Hi All,
Of all the big events that we're talking about this week, the three triathlons this weekend are what get me most excited. Ironman Australia, Oceanside 70.3, and an ITU race in Australia will really start to put triathlon back into the minds of the fans the world over.
Ironman Australia is happening this weekend - and becomes only the 4th Ironman race to reach it's 25th anniversary (Kona, Canada, and New Zealand are the others). It doesn't have a great pro field in 2010, but remains a classic race among the Ironman community. The men's race will feature Australian pro Patrick Vernay going for his 4th victory in a row against a group of mainly Australian pros. The women's race features Rebekkah Keat as the heavy victory with only American Desiree Ficker as a legitimate contender. However, I will be watching to see if Vernay and Keat can have a good day - remember, Ironman Australia is where racers like Chris McCormack and Lisa Bentley learned how to race (and win) over the Ironman distance...
Meanwhile, about 400 miles up the Aussie coast, the ITU season kicks off with a race in Mooloolaba. This race isn't part of the World Championship Series (starts April 11 in Sydney) but is a World Cup race and features a super field. The men's race was supposed to feature Javier Gomez, but a hip injury scratched him at the last minute. So the men's race will probably be a battle between Australians Courtney Atkinson (winner in 2009) and Brad Kahlefeldt (winner in 2007). The women's race will feature an even deeper field, with the Canadian women Kathy Tremblay and Kirsten Sweetland taking on Debbie Tanner (New Zealand), Laura Bennett and Sarah Groff (USA), and Liz Blatchford (Great Britain). It should be a good test for Sweetland, who won this race in 2009 before injuries cost her most of the season. Will this be her year??
Too bad that Simon Whitfield and the men's team will not be competing. Instead, Simon will be hanging out in Victoria, spending time in his man-cave. Here's a fun video of him showing off his new bike on the rollers...
Lastly, in Southern California on Saturday morning , the North American Ironman season kicks off in Oceanside with the Ironman 70.3 race. This race should be a battle, as there are 4 legitimate big names in the male race. Andy Potts (winner of 2007 and 2008) is a late scratch after this week's birth of his daughter Sloane but Matt Reed (winner in 2009) are back, along with fellow American Tim O'Donnell (won 5 70.3 races last year) and two big name Europeans. German Michael Raelert, who surprised the field at the 70.3 World Champs with a world record time (3:34) in Clearwater, will be racing Oceanside for the first time while Rasmus Henning (5th in Kona) from Denmark will make his Oceanside debut as well. The Oceanside course is fairly hilly, so strong riders like Potts and Reed might have the home course advantage. Regardless, it should be great to see who's on form early in 2010. The women's race will probably have less drama, as Mirinda Carfrae (2009 winner plus 2nd in Kona) will be the heavy favorite. Sam McGlone is probably the only real threat to Carfrae, but McGlone is coming off two tough years and it will be interesting to see if she can keep up with Carfrae, who is normally dominant at the 70.3 distance. Slowtwitch likes Reed and Carfrae to win, but I'll take Raelert in a mild upset.
Okay, that's it for triathlon, enjoy the races!
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