Abu Dhabi: The Brits are coming...
A few weeks ago I penned an article about the increasing emergence of professional teams in triathlon, highlighting the impact of a number of British athletes within this arena. Coming up this weekend, we have a brand new professional race which is actually stage two in the development of the sport in one particular country, and once again, "the British are coming"...
In early 2009, Team Abu Dhabi Triathlon (www.teamabudhabitriathlon.com) was announced as the latest sporting development of the oil rich emirate of Abu Dhabi, headlined by team captain Faris Al Sultan. Part two of the triathlon development strategy for Abu Dhabi was "to host an international triathlon event in the not too distant future", and as we found out last November, that race is this Saturday's Abu Dhabi International Triathlon.
With the event less that a week away now, here is a quick look at the British pro athletes hoping to take home a share of the $250,000 prize purse on offer. The event comprises a 3km swim, 200km bike and 20km run - which should look very attractive to several of the swim-bikers below...
THE LADIES
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Julie Dibens - 2009 was arguably the best ever of Julie's long triathlon career, concluding with a third XTERRA World Championship and a long sought after Ironman 70.3 title in Clearwater. Julie has ambitions at the full Ironman distance, as she revealed in this interview with Richard Hobson, and as an incredibly strong swim-biker, the 3k / 200k / 20k distances of the Abu Dhabi event look perfectly set up for Julie. She will start, without doubt, as one of the hot favourites for victory. Ironically, a few months ago Julie did have one concern..."The only downside, is that I have never raced over 90km on the bike (or even riding over 150km in training)". I suspect she will certainly have sorted the latter point, and that we can expect to see JD at the head of affairs for much, if not al l of the event. |
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Rachel Joyce - Another athlete for whom 2009 was absolutely their best year ever. Third at Ironman South Africa, second at Ironman Lanzarote and sixth in Kona is a stellar year, and Rachel will have the added incentive of now being a member of Team Abu Dhabi Triathlon, and hence will be racing on 'home' soil! Like Julie, swim-bike is definitely a Joyce strength, add to that a strong run and the likeable Rachel could well be another top finisher when the cheques are handed out.
Rachel told us last week "I can't wait to head back to Abu Dhabi this weekend. At the beginning of the week I'll head back to Al Ain to train and go to Abu Dhabi on Wednesday." |
"As for the race, I'm really looking forward to actually racing again as Hawaii feels like a long time ago now. What's more I think this race has all the makings for an incredibly exciting day of competition. The location is stunning and unique: riding on the grand prix circuit will be quite an experience! The pro field is loaded and I can't wait to pitch myself against some class athletes. As for my expectations, it's early in the season so while I'm feeling strong I'm interested to see how this translated over the 200km bike course!!"
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Leanda Cave - Leanda Cave could probably lay claim to being one of GB's most successful female triathletes ever, with ITU World Championship wins at Olympic and Long distances, Commonwealth Games silver, European Champs silver and an Ironman 70.3 World bronze. Like Julie, another long distance athlete grounded in ITU racing should ensure she will right at the sharp end after the swim, with a strong bike leg to follow and proven long distance ability - anything is possible. |
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Tamsin Lewis - After a great start to the year joining the teamTBB squad, Tamsin won't be making the start line at the Emirates Palace Beach...as she is currently nursing a broken collarbone! |
THE MEN
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Fraser Cartmell - After an solid, but unspectaculr 2009 by his own high standards, 2010 has been a great start already for Fraser. I got to watch him first hand winning Ironman 70.3 South Africa, and since then he has joined the new Trek/K-Swiss Triathlon Team.
Always a hard worker, and with a proven record at Ironman 70.3 distance with a couple or top-10 World Champs finishes, Fraser could well be one to watch in Abu Dhabi and cause a shock or two. |
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Phil Graves - I caught up with Phil last week (read the full interview HERE), who of course will be looking forward to using his renowned time-trialling ability and new rocket bike on the flat open roads of the emirate.
While he may not enjoy the heat, we suspect he wouldn't mind the wind making it a tough day in the saddle for his rivals. |
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Joe Gambles - Picked by Phil as the race favourite, the Anglo-Aussie won the 2008 ETU European Long Course in GB colours in 2008.
Joe, alomg with Julie Dibens and Fraser Cartmell is a member of the Trek/K-Swiss team, who we suspect will be pretty pleased with their coverage on the day if all three can perform to their abilities. |
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Dann Brook - As part of Team ActivInstinct, Dann enjoyed some great racing in 2009. As well as winning in Lisbon and Cape Town, he also won a bronze at the National Elite Triathlon Champs behind Will Clarke.
Readers will be able to get a direct insight into Dann's lead up to the race, as Dann will be reporting daily on the 'athletes view' from Abu Dhabi, here on Tri247. |
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Rob Johnson - We have followed Rob Johnson's progress on the site over the last couple of years. We caught up with Rob last week to get his thoughts on the race. Rob is not expecting any miracle performances (and has been juggling a 'real job' for several months now), but is looking forward to starting his racing year:
"It's early in the season and I know I need to increase my bike performance so what better way to do it than challenge yourself to 200k against the fastest in the world!(...Gulp!) I've heard it's getting quite hot out there too so will try to put to bed the demons from last April's IMSA melt down. It's just a completer for me I'm afraid with the hope of doing some solid work on the bike without smashing the legs up on the run." |
