It\u2019s impossible to dismiss the $300,000 prize purse and promise of further riches from events in Oman and Bahrain that has attracted over 100 of the world\u2019s best triathletes to Challenge Dubai.<\/p>\n
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But an additional appeal has been the altering of a technical ruling that is the ongoing cause off much angst to many professional and amateur racers \u2013 one that concerns the contentious issue of drafting.<\/p>\n
In extending the distance where professional triathletes can legally follow one another on the bike from 12 to 20 metres but giving them 35 seconds to pass, organisers of the Triple Crown series have found much favour with the strong swim-bikers who believe it delivers a fairer race.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something I\u2019m very fond of,\u201d says Andy Potts, the six-time winner of the renowned Escape to Alcatraz triathlon and consistently first from the water at the Ironman World Championships in Kona. \u201cMy physiology excels when I raise my heart-rate to eight to 12 beats below max and then just hold without having to surge. I\u2019ve done enough races where it\u2018s me out front on the bike on my own and I don\u2019t run that much slower [compared to being overtaken and forced to cycle in a pace-line of triathletes].<\/p>\n
\u201cI can tell when the ride is easy because I\u2019ll get off and rip a 1hr 10min [half-marathon] and that\u2019s because we held each other\u2019s hands on the bike. My one concern here is judging the effort correctly, but what gives me confidence is knowing that if people ride past they will have done the work themselves, as opposed to just tactically sitting in until they can surge at an easier time. A longer draft zone will slowly feather people apart. Then it\u2019s painfully obvious who can ride their bike.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such is the appeal to the 38-year-old 2004 Olympian that it has even persuaded him to race outside North America for the first time in years. \u201cI treat my profession as a business,\u201d he says. \u201cI could be giving up as much as 10 days coming here but when I race in North America I\u2019m away for a maximum of two nights and then I\u2019m a normal dad to my two kids when I come home.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Potts has run a 67-minute half-marathon off the bike\u00a0 and with a swimming background that peaked with fourth place in the 1996 US Olympic trials and the\u00a0 waters off Jumeirah Beach in the Emirates state looking warm enough to make it\u00a0 a non-wetsuit swim, he considers himself a contender for the podium.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no gifts, no presents,\u201d Potts adds. \u201cI\u2019ll fight but if Javier [Gomez] is better than me, then he\u2019s better than me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run starts at 6:45am local time (2:45 GMT). To follow the race live visit challengedubai.com and check out our Twitter feed.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s impossible to dismiss the $300,000 prize purse and promise of further riches from events in Oman and Bahrain that has attracted over 100 of the world\u2019s best triathletes to Challenge Dubai. Advertisement But an additional appeal has been the altering of a technical ruling that is the ongoing cause off much angst to many … <\/p>\n