Rhodes out for history

22/02/2003

TWO-TIME champion Bryan Rhodes of New Zealand is sporting a bottle-blonde
look in his attempt to create history in the Langkawi Ironman Triathlon
tomorrow.
Other than the dye, nothing else was pretentious about the Kiwi as he
spoke earnestly about his bid to land a hat-trick of titles, and maybe
better his 2002 time of 8:10:35. The only worry he had was that this race,
unlike the last two which he won, did not fall on his birthday which is
Jan 28.
"It will be difficult to achieve my target, but that is what the Ironman
is all about. I have been training well since Christmas for this race, and
I feel good enough to land my hat-trick in Langkawi," said Rhodes
yesterday.
The presence of former world champion Luc van Lierde in Langkawi this
year does not worry Rhodes, but instead, he is looking forward to scalping
the Belgian.
"I have beaten European champion Lothar Leder twice in Langkawi, so I am
not worried about the opposition. I will be very happy if I can land van
Lierde's scalp this year as a trophy because he was the best in the world
until injuries floored him over the last two years," said Rhodes.
Rhodes led from start to finish in the last two Langkawi Ironman races
but feels it will be difficult to predict the outcome until he emerges
from the 3.8km swim, which is his strongest event.
"The organisers have made it more difficult for me by changing the swim
and biking route. But I believe if I can emerge out of the water first,
maybe with a two-minute cushion, I have a good chance of winning my hat-
trick. But it would be difficult to break the eight-hour barrier in
Langkawi," said Rhodes.
In his bid to create history, Rhodes will miss the New Zealand Ironman
which will be held a week after the Langkawi race.
"I had to give up my home race because I wanted to concentrate all my
training for Langkawi. And if on race day, all is well, it will be hard to
catch me," he said.
Rhodes was not so lucky at the Ironman World Championships in Kona,
Hawaii, last year where he had to withdraw during the marathon because of
influenza and stomach cramps.
"I trained for six months in the United States for the Hawaii Ironman
and was second out of the water and placed 10th in the cycling segment but
during the marathon, the flu got worse and I suffered stomach cramps,
forcing me to withdraw," said Rhodes.
But Langkawi has been a fruitful hunting ground for the Kiwi, and it
will come as a big surprise if he is not at the top of the podium after
eight hours tomorrow.
(END)