Swiss superstar Caroline Steffen will look to continue her unbeaten run at the IRONMAN 70.3 Western Sydney later this month.
A win in Western Sydney would be Steffen’s sixth in a row over the distance this year after she claimed IRONMAN 70.3 titles at Vietnam, Cairns, Cebu, Sunshine Coast and Mandurah.
"Five wins in a row, it seems I am doing something right," says Steffen. "I’m not sure if it’s just the fact I did a little less volume and added some more speed work into my training ... or maybe I just enjoy 70.3 more than IRONMAN."
IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast champion Tim Van Berkel enters the race as favourite, and after a disappointing day at October’s IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii, he’s looking forward to racing again.
"I pulled up okay post-Kona, I had a nice break and am ready to get back into the swing of things. I'm hoping a nice break has freshened me up and I’ll have some form for Western Sydney," says van Berkel.
Steffen will find herself again going head to head with Australian Annabel Luxford who finished second to the Swiss athlete in two of her wins at Cairns and Sunshine Coast.
Recent IRONMAN 70.3 Taiwan champion New Zealand’s Gina Crawford will also be in the mix and is looking forward to racing again after injury forced her to retire in Hawaii.
"I have had some issues with tightness in my right diaphragm, ribs, stomach, back (the reason I couldn't finish Kona)," says Crawford.
"I was happy to win in Taiwan, but it did not feel comfortable on the run, and I did not pull up well after that race. However, I now feel like I am getting on top of it."
Van Berkel will be joined on the start line by IRONMAN 70.3 Mandurah runner-up Jake Montgomery, who produced the race of his career to lead until the 16km mark of the run, eventually finishing second.
"I was pretty tired getting off the bike, and when Dennis Chevrot passed me I just didn’t have anything left. I’m pretty happy with second, it was great to get my first podium," says Montgomery.
The pair will be joined by fellow Australians Nicholas Kastelein, Casey Munro and Luke Bell, fourth, fifth and sixth in Mandurah.
The women’s field will also feature Australian’s Rebekah Keat, Lisa Marangon, Andrea Forrest (second at IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie) and German Mareen Hufe.
Over 1,600 age group athletes will be racing at IRONMAN 70.3 Western Sydney.
Male Pro:
2 Tim Van Berkel AUS
3 Jake Montgomery AUS
4 Mark Bowstead NZL
5 Nicholas Kastelein AUS
6 Casey Munro AUS
8 Clayton Fettell AUS
9 David Mainwaring AUS
10 Nicholas Hull AUS
11 Nicholas Baldwin SYC
12 Giles Clayton AUS
13 Derek Cross AUS
14 Mitch Dean AUS
15 Zsombor Deak ROU
16 Michael Fox AUS
17 Dylan Hill AUS
18 Brian Hrynkow CAN
19 Sebastien Jouffret FRA
20 Mitchell Kibby AUS
21 Lukas Maiwaelder CZE
22 Matthew Pellow AUS
23 Alex Reithmeier AUS
24 Bryan Rhodes NZL
25 Daniel Stein AUS
26 Stephen Thompson AUS
27 Ryan Waddington AUS
28 Lindsey Wall AUS
Female Pro:
30 Caroline Steffen CHE
31 Gina Crawford NZL
32 Annabel Luxford AUS
33 Rebekah Keat AUS
34 Mareen Hufe DEU
35 Lisa Marangon AUS
36 Andrea Forrest AUS
37 Jessica Mitchell AUS
38 Julia Grant NZL
39 Michelle Bremer NZL
40 Renee Baker AUS
41 Jessica Åhlund SWE
42 Kym Coogan AUS
43 Kristy Hallett AUS
44 Matilda Raynolds AUS
45 Pip Taylor AUS
46 Michelle Wu AUS