mid-Ohio Grand Prix (May 15, 2004; Mansfield, Ohio; www.fatrabbitracing.com) - Those athletes responding to the survey loved the fact that this course was on a car racetrack and was a lot of fun.

Small Triathlon of the Year (fewer than 250 entrants): Survival of the Shawangunks (Sept. 12, 2004; New Paltz, N.Y.; www.ulster.net/~sosnyta/) - Survey responses included comments about the location and uniqueness of the event.

Small Duathlon of the Year (fewer than 100 entrants): Cape Henlopen (Oct. 10, 2004; Cape Henlopen State Park, Del.; www.piranha-sports.com/capehenlopen.html) - The beautiful setting of this race scored points with athletes responding.

Off-Road Race of the Year: Moab Steelbender Triathlon (May 22, 2004; Moab, Utah; www.xterraplanet.com/race/) - "This is what an off-road event is all about" and other comments such as "spectacular," "great atmosphere," and "people running it are awesome" were included in the surveys.

A sub-committee of the AGC has reviewed the results of athlete surveys that were collected during the 2004 season to determine the races of the year, basing its decision on the races with the highest quality of responses from athletes.