ITU today unveiled its promo video for the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series, capturing the thrills and action the series is certain to generate this year.  Entitled “Departures”, the video takes you on a whirlwind tour of the world’s most exciting triathlon series with the sport’s biggest names.

There will be eight rounds in the 2012 season, culminating with the Grand Final in Auckland in October. The world’s top triathletes will compete head-to-head for rankings points that determine the overall ITU world champion, with media and fans able to watch from everywhere with a live international broadcast feed available from every event. A total of $2.06 million USD will be available for elite athletes racing the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series, the first time since the series started that the prize pool has topped two million.

For the third straight year, the first event of 2012 takes place in Sydney, the famed site of the triathlon’s Olympic debut almost 12 years ago.  After Sydney, the series returns to U.S. soil for the first time since 2009 and welcomes a new city - San Diego, the birthplace of triathlon.

Then the series shifts to Europe, starting with Madrid, the final event in the Olympic qualification period.  Last year Madrid was the first showing of Brownlee domination that would define the season.

Kitzbühel will be a host city for the fourth straight year, before heading to Hamburg for the first sprint distance race of the 2012 series.  The site of the 2007 ITU World Championships, Hamburg will stage the final round before the 2012 Olympic Games.

For the first time since 1997, ITU will travel to Stockholm for the first race after the Olympic Games.  The stunning Swedish capital will also host the ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships, the wildly popular and exciting team event that ITU hopes will soon be on the Olympic programme.

In September the series travels to Japan for its only Asian stop in Yokohama for the penultimate round, before the ITU World Champions are crowned in Auckland, New Zealand at the 2012 Grand Final.  Auckland also includes the Junior, Under23, Paratriathlon and Age-Group World Championships.

2012 ITU World Triathlon Series:
April 14 - Sydney, Australia
May 11-12 - San Diego, USA
May 26-27 - Madrid, Spain (final race in Olympic qualification)
June 23-24 - Kitzbuehel, Austria
July 21-22 - Hamburg, Germany (sprint distance)
August 25-26 - Stockholm, Sweden (sprint distance, and includes Mixed Relay World Championships)
September 30 - Yokohama, Japan
October 20-22 - Grand Final - Auckland, New Zealand