One Of Canada's Oldest Triathlons

Welcome to the Esprit Triathlon, one of the oldest triathlons in Canada, dating back to 1984 when it was originally known as the Esprit de Montréal Triathlon. This unique triathlon takes place at the Olympic Basin for the swim portion and uses the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve for the bike section, making it one of North America’s fastest courses. The event ran from the Basin to the Olympic Stadium through the streets of Montréal until the early 1990s.

Offering multiple distances from Try a Tri, Sprint, Olympic, and Half, there are options for everyone. The 2025 edition, taking place next weekend, September 5–6, and has been sold out for months with over 3800 participants registered.

In 2024 Challenge acquired the Esprit Triathlon, but the event has kept its name since its inception and now known as the Challenge Esprit Montréal. The venue has one of the most spectator-friendly layouts, where they can follow their athletes in the Olympic Basin and on multiple laps of the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit on the bike. The run takes place around the Olympic Basin and is fast and flat.

In the early 1990s a full distance was offered with a 3.8km swim in the Basin, 180km bike that consisted of 41 laps of the Gilles Villeneuve 4.4km circuit and a 42.2km run that featured 9 laps around the Basin. That distance has been discontinued but the event still offers a Half-Distance, Olympic, Sprint and Initiation. This also includes Aquabike & Duathlon options over the two-day event.

To help with lap counting the event provides a giant display screen showing the number of laps remaining for all participants.

For more information click here