Ironman 70.3 Pucon Chile Preview

Shawn Skene previews the 2010 Ironman 70.3 Pucon Chile

While the northern hemisphere suffers through one of the most unsettled winters on record, the southern hemisphere's summer heats up with some hot racing this weekend in Chile.

Ironman 70.3 Pucon has been a race favored by triathletes for well over two decades. Pucon has played host to one of the oldest triathlons, and with its age, the race has matured and become one of the finest races in triathlon.

Triathlete Magazine's, Brad Culp wrote “Pucon, Chile, is home to one of the most stunning triathlons in the world” in an article he penned last year about 2009 Ironman 70.3 Pucon. This is a similar sentiment held by a number of Ironman world champions: Mark Allen, Paula Newby Fraser, Peter Reid, Heather Fuhr, Lori Bowden and Chris McCormack have all made the journey to southern Chile to compete in the winter. The list of big-name athletes who have made the trip to Chile include five-time Ironman 70.3 Pucon champion Lisa Bentley, Heather Gollnick, Cam Widoff, Oscar Galindez (a four-time champ in Pucon), Eduardo Sturla, Joanne King, Sian Welch, Wendy Ingraham, Cristian Bustos and Tony DeBoom.

Located in the foothills of the Chilean Andes Mountains, the Villarica Lake and the snow covered Villarica Volcano act as a backdrop for the entire race, providing good reason why this destination race has stood the test of time.

Ironman 70.3 Pucon offers up a challenging course to competitors. The 1.9 kilometre single-lap swim follows an m-shape in Villarica Lake that sees athletes briefly exiting the water at the halfway point. The 90-km bike consists of two 45 km out-and-back laps east of Pucon with the Villarica Volcano looming to the south of the bike course. The 21-km, three-lap, run makes it way through city of Pucon with two significant climbs in each lap to contend with. The heat can be stifling at this time of year, too, and can play a major role in the outcome of the race.

This year sees the both 2009 champions, Oscar Galindez and Heather Gollnick, return to defend their titles.

Galindez, the three-time Ironman Brazil champion and runner-up at the 2008 Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 World Championship possesses a lethal bike and run combination and enters the race as the favorite. He has become 70.3 specialists and is a serous threat for the win in any race he starts at this distance.

The 2008 Ironman 70.3 Pucon champion, Reinaldo Colucci is returning this year to take a shot at taking back the title he lost to Galindez last year while coming second. The 24-year-old Olympian is mature beyond his years in terms of endurance racing. He is one of few athletes that have excelled at all distances in triathlon, with ITU speed coupled with Ironman endurance in all three of the disciplines; a potent mixture at the 70.3 distance. Watch Colucci exit the water early and work with Eduardo Sturla to distance himself from the field and attempt to hold off a hard charging Galindez on the bike and run.

Sturla has three Ironman Brazil tiles to his credit. The Argentinean has started this race seven times and has been in the top five every outing. The native of Buenos Aires has solid swim and run skills, however he customarily makes his presence known on the bike.

Americana Michael Lovato is making his way south to race in Pucon from his winter training home in Austin, Texas. The two-time Ironman champion had some solid results at the 70.3 distance in 2009, with a win at the Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island and third at Ironman 70.3 Eagleman. The only question is whether Lovato is in race shape to contend with the South Americans who focus on this race.

Gollnick will attempt to secure her third title in Pucon this weekend. The multiple Ironman champion will have her hands full with Canadian Tereza Macel early on in the race. Macel, with the confidence that comes with winning two Ironman titles in 2009 (Ford Ironman Lake Placid and Subaru Ironman Canada) enters this race as serous threat to end Gollnick’s two year reign as champion. Macel’s commanding swim and bike combination will no-doubt put Gollnick on the defence. Gollnick will have to focus on limiting the potential damage Macel delivers until the start of the run.

Watch for our race summary on Monday that will report on how the race unfolded.