TRIATHLON – Defending champions Vincent Luis from France and Georgia Taylor-Brown from Britain are set to spearhead a high-quality professional field in the Ironman 70.3 Bahrain 2025, set to take place tomorrow.
Luis is one of four Bahrain Victorious 13 athletes who are competing in the event, which is being held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. The others are Vasco Vilaca from Portugal and Kacper Stepniak from Poland amongst the men, and India Lee from Britain amongst the women.
The quartet are all multi-titled triathletes who are amongst the sport’s international superstars, and, along with Taylor-Brown, who is a Bahrain Victorious 13 alumnus, are looking forward to taking on the challenging 1.9-kilometre swim, 90km bike ride, and 21.1km run.
“It’s definitely good to come back,” Luis told the GDN yesterday on the sidelines of a Press conference where details of tomorrow’s race were announced.
“We’ve been in the Middle East for a while now – we raced in Dubai two weeks ago and we’re racing in Qatar in a week – so it’s good to come here and enjoy a bit of what Bahrain has to offer, but definitely we are looking forward to race and we will do our best to retain our title.”
Taylor-Brown shares Luis’s enthusiasm and is hoping to have another memorable experience in the hugely popular event. “I’m quite relaxed this year,” she told the GDN. “It’s nice to be back and it’s a fun race to do.
“I know Bahrain quite well now having been here a few times, and I’m excited to race. I feel no pressure at all and I’ll be looking to have fun and enjoy it.”
This year’s Ironman 70.3 Bahrain starts and finishes at the Ironman Village near Reef Island.
It is set to feature nearly 500 athletes, both men and women, of various ages and nationalities.
There are a dozen professional men competing and five pro women.
The pro men get tomorrow’s action underway with their swim leg starting at 6.20am, while the pro women begin their race at 6.23am.
All the other participants in the race’s different age groups will begin their campaigns at 6.30am. An awards ceremony and banquet will take place in the evening at 7pm.
Luis and Lee are also looking forward to the local support in what they can consider as their “home” race, being prominent Bahrain Victorious 13 members.
“It’s a huge plus for us to race in front of our fans – I’ve been part of Bahrain Victorious 13 seven years now, and it’s definitely always good to come back here and receive the support from everyone,” said Luis. “I got some messages on Instagram from people saying they will be at the various stations during the run, so it’s definitely good to feel the support and to come back to the island.
“I can see the country growing and the sport developing with more bike paths, so it’s good to see. I hope I can come again and again and visit schools and encourage the kids to be active, and having the support of Shaikh Nasser [bin Hamad Al Khalifa] is definitely a massive plus for us.”
Added Lee, who is returning to race in the kingdom since first competing here in the event’s 2018 edition: “Bahrain is definitely a little bit different from when I first came – there are a few more buildings and stuff. The race venue is in a different place as well so I’m looking forward to it.
“I’m proud to be part of Bahrain Victorious 13, so to come out here and race the Bahrain 70.3 does feel like we are the home team, and it’s really nice to represent and be a part of it.”
Tomorrow’s Ironman 70.3 Bahrain is of added significance for Luis, Taylor-Brown, and Lee, as it will help them gear up for the Qatar T100 Triathlon – the season-finale of this year’s T100 Triathlon World Tour, taking place December 12 in Doha.
“This race just fits really well with my preparations for next weekend,” explained Lee. “I haven’t raced since the Ironman World Championships in Kona, [Hawaii], so I’ve had quite a long build-up.
“I wanted to come here and sort of blow the cobwebs away before next weekend, but it’s also a nice opportunity to come race in Bahrain.”
Commented Luis, who will be aiming for a Bahrain hat-trick after also winning in the kingdom in 2022 : “We usually finish our season in Bahrain but this year we have one more week to go – at least it is a short trip and then we can go for the holidays.”
As part of the event’s programme and ahead of tomorrow’s main event, an Ironkids race will take place this afternoon from 2.15pm to 5pm.
Also in attendance at yesterday’s conference were Vilaca and Bapco Energies sponsorships manager Ghadeer Sameer Abdulla.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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