What's an ITU Pan American Cup?
An ITU Pan American Cup is the basis of qualifying for the Olympic Games. All participants are professionals, and the rules they follow are different from those governing amateur races like the Musselman or mini-Mussel. The biggest rule difference is that "drafting" is allowed during the bike segment - participants are allowed to ride in each other's slipstream, and this lends a different (and very exciting) dynamic to the race.

Watch some videos from ITU World Cups here.

ITU, or International Triathlon Union, is the international governing body for the sport of triathlon. ITU is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada and is responsible for triathlon being added to the Olympic Programme at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The 2008 World Championships will be held in Vancouver in June.

Each year there are only five of these races staged in the United States, making them prestigious and noteworthy for the communities in which they are held. In addition to the Musselman, 2008 ITU races will be held in Oklahoma City, Okla. in May; Des Moines, Iowa in June; Portland, Ore. in September; and San Francisco, Calif. in November. The ITU sends a Technical Delegate and Head Referee to oversee the safety and makeup of each race, and strict standards are followed in every aspect to ensure a safe, exciting, and well-organized event.

ITU races are of the "olympic distance," which means 0.9 miles of swimming, 24.8 miles of cycling, and 6.2 miles of running. The race course is generally multiple loops - ITU recommends 2 laps for the swim, 4-8 laps for the bike, and 4-6 laps for the run. This makes the race course very compact and provides many opportunities for watching the athletes during the 2-hour race. Typically the women's race and men's race are run at different times, with the total number of athletes not exceeding 80.

Races are fast and exciting, and the courses are created with spectators high in priority. At the Musselman, we have created a timeline that will allow all amateur athletes an opportunity to watch the racing Saturday afternoon. We hope that sprinters stay after their race and half-iron athletes arrive early to spectate. There's no better way to get fired up for your race than watching the very best in the sport!

Learn more about the Musselman ITU Pan American Cup, including the course, participants, and prize money, here.