NewsElite field lines up for Vineman Ironman 70.3
Gaylia Osterlund previews this weekend's race in Sonoma County
Published Wednesday, July 18, 2007
The Vineman Ironman 70.3 Triathlon will be held on July 22, 2007 in Sonoma County, California (about one hour north of San Francisco). The point-to-point race begins at Johnsons Beach in Guerneville and takes entrants past hundreds of vineyards and dozens of wineries before it finishes up in at Windsor High School (just north of Santa Rosa). Along the way athletes will enjoy a tour of Sonoma County's beautiful wine country, passing through four different grape growing regions: the Russian River Region, the Dry Creek Valley, the Alexander Valley, and Chalk Hill.
The out and back run is a perfect blend of flat and rolling terrain, treating the athletes to a one mile loop through the vineyards of the La Crema Winery before returning to the finish line at Windsor High School, the hub of the weekend's activities.
During the evening, Vineman Ironman 70.3 will be giving away a number of prizes including a blue seventy Helix Wetsuit. The show will start at 7:00 PM and be finished by 8:30 PM giving athletes plenty of time to “hit the hay” for some pre-race sleep or to head out to any one of the surrounding towns to soak up some of the local culture.
On Saturday, the Expo located at Windsor High School will be open from 10:00 AM -7:30 PM giving athletes and their families the opportunity to visit many of the sponsors who are such a big part of allowing this event to happen each year. At 1:00 and 5:00 PM, Latourette and Russ Pugh will be giving their usual pre-race meetings and course talks.
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Craig Alexander, the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Champion would appear to be the favorite, especially after the withdrawal of fellow Australian Chris Legh. Alexander will take on Chris Lieto and Luke Bell, both previous champions here at Vineman Ironman 70.3, and TJ Tollakson, who posted an impressive 3:46:28 for the win at EagleMan Ironman 70.3 last month.
Other pros include Brian Lavelle, who hopes to improve on his seventh place finish from last year. Lavelle was fourth at the Ford Ironman World Championships 70.3 in Clearwater, securing a slot to Kona. Other male pros scheduled to start include Brad Send, Peter Clode, Joshua Rix, Greg Sautner and Brent Paulson.
The women’s pro race will be headlined by 2006 Ford Ironman World Champion Michellie Jones and 2006 Ford Ironman 70.3 World Champion Samantha McGlone. Jones is also a two time ITU World Champion and an Olympic silver medalist. Jones and McGlone went head-to-head in June at the Ford Ironman 70.3 Hawaii, with McGlone taking the victory. McGlone is also set to race her first Ironman in Kona in October, while Jones will be defending her title for the first time against the world’s best.
Chasing those two will be Australians Rebekah Keat and Melissa Ashton, who recently finished first and second at Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens, Also competing in the field is uber-swimmer Dede Greisbauer, a runner-up at Ironman Brazil, California Ironman 70.3 and last year’s winner of Ironman UK. “Pretty in Pink” Alexis Waddel was a last minute addition to the pro list. She is feisty and fit and brings with her the confidence of solid performances at Escape from Alcatraz and Tri101 in Clear Lake. Also expected to contend is last years fifth place finisher Kelly Couch. Other female pro’s scheduled to due battle include; Rachel Sears, Terri Albertazzi, Lara Brown, and Cynthia Wilson.
The Vineman Ironman 70.3 Triathlon will feature a $25,000 prize to be split equally between the top professional men and women as follows:
First - $6,000
Second - $3,000
Third - $2,000
Fourth - $1,000
Fifth - $500
The transition area will open up at 5:30 AM Sunday morning. The pro wave will take off at 6:25 AM followed by the first of 17 age group waves at 6:30 AM.
We’ll have live timing and updates after the swim, bike and at the finish line from this weekend’s race here on Ironman.com. Also ook for the post race stories we’ll post early next week.
Gaylia Osterlund can be reached at gosterlund@ironman.com
