Well, the title could be a wee misleading, since I have a wee bit of pro cycling and running news to get to as well, but the majority of today's post will be tri-related as the 2009 season really gets its groove on...as well, I will be back Monday with a special Dopey Monday edition to cover some new happenings...
Okay, I already posted on Kirsten Sweetland's amazing win last Sunday in Australia. She won the first ITU World Cup race of the year (remember that World Cup events are now second-tier since the World Championship Series races are the primary set of races) with a race-best run split. And defeating Emma Moffatt must have been sweet since Moffatt beat Sweetland in a sprint finish in Edmonton in 2007. So a little bit of payback over her friend and training partner must have been nice. The men's race was a battle between mainly Aussies and Kiwis with Courtney Atkinson beating Kris Gemmell and Brad Kahlefeldt. But I want to see Gomez and Whitfield start their 2009 season too...
It's finally a huge week in the Ironman world. 4 separate events on 3 continents mean that the majority of big names are going to be competing this weekend. I'll break them down starting with the biggest 70.3 event in the United States with Ironman 70.3 California in Oceanside. This race gets top billing due to its history (an Ironman or 70.3 has been held there for ~20 years), it's top-notch field, and the fact that I did the race last year. This year the men's field is full of top names, with returning champ Andy Potts back to battle Matt Reed (pretty fast dude), Richie Cunningham & Fraser Cartmell (70.3 guys) , David Thompson & Bjorn Andersson (uber-cyclists), and other big names like Michael Lovato, Rutger Beke, and Jordan Rapp. Add in some Canadian content with Trevor Wurtele and the 70.3 debut of Edmonton's Paul Tichelaar (Go Tich!) and this race could be epic. In a post-Olympic year, you will see a lot of Olympic triathletes stretch out to 70.3 races, and with Matt Reed and Tich you get speed guys who have to prove they can bike 90 km without a peloton to help out. Personally, i think both Reed and Tichelaar are strong cyclists and should both challenge for Top 5 spots on Saturday.
The women's race is also strong. Erika Csomor will be back to defend as well, but will be hard-pressed to hold off Mirinda Carfrae, Leanda Cave, or Sam Warriner. Canada has 7 pro women in the race, highlighted by Sara Gross, Heather Wurtele, and Calgary's Catherine Brown in her first pro race. I expect Wurtele to be top Canadian since the bike course can be really tough...
Another US 70.3 race takes place on Sunday in the inaugural 70.3 New Orleans. And to make a splash, the race has brought in big names this year. Chris McCormack (racing for the 3rd week in a row) will highlight the men's field but will be challenged by Chris Lieto, American short-course guys like Brian Fleischmann and Joe Umphenour, and Canadians Sean Bechtel and Brent McMahon (who has proven he can race any distance). I like Lieto to win over McMahon and McCormack...the women's race will be even more competitive, as Natasha Badmann is supposed to highlight a women's field featuring Kate Major, Joanna Zeiger (70.3 World Champ), Desiree Ficker, Catriona Morrison, Linsey Corbin, Yvonne Von Vlerken, and Heather Gollnick. Add in Canada's Lisa Bentley and you have an amazing field. I think that's 9 women who have been top 5 in Kona or at 70.3 worlds.
Of course, the woman who Bentley/Corbin/Von Vlerken/Badmann/Major are all chasing is Chrissie Wellington. And she is back for her first race of 2009 during Sunday's Ironman Australia. Wellington is going for her 6th straight Ironman win (Korea, Kona, Australia, Frankfurt, Kona again) to start her career. She's a ridiculous talent who will be pushed by 2006 Kona winner Michellie Jones, who is racing an Ironman event in her home country for the first time. Aussie Rebekah Keat will be trying to derail the Kona champs. The men's race will also feature a Kona champion in Tim Deboom, with last year's Oz winner Patrick Vernay back to defend. Add in Canadian Jonathan Caron and veterans like Mathias Hecht and Jason Shortis and the men's race should be fun to follow as well. Of course, Wellington and Vernay are my picks...
The last race this weekend will be in Nelson Mandela Bay where Ironman South Africa occurs for the 6th year in a row. Last year's winning couple of Stephen Bayliss and Bella Comerford Bayliss are back...but i think Marino Vanhoenacker might win the men's race this year. Bella won 5 Ironman races last year and I think she'll win again...
Phew....if you need a break right now, head over to the ITU's website and check out their excellent 20th anniversary video...some great names and wonderful finishes...
Okay, back to BikeY...two big marathons this weekend....Rotterdam (which calls itself the 6th most important marathon in the world even though the Marathon Masters includes only 5 races) is this weekend, and features two runners who ran 2:05 last year and the second-fastest half-marathoner in history (Kipsang, Kwambia, and Makau). This course is fast (3 WR have been set here) and will be worth watching if anyone can set another WR this year...maybe....also Paris marathon is this weekend, and while not a race for the super-elite (with Boston, London, and Rotterdam also in April), it is the 5th largest marathon in the world in terms of number of finishers (behind NYC, Berlin, London, and Chicago) with 28000+ finishers last year.
More running recaps...I touched on the World XC champs last week, and Kenya once again failed to win the top prize (senior men's race) which was won by an Ethiopian. Ethiopia also won both Junior races, so while Kenya won all the team classifications, they didn't have those winning performances they were hoping for. Tough to feel sorry for a country that had 10 athletes in the Top 5 in the 4 races....Canada did well too with our top finish being 37th in the Senior Women's race by Catherine Cormier. Edmonton's Chelsea Graham was 41st and top Canadian in the Junior Women race. Congrats to all...
Okay, finally to the cycling world. Sunday is the Tour of Flanders, which is the biggest race of the year for Belgium. Known for it's cobblestone hills (18 hills last year!) and length (260 km), it is probably Tom Boonen's race to lose. It means a lot to him, and he has won it twice before, although his teammate Stijn Devolder won last year. Add in big names like Cancellara, Hincapie, Haussler, and Pozzato, and you should have a good race in store tomorrow. You can watch it live on cyclingfans.com too! Canada's Dominique Rollin is waving the maple leaf tomorrow for Team Cervelo...
Also wanted to recap last week's Track Cycling Worlds, where Canada actually kicked some ass on Saturday and Sunday. In a new race called the Omnium, where riders compete in 5 events in one day (flying 200m time trial, scratch race, individual pursuit, points race, and 1 km time trial) and get points depending on their finish. Add em all up, and you get a Cycling Pentathlon champion. Edmonton's Tara Whitten lost the women's gold medal by one point on Saturday, and Whitehorse's Zach Bell surprised with another silver medal in the men's Omnium on Sunday. Awesome results for both of them.
Finally, a product worthy of product of the week status...the new Garmin 310XT is coming soon. 20 hour battery life, Mac compatible, waterproof, wireless data transfer...sweetness!
Okay, some fun things...April Fool's was this week, and lots of sites had some fun. Some of my favorites included letsrun.com, which published a great story on the IAAF having a White Pride Parade after the World XC races ("30th place is 2nd Non-African!"). Velonews.com published a story on the UCI banning sunglasses in races and another one saying Lance has decided to become a sprinter while Trek put out a press release that Lance's collarbone is being healed by a novel carbon prototype by Bontrager called CarbonClavicle...hilarious...even funnier when people forget it's April 1 and write letters or editorials about these stories...
Anyhow, that's it for now...see you Monday for a special doping issue....
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