With the strongest line-up of pro athletes ever seen at a triathlon, we didn’t envy whoever had to pick names for the pre-race press conference line-up. To give you some idea of the calibre of elite rolling into the desert for the inaugural Challenge Bahrain this coming Saturday, silver medallist Lisa Norden was absent, as was former ITU world champ and fast-rising 70.3 star Tim Don and bronze medallist Jan Frodeno (although the Beijing Games gold medallist has pulled out of the race due to illness).

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