The Cayman Islands Triathlon is one of the most anticipated sporting events on Island and this year promises to be every bit as competitive as previous editions.
With a new cycling route the event will challenge even seasoned competitors, as the increased number of corners on the route will make it especially challenging for the faster cyclists to work their way around the course.
The event starts from Seven Mile Public Beach at 6.45am on Sunday 6 November. The main sponsors are Krys Associates and Red Sail Sports.
Over the last couple of years this event has belonged to Marius Acker, who has been the top local competitor for as long as anyone cares to remember. Acker has only been beaten to the top step of the podium by top visiting athletes, but even he knows that his reign cannot continue indefinitely.
“Local competition will come from Johan Heath who has improved on his personal best every time he raced in this event over the last two years,” said Acker. “Johan’s aim is to win this race and I have no doubt that he will be setting another personal best over this distance in this event this year.”
However, Heath, a very strong swimmer and cyclist, may find that the new bike course does not play to his strengths as it will not allow cyclists to settle into a rhythm the same way they could on the old course.
With the wind predicted to be pumping on race day, the winning time is likely to be slower than usual.
“Times should be slower than previous years due to the new cycling course and anyone breaking 2 hours 10 minutes will have a shot at this year’s title,” said Acker.
The slower bike course may also favour a strong runner like Acker, as it could leave him with less of a gap to close down after the bike leg.
Since last year’s event a number of top triathletes have departed the Island, including Jasper Mikkelsen and Tom Stephens, which means that there could well be a couple of new faces contest for a podium spot. However, most of the other podium contenders lack the swim speed to come out of the water close to Heath and Acker.
In the women’s race Pam Abbott is likely to be a top contender, having shown that she excels in all three facets of the triathlon. Of the traditional challengers for the title few will be competing this year, leaving the podium wide open. With challenger Caroline Cahill having elected not to participate this year, all eyes will be on Carol Bell, who recently claimed the national 10 mile time trial title, and seasoned campaigner Gill Comins.
Participants will take on either the Olympic distance event comprising a 1500 metre swim, a 40 kilometre cycle and a 10 kilometre run, or the sprint distance, which halves the distance of each individual leg of the event. There is also a team event, in which top swimmers, cyclists and runners team up to take a shot at overall glory.
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