WORLD’S BEST ARRIVE TO CHALLENGE IRONMAN CHAMP
WORLD’S BEST ARRIVE TO CHALLENGE IRONMAN CHAMP
MELBOURNE, Australia (March 20, 2013) – The field set to descend on Melbourne for this year’s URBAN Hotel Group IRONMAN® Asia Pacific Championship Melbourne is close to the strongest the sport of Ironman triathlon can muster.
Arguably the greatest triathlete of his generation Craig Alexander is back to defend the title he added to his overloaded mantelpiece last year.
In 2012 he was pushed all the way to the final stages of the run by Kiwi Cameron Brown, who is back after a third place at IRONMAN New Zealand earlier this month. Brown and Alexander will be joined on the start line by the fastest Ironman triathlete in history, with world record holding Belgian Marino Vanhoenacker set to take on a course that the field last year showed was a fast one.
Current Ironman World Champion Pete Jacobs is expecting a cracking race on the men's side of the field.
"The men’s field this year is astounding. It has all the different possible combinations of experience and talent thrown in among the 40 plus professionals," he said.
"Only a few races in the world have this depth of talent. Hawaii being one of the only ones you can compare it to in terms of so many similarly talented athletes.
"What it will come down to is experience and confidence. If there is someone who knows where their strength lies and is not afraid to pull the trigger and use it, then a big break on the bike could shake the race up.
"A few men fit that mould, and it will depend a little bit on how close to the front they can swim, and if the weather conditions help them mentally on the bike."
Jacobs believes Alexander's poor race at Kona last year showed a bit of a chink in his armour, but with that said he still sees Alexander as the man to beat.
"I’m sure he wouldn’t be racing in Melbourne if he hadn’t corrected the muscular problem he experienced in Kona last year, he probably changed the way he trained a little bit. But this could only make him stronger," he said.
"Marino didn’t run the marathon in Kona, so should be fresher than Craig this early in the year. I’ll pick Marino to win it on the bike, or Craig to win it on the run."
Pete Jacobs Top 3
"I think it will be Craig, Marino, and Tyler Butterfield. Tyler had a very strong ride in Abu Dhabi, and then ran pretty well too. That recent experience of how he felt over the 200km ride will give him confidence and a lot of fitness and strength."
Who is your smokey for the race?
"I would pick Chris Kemp. He has won a few big 70.3 races this year and seems to have found his purple patch. He is an experienced athlete, I know his nutrition is sorted because we work with the same sponsor and advisor (Darryl at Shotz), and he has the running ability that not many have. His form is efficient, and if he is there off the bike he will push for the win."
The URBAN Hotel Group IRONMAN® Asia-Pacific Championship Melbourne will be held on Sunday, March 24, 2013.
The 226km race will take place in Melbourne’s South East and Bayside suburbs. The course will include a 3.8km swim in the Frankston Foreshore, a fast and smooth 180km bike on the EastLink motorway and 42.2km Brooks run from Frankston to the URBAN Hotel Group IRONMAN Asia-Pacific Championship finish line, located at the iconic St. Kilda Catani Gardens.
Event starts at 7.35am.
For further event details: www.IRONMANmelbourne.com.
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