CHESTER plays host to the largest triathlon event ever to be staged in the city this weekend.

Sunday’s Deva Triathlon has a record entry of 1,200 competitors.

Some of the top athletes will be looking to cash in on a last chance to secure one of the few remaining places in the Triathlon World Age-Group Championships, to be held in London later this year.

Others in the field with ages ranging from 17 to 79 will be relative newcomers to the sport, which is gaining fresh popularity following British successes at the Olympics last summer.

Spectators are welcome to come along and watch the event – which is organised by Chester Triathlon Club – or free.

The race starts at 7am in the River Dee next to the bandstand. One hundred-strong waves of swimmers will start the 1,500m swim every 15 minutes until 9.15am.

They will swim upstream, towards the Meadows, for about 850m, and then 650m downstream to exit the river at the Boathouse Inn.

Competitors will then run to transition, in Grosvenor Park, to exit the city via the Old Dee Bridge.

They will cycle 40km (25 miles) through Rossett, Pulford, Holt, Churton and Aldford before returning to the park via Boughton.

Once back in transition, they will put on running shoes for a two-lap, 10km (six-mile) run across the suspension bridge, round the Meadows, over the Old Dee Bridge and back on to the Groves to finish the race where they began.

The first finisher is expected to arrive back by 9.20am, with prizes to be presented at the bandstand at 1pm.

The race HQ, bike and run routes will be a little different this year to cope with increased numbers, so competitors and spectators should not assume everything will be where it was when they last visited.

There are also a small number of city centre road closures and related parking restrictions which were not in place in previous years. Details are available on events.chestertri.org.uk/deva-tri.