|
| |
| » Bentley, Fuhr to battle at Ironman Canada (27/08/2007) |
Link: http://www.triathletemag.com/Departments/Race_Coverage/2007/Bentley__Fuhr_to_battle_at_Ironman_Canada.htm
By Jay Prasuhn
Aug. 25, 2007 -- Sunday's start at Ironman Canada will see nearly 2,800 athletes take to the waters of Lake Okanagan, for the 25th running of Ironman Canada. While former NHLer Pat LaFontaine and sister Madonna Buder are among those in for the race, all eyes are on the women's pro race as two of Canada's premier Ironman legends go toe-to-toe for the title.
The women's field sees several of last year's Canada top finishers including Lori Lynn Leach, Charlene Waldner, Sara Gross and run powerhouse Lucy Smith making the morning start. Americans Linda Gallo and Andrea Fisher are also present, hoping for a sizable gap out of the water.
But looking to overall favorites, all indicators point toward two Canadian legends; Lisa Bentley and Heather Fuhr. Bentley, a two-time Ironman Canada winner, looks to avenge her runner-up finish to Belinda Granger from a year ago. And while the perennial question to whether she should shelve the race in favor of being rested for Kona, Bentley is confident in her ability to recover. But moreover, she races the races she wants to. "I wanted to do this race for myself as opposed to other reasons. I'm putting myself first and what I want to do, and I want to do this race. I love Hawaii and it's my favorite course-I don't even know if this course is the best for me. But this year, I needed to be around these people.
The only question is a chronic Achilles heel injury that flared up in early April that forced a bit of time off running. But a recent race at Spirit of Racine Triathlon was a positive bellwether. "It took a couple months to come right and will take time to get perfect. It's as good as it's gonna get at the moment," Bentley said. "When I finished (Racine), I could still walk and said 'good, I can still race Ironman Canada!"
Her prime target will be fellow Canadian Heather Fuhr. The former Hawaii Ironman world champion has made a career of winning races around the world, but hasn't. This year, Fuhr has put the Hawaii Ironman on the shelf for the time being in order to do some races she hadn't otherwise been able to do, and Ironman Canada was at the top of her "to do" list.
"It's fun. To be able to come here and make this my focus, then to go and watch Kona, it'll be great," Fuhr said. "It's a race I've always wanted to do, and to come here on its 25th anniversary is special. It's a good opportunity to do a race and visit with family as well. It has such a great hometown feel."
Bentley is excited about the prospects of a run battle with Canada's other historic run specialist. "We always cheer for each other in Hawaii, but she's a tough, tough competitor."
The men's race is a truly open book. With Canadian defending race champ Jasper Blake and fellow countryman and former race winner Tom Evans abstaining to save stores for the Hawaii Ironman in October, the crown is up for grabs. Ukranian Andriy Yastrebov. Gordo Byrn also looks to Jamie Cleveland. Kiwi Kieran Doe also looks to shake things up on the bike, dreadlocks notwithstanding.
With a sixth-place finish against a strong field at Ironman Arizona, Canadian Jonathan Caron comes in as a contender. In his favor his having made Penticton his on and off training base, spending the last four months riding and running over the course.
"I don't know how much of an advantage it is, but it's been great training here," Caron said. "It's been so hot but it's supposed to be colder. But I'm from Quebec where it's cold, so I'm up for whatever."
While pre-race temps have been very warm, temps are expected to top out at 22 degrees celcius, or in the low 70s F on race day, with partly cloudy conditions-idyllic racing conditions for the athletes.
Check in with triathletemag.com for a detailed post-race report.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Back