After a brilliant battle at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside last month, the real contenders for the IRONMAN Pro Series will properly begin to emerge this weekend, with IRONMAN Texas hosting the second stop of the series.
One athlete in particular who will be hoping to make his mark in the Lone Star State is Braden Currie, the veteran New Zealander who finished sixth in Oceanside and has been at the forefront of the sport for almost a decade.
Speaking ahead of Texas, which doubles as the IRONMAN North American Championship, the 37-year-old shared what he thought would be the deciding factor in the race for the IRONMAN Pro Series title.
“Normally I’m a pretty consistent athlete”
A fan of the concept behind the Pro Series, Currie said it was exciting to be regularly facing off against his rivals throughout the upcoming season.
“The IRONMAN Pro Series offers consistency of racing a quality field, it’s exciting. I think consolidating all the top athletes into main races makes for really competitive racing and consistency in racing.
“I think probably the financial aspect of it is a cool element, that there’s actually a really good reward for chasing the series and being consistent in the racing.”
For Currie, consistency is key, and having proven capable of producing top performances throughout the season, the Kiwi believes the season long schedule suits him to a tee.
“I like to think that normally I’m a pretty consistent athlete over the years and if I can put together my four or five consistent good races, that should leave me in a pretty good spot overall.”
“It’s always hard, because we want to race to win”
Known for his full gas style of racing, Currie admits he may have to recalibrate his efforts in Texas, given that he has to race three full distance events this year to be competitive in the Pro Series.
“It’s always hard because obviously we want a race to win, but I think with the IRONMAN Pro Series there’s races that you can probably take more of a risk on but with this one, I don’t know the course.
“I think it’s going to be very hot and it’s still early-ish in the year so this one is probably the one where I just race it to be consistent, to race strong, and hope for a good result.
“My approach to Texas will probably be different compared to something like IRONMAN Cairns where I know the race and I know the course.
“Also, if you look at later in the year with the IRONMAN 70.3 World Champs in Taupō or IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia, then you’ve got a fair idea of where you’re sitting and what points you need to chase, so it might make a difference to how I race those last few races too.”
Are we in a triathlon boom, or hurtling towards burnout? Laura Siddall on the growth of the sport
