More than 2000 of the world’s best athletes will descend on
Sonoma County on Sunday, July 17 for the Avia Vineman Ironman 70.3
triathlon.
The 21st edition of the event begins 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.
This year’s race is being billed as a “champion’s battle,” as
World Champions, Ironman Champions, and former Vineman Champions
headline the field. The elite pro field will be vying for a record
$50,000 in prize money and coveted ranking points for the Ford
Ironman and Ironman 70.3 World Championship races.
Outside of the World Championship events, the race is expected
to be the deepest (55 athletes) and strongest pro field seen in
North America this year.
The men’s race is headlined by former Vineman Ironman 70.3
winners Chris Lieto (2002, 2010), course record holder Joe Gambles
(2009), 2011 United States Ironman Champion Timothy O’Donnell, 2011
Ironman South Africa and 2011 Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 Champion
Raynard Tissink, and 2011 Ironman Kansas 70.3 Champion Paul
Matthews.
The race will also include Andy Potts, currently one of the most
successful athletes on the triathlon circuit. A former Olympian and
the 2010 Ford Ironman Coeur d’ Alene champion, Potts has already
won five races this year including the Ironman 70.3 Florida and the
Ironman 70.3 California-Oceanside.
In addition to the favorites, the men’s pro field will also
feature an accomplished sub-group of champion athletes that could
affect the outcome of the race and claim a share of the purse. The
group includes 2011 Avia Wildflower winner Jesse Thomas, Kieran Doe
(former Ironman Canada Champion and 2nd 2011 Avia Vineman Ironman
70.3), the imposing and diverse Matty Reed, Matt Lieto, and 2010
Subaru Ironman Canada Champion Victor Zyemtsev.
The women’s pro field looks equally impressive. Among the
favorites are 2010 Ford Ironman World Champion and 2010 Avia
Vineman Ironman 70.3 winner Mirinda Carfrae, Leanda Cave (2nd
Ironman Championship 70.3, 1st 2011 Avia Wildflower, 2nd 2010 Avia
Vineman Ironman 70.3), Heather Jackson (2nd Ironman 70.3
California-Oceanside), three-time Xterra World Champion Melanie
McQuaid, 2010 Ironman Canada Champion Meredith Kessler, and rising
star Magali Tisseyre.
The “race within a race” will also showcase a group of the top
age-group athletes battling for bragging rights and 50 coveted
qualifying spots for the Ironman World Championship 70.3 to be held
on September 11 in Las Vegas, NV.
The Avia Vineman Ironman 70.3 is the first in the Vineman series
of triathlons this month that will continue on Saturday, July 30
with the full Vineman race, along with an aqua-bike, and Barb’s
Race, a huge fundraiser in the fight against cancer, and the only
all-women’s 70.3 triathlon contested in the world.
For more information and schedules visit the official race
website at www.vineman.com.
Dave Latourette contributed to this article.
