Some of the nation’s best athletes will run, swim and bike their way through San Diego this weekend, beginning and ending in Point Loma and stretching down San Diego Bay. The inaugural San Diego Triathlon Classic will be held Saturday, Oct. 10. “This is the only [USA Triathlon] sanctioned Olympic distance race in San Diego,” said Rachel Gordon, director of marketing and sales of Moment Cycle Sport. “It’s the only race that has a full swim, bike and run.” The race will begin and end at Liberty Station. Nearly 700 racers will swim 1,500 meters in the San Diego Bay, bike for 40 kilometers around the Peninsula and run for 10 kilometers — the distance necessary to make the event a USA Triathlon (USAT) sanctioned race. “Having it be a USAT-sanctioned race puts a little bit more prestige on the race and gives athletes who are USAT members the ability to collect points in their age group to be ranked nationally,” Gordon said. “Through those national rankings they can qualify for the national team as well as the world team.” In addition to the Olympic distance race, which starts at 6:30 a.m., the sprint race will start 30-45 minutes later. The sprint race is half the distance of the Olympic distance race. “It’s pretty high competition in the sprint event by people who only train for the quick, fast races,” Gordon said. In the San Diego Triathlon Classic, racers will compete on a unique and challenging course. Along the way, racers will swim under the Harbor Drive pedestrian footbridge, bike through the Naval Base Point Loma sub base and up to Cabrillo National Monument and run along the water and by the USS Recruit. “All of us at the shop are triathletes ourselves and we just wanted something different,” Gordon said. “Triathlon was born in San Diego and it’s something that we’re all pretty passionate about.” Gordon said the bike portion of the race is its most challenging. Part of the 10-kilometer ride is a three-quarter-mile trek up McClelland Road to Cabrillo National Monument. “It’s going to get athletes out of their saddles, really cranking hard up that hill,” Gordon said. “It should be a pretty intense part of the race.” Gordon said the race is very spectator friendly, and there are seven different points along the course where the public can watch. She said the best spot to catch a lot of action is in the transition area on Farragut Road behind Liberty Station. “It’s where the finish line is, where the expo will be and where racers will be exiting the water, going in and out on the bike, going out on the run and finishing the race,” Gordon said. On Friday, an expo on the lawn next to Cushing and Farragut roads will precede the race. The expo is free and will go from 2 to 7 p.m. “There will be different reps from different manufacturers of their 2010 bikes, a couple of nutritional vendors giving out product samples as well as some local companies promoting their product,” Gordon said. Festivities will also follow the race on Saturday. There will be award ceremonies, entertainment, refreshments, vendors and exhibits to go along with a beer garden. On race day, portions of both Farragut and Cushing roads will be closed from 6 a.m. to noon. A number of other roads will be closed from 6 to 9:30 a.m. and a complete list can be found at momentcyclesport.com. Residents with questions or concerns about traffic on race day can call (619) 523-2453. Moment Cycle Sport is putting on the race and has been located at 1357 Rosecrans St., suite “A” for two and a half years. The shop specializes in custom road and triathlon bikes. For more information, visit momentcyclesport.com.