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New Ironman 70.3 venue greets Triathletes in Taiwan

Venue of the Ironman 70.3 in Taitung, Taiwan. (Ironman.com)
Venue of the Ironman 70.3 in Taitung, Taiwan. (Ironman.com)

A new IRONMAN 70.3 is unveiled in Taiwan amid the burgeoning Asian triathlon scene.

Kiwi Guy Crawford is hoping to continue his run of success in Taiwan in the new Sinox IRONMAN 70.3 Taiwan. After a breakthrough victory at IRONMAN 70.3 Taiwan in Kenting last November, he moves with the race to nearby Taitung for the new event.

Well performed Czech Republic triathlete Radka Vodikova has the top women’s seeding where she faces a bunch of Asia-Pacific’s best.

Men’s Field

Crawford enjoys the heat, having been in the top four in Taiwan in each of the last three years. He comes off an 11th placing at IRONMAN New Zealand where he was prominent until he fell away late on the run.

The favourite is likely to be Australian Brad Kahlefeldt who has his first start in 2016 after fully recovering from a hip injury that brought about an early finish to his 2015 season.

The lanky Australian won IRONMAN 70.3 Bintan late last year and earlier last year finished on the podium at IRONMAN Melbourne. He enjoys the heat with victories in recent times over IRONMAN 70.3 at Cairns and Putrajaya.

Guy Crawford en route to a win at Ironman 70.3 Taiwan. Photo from Facebook/Ironman 70.3 Taiwan
Guy Crawford en route to a win at Ironman 70.3 Taiwan. Photo from Facebook/Ironman 70.3 Taiwan

Sweden’s Fredrik Croneborg was runner up to Crawford in Taiwan last year and also runner-up at IRONMAN Malaysia, while there is interest in former Italian policeman Alberto Casadei, who was third at IRONMAN races in the Netherlands and Malaysia last year.

Watch too for Japan’s Kaito Tohara who was fifth at IRONMAN Malaysia in November, and the well-performed Australian David Mainwaring, who enjoyed his breakthrough IRONMAN 70.3 success at Western Sydney in December.

Radka Vodickova wins Ironman 70.3 Port Macquarie 2015. Image from Instagram/Radka Vodickova
Radka Vodickova wins Ironman 70.3 Port Macquarie 2015. Image from Instagram/Radka Vodickova

Women’s field

Radka Vodickova has numerous victories around the globe over the distance, including Putrajaya and St Croix in 2014 although raced sparingly last year. She started this year with second to Mel Hauschildt at the Husky long distance race.

Australians Sarah Crowley and Kate Bevilaqua are no strangers to success in Asia as is the Japanese pair of Emi Sakai and Keiko Tanaka.

However the locals will be out in force to support the remarkable Taiwanese star Shiao-Yu Li, who overcame paralysis to become an IRONMAN champion, winning in Japan three years in a row and becoming the first professional from Taiwan to compete at the IRONMAN World championship in Hawaii.

After six years based in Kenting, the event will be based on the east coast location of Taitung with a one lap swim in the stunning Flowing Lake with the bike and run courses along the coastline of the Pacific Ocean.

Temperatures should be around 27C degrees. Taitung is on the southeast shores of Taiwan, approximately two hours drive from Kenting, facing the Pacific Ocean.

Pro Males

BIB First Name Last Name Country
1 Guy Crawford NZL
2 Fredrik Croneborg SWE
3 Alberto Casadei ITA
4 David Mainwaring AUS
5 Brad Kahlefeldt AUS
6 Gudmund Snilstveit NOR
7 Kaito Tohara JPN
8 Mitchell Kibby AUS
9 Stuart Marais ZAF
10 Zsombor Deák ROM
11 Alistair Eeckman USA
12 Paul Amey GBR
13 Sebastien Jouffret FRA
14 Yu Shinozaki JPN
15 Peter Kerr AUS
16 Shinya Suganuma JPN
17 Adam Gordon AUS

Pro Females

BIB First Name Last Name Country
21 Radka Vodickova CZE
22 Sarah Crowley AUS
23 Kate Bevilaqua AUS
24 Shiao-Yu Li TWN
25 Emi Sakai JPN
26 Keiko Tanaka JPN
27 Carina Brechters DEU

Originally from: http://ap.ironman.com/triathlon-news/articles/2016/03/ironman-70.3-taiwan-preview.aspx#ixzz43btdxR7Y