NewsAntwerp Ironman 70.3 is heating up
Nadine Fisher has this pre-race report on Sunday's race
Published Saturday, July 1, 2006
At this weekend's upcoming Antwerp Ironman 70.3, the Marc Herremans Classic, we're looking forward to a hot race loaded with top athletes and action. The event sets new standards with a fully closed race course in the city centre and the harbour area of Antwerp and Belgium's premier TV channel broadcasting the race live. If you're not living in Belgium, you get the action delivered to your screen, right here on ironman.com
More than 600 athletes will compete in Sundays race in the beautiful city of Antwerp, the event starts at noon to attract even more spectators. The summer has started some days ago here in Belgium and with temperatures around 30 C we're looking forward to perfect conditions for the Antwerp Ironman 70.3.
“Its so busy these days,” Herremans said in an interview leading up to the race. “But I’m pretty excited about the event, its growing a lot! We moved it to Antwerp with the run course in the city centre and expect a lot of spectators. And we have with Norman Stadler, Luc Van Lierde and Thomas Hellriegel three Hawaii champions at the starting line!”
Among the favourites are also Great Britan’s Spencer Smith and Andrew Johns, Germany’s Steffen Liebetrau, Australians Pete Jacobs and Richie Cunningham, and Belgians Rutger Beke, Marino Vanhoenacker and Peter Croes.
In the womens race we’ll be watching for Denmark’s Lisbeth Kristensen, the winner of this years Ironman Brazil and Germany’s Silke Hinrichs, who placed fifth last year at UK Ironman 70.3.
The course in Antwerp is totally flat and super fast. The first discipline is held in a little lake near the Schelde river, which is normally reserved for little sailboats. For the athletes, though, the city of Antwerp has made an exception. Antwerp has been very supportive of the event, closing the roads for the afternoon. The bike leg goes first up north for 25k along the shore of the Schelde River. Later the athletes bike through the harbour area passed the huge ships, containers and dockyard gear. North of the city the athletes do two 20k loops through the green fields of Antwerp’s countryside.
The four loop run course is held in Antwerp’s city center, with the finish line in a huge market full of spectators.
As Belgium’s athlete of the year, Herremans is a well known personality. The event will attract not only thousands of spectators but also an incredible media attention. The revenue from the Marc Herremans Classic goes to the “To Walk Again” foundation. Over the last two years it has generated more than 100 000 Euros per event. The foundation finances a center in Belgium, where paralyzed kids can do rehabilitation and sports for free and also supports spinal cord and stem cell research.
