This year’s race billed as elite showdown
Guerneville will be race central this Sunday, July 10 when some 2,500 athletes compete in the 26th annual Ironman 70.3 Vineman triathlon.
This year’s race is being billed as an elite showdown on the Ironman 70.3 circuit, pumping an expected eight million dollars into the local economy.
The list of top female contenders includes defending Vineman champion Meredith Kessler of San Francisco, who will attempt to win her fifth straight race. Other top women expected to compete are: Holly Lawrence, Rachel McBride, Caroline Steffen, Annabel Luxford, Helle Frederiksen, Lauren Brandon, Jennifer Spieldenner, Melanie McQuaid, Lisa Roberts and Emily Cocks. Â
Top male contenders include; defending champion Sam Appleton, former Vineman winners Craig Alexander, Luke Bell, Terenzo Bozzone, Andy Potts, and Tim Reed. Other notables are highly regarded athletes Tim Don, Richie Cunningham, Ben Hoffman and Jake Montgomery.
The race begins just after dawn at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville with a 1.2-mile swim, continues with a 56-mile bike segment through several grape-growing regions, and finishes up with a 13.1-mile run ending at Windsor High School.
In an effort to protect competing athletes and hundreds of volunteers, there will be partial and full road closures along the race route. For a complete map of affected roads visit the official website at Ironman.com/vineman.
