Posted: April 27, 2007

Triathlon: Gerardus Schellens at the Austria IRONMAN 70.3 in St.Pölten

The starting list of the first Austria IRONMAN 70.3 attracts more and more attention. Not only Cameron Brown announced his participation but also IRONMAN South Africa double winner Gerardus Schellens (BEL) is now amongst the competitors. The IRONMAN 70.3 in St. Pölten comes closer and with that the number of participants is rising. 612 athletes have already registered. The numbers meet the expectations of the organisers, the names top all expectations. Gerardus Schellens, who ran to his second victory in a row in South Africa this year, competes against the six fold winner of the IRONMAN New Zealand, Cameron Brown. It is a meeting of champions and there are more to come. The current duathlon world champion Leon Griffin from Australia is another top pro who will reach out for the victory. The Austrian top-level field is represented by the IRONMAN Austria team-members Norbert Langbrandtner, Werner Leitner, Gernot Seidl, Andreas Di Bernardo and the ‘local hero’ of Lower Austria – Alexander Frühwirth. Norbert Domnik, Daniel Niederreiter and Norbert König are also waiting for the starter’s gun. The league of the ladies is as exciting as the men’s. IRONMAN Austria winner of 2004 Erika Csomor (HUN) is competing against Edith Niederfriniger (ITA) who triumphed in the IRONMAN France in 2006. The route of the Austria IRONMAN 70.3 shows great characteristics, not only on the swim distance. For safety and fairness reasons the athletes start in waves groups. In addition, it is the first triathlon where the participants swim in two watercourses. The first part of the swim track - the Viehofener Lake- is connected through a small running part across the new Traisenbridge to the second part - the Ratzersdorfer Lake . Highway S33 closed The bike distance runs on the closed S33 and along Wine Gardens towards Gansbach and demands the best from all athletes. The slope to Gansbach is one reason for the overall 1000m difference in altitude which the competitors have to overcome on the whole 90 km. From Gansbach the biking route runs through the Dunkelsteiner Forest back to St. Pölten and leads over the Schlossberg and the Kuefstein Rad to the Bimbo Binder Promenade and back into the transition area. The final half marathon runs six times through the Eventarena where the athletes find an aidstation. From the stadium the competitors run to the Traisenbridge and along the western bank of the river (Traisen) to the government district. The turning point is shortly in front of the Stattersdorfer footbridge. The finish line is also located in the Eventarena, where the first finisher is expected to arrive around 6 pm. The competition ends after 8.5 hours and so the last participant is acclaimed at the finish line at 10.30 pm. Something for everyone This big race weekend offers something for everybody, not only for triathletes. For a start, there is the opening of the Sports EXPO on Friday, 1st June at 9 am. The HYPO IronKIDS triathlon starts at 3.30 pm. The HYPO Fun Triathlon Challenge and the HYPO Company Triathlon Challenge wait up with distances which everyone can handle (400m swim, 16 km bike, 4 km run). A relay competition at the Austria IRONMAN 70.3 is an additional bonus. Spectators’ hot spots The Eventarena, former venue of the ATP tennis tournament, is now the right scenery for the athletes and also centre for a great atmosphere. Moreover, there are free buses to the slope at Gansbach, where the spectators get the opportunity to cheer for the triathletes. For those, who have not got enough after the IRONMAN, there is the possibility to do a combi-ranking with the “Waldviertler Eisenmann”, which is taking place on Sunday. Alexander Frühwirth is one of these athletes who will meet the challenges of both races on this weekend. Further information and course maps on www.ironman703.at. Gerardus Schellens wins the IRONMAN South Africa 2007 for the second time. Photo: © Mike Holmes