Saipan triathletes upbeat with pros arrival

  Saipan triathletes are excited to compete and race with the visiting pros in tomorrow’s 2012 XTERRA Saipan Championship.

“It will be very inspiring to swim, bike, and run with these pros. It’s been a while since we have a lot of pros coming over to Saipan. I am just honored and proud that I will be able to race side by side with the pros. Of course, I don’t expect to win against them, so it really gives me pride and inspiration to race with them,” said Lewie Tenorio, who joined a group of pros in a warm-up swim at the Tanks in Susupe last Wednesday afternoon.

Tenorio will be racing in the age group division, leaving 10 visiting pros and two local ones to battle for the bragging rights and cash prize in the last stop of XTERRA Asia Tour’s Triple Crown. The first two stops of the tour were Guam and the Philippines.

“Having a lot of pros here on Saipan is a good way to market our island and XTERRA, as when they come back to their home town, they could spread the word about the race and our beautiful island,” Tenorio said.

Leading the list of visiting pros competing in tomorrow’s off-road triathlon are former champion Olivier Marceau (2004 to 2007) and Renata Bucher (2005-2010). Joining them are United Kingdom’s Jacqui Slack and Graham Wadsworth, Australia’s Ben Allen, Colorado’s Will Kelsay and Branden Rakita, France’s Cedric Lassonde, Japan’s Takahiro Ogasawara, and Austria’s Carina Wasle.

Saipan’s very own, Mieko Carey, is also entered in the women’s pro field and will be competing as a pro for the third time, while Butch Sublemente will be debuting in the pro field this Saturday.

“I am excited to compete against the pros for the first time. It will be very hard to keep up with them as they had been training for the past few months and had been to two races. However, hopefully, my better knowledge about the course will help me to at least not finish last in the pro division,” said Sublemente, who raced in the 2011 XTERRA World in Hawaii.

Give way on race day

Meanwhile, XTERRA Saipan organizers are calling the public to give way to triathletes on the road during race day.

The race will start at Micro Beach at 6am and bikers and runners are expected on the road from 8am to 12nn, so motorists are requested to take extra caution while driving toward the northern portion of the island. Dogs owners are also asked to secure their pets.

After the 1.5-kilometer swim leg, XTERRA participants will head to Navy Hill, Kingfisher and Mt. Tapochao for the 32-km bike leg, and then to Navy Hill, Chinatown (Sugar King), a portion of Beach Road (in front of Huriguchi Building heading to beach side of McDonald’s Garapan) en route to the finish line at the American Memorial Park.

The public is invited to the finish line to cheer for both local and visiting triathletes.