A combination of long-distance swimming and biking, adding aquabike to the line-up offers age group athletes the opportunity to earn another world title at the event which is scheduled to take place from August 18 to 27.

It joins duathlon, aquathlon, cross triathlon, and long-distance triathlon at the Championships.

The aquabike race will see athletes swim three kilometres followed by a 120km cycle, mirroring the length of the long-distance triathlon.

The finish line will be right after the second transition, with athletes racking their bikes and then sprinting to cross the finish line.

"The multisport world continues to grow at an incredible rate," said ITU President Marisol Casado, a member of the International Olympic Committee. 

"Offering multi-sport races like aquabike promotes the growth of triathlon worldwide, as it makes the sport accessible to everyone of all ages and abilities no matter where they are."

Michael Brown, the race executive director, added: "We are thrilled to be adding Aquabike World Championships to the docket at ITU Multisport World Championships in Penticton next August.

"The addition of Aquabike means the Multisport World Championships is truly complete, with five World Championship events."

The 10-day Multisport World Championships is expected to see more than 7,000 age groupers race along the beachfront of Okanagan Lake and Okanagan Lake Park.

The spectator-friendly courses are due to feature a variety of terrain and include some of the area’s many views, wineries and landmarks, as well as the downtown area.

As well as a full week of triathlon action, participants and visitors will also be able to enjoy concerts, street dance, race exposition, parade of nations, kids races and awards presentations.

Last week, the ITU launched a social media campaign to try and get the world talking about the sport ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics.

Entitled "This is Triathlon", the campaign will include videos, photos, stories and statistics about the sport to "get the public educated and excited about the elite triathletes and Para-triathletes hitting the world’s biggest athletic stage in Rio".

The ITU has asked fans to share their own triathlon stories using the hashtags #ThisIsTriathlon and #Triathlon2016 when uploading their submissions to sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Vine.

Each week, the governing body will select a winning submission to earn prizes such as triathlon equipment, autographed gear and discounts to the ITU Official World Triathlon Store.

In turn, every weekly winner will be entered into the running for a Grand Final prize, which will include a travel voucher worth up to $2,500 (£1,900/€2,300) and a trip to Penticton for the 2017 ITU Multisport World Championships.