Dubai: Five-time world champion Simon Lessing of Great Britain won last week's Ironman 70.3 race held in Cancun, Mexico.
This was the 14th podium in the 70.3 series for triathletes representing the Tri-Dubai team.
In its inaugural year, the Ironman 70.3 race series can well be dubbed Tri-Dubai 70.3, or at least that's what it seems with eight of the 10 athletes on Team Tri-Dubai landing on the podium during 2006.
All races on the 70.3 series consist of a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile cycling and a 13.1-mile run. Going by form, Lessing is one of the world's most feared triathletes, and he proved his mettle yet again in Cancun, as he crossed the tape with a time of 3 hours, 54.29 minutes.
This marks an unprecedented 14th time a member of Tri-Dubai has taken a podium place for the new race series, created by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) owners of the famed Ironman World Championship.
The new concept has resulted in the new 'half-Ironman' race series, called the Ironman 70.3.
"The creation of the new 70.3 series this year has been huge for the sport of triathlon. It has provided a legitimate circuit between the Olympic distance racing format (approximately a two-hour race for the professionals) and the Ironman Distance racing (approximately eight-hour race for the professionals)," noted Franko Vatterott, who manages Tri-Dubai.
"The 70.3 series sometimes called half-ironman has really taken off around the world, and I am glad the Tri-Dubai team has played a useful role for the spread of the sport around the world," Vatterott added.
The Ironman World Championship 70.3 race will be held in Clearwater, Florida on November 11.
Team members Chris Legh (Australia), Tim DeBoom (US), Joanna Lawn (New Zealand), Desiree Ficker (US), and Craig Alexander (Australia) will be joining Lessing for the title of World Champion at that distance, one month after the famed Hawaii Ironman, the highest profile triathlon on the planet.
