The sponsorship structure has also been changed, with two main sponsors – Dextro Energy and Samsung – joined by four category sponsors.

Marisol Casado, the ITU President and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said: "This new structure not only gives our premier series a cleaner image, it also gives us greater flexibility to raise the profile of the series and increase its commercial success."

The 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series will begin in Sydney, Australia on the weekend of 14 and 15 April, before moving to San Diego, Madrid, Kitzbühel, Hamburg, Lausanne, Yokohama and finishing in Auckland in October.

Last year's series saw major growth in media figures, with more than 200 million watching worldwide.

Upsolut Sports' chief executive Christian Toetzke said: "The popularity of the ITU World Triathlon Series gets bigger and bigger and we're sure there's still huge growth potential.

"Everybody who ever tried triathlon will do it again."

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