THREE Jersey triathletes will compete in the shadows of the red rock canyons of St George, Utah, at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
Mark Syvret, Mike Norbury and Wayne Quenault will race in age-group events in a 1.9km reservoir swim followed by a hilly 90km bike and testing half-marathon length run.
The trio all qualified in different events in the last three years, Syvret overcoming a knee operation a year ago to claim his spot only this summer.
Quenault has waited the longest for his chance, having qualified with third place in the 30 to 34 age group in 70.3 Cork before Covid struck.
Norbury secured his place in the 40 to 44 age group racing in 70.3 Italy Emilia-Romagna last year, while Syvret did so by finishing fifth in his age group (45 to 49) in July at Les Sables d’Olonne in France.
The trio, who share the same coach in Nick Saunders at TPS, have been training together in the last three months, something Syvret said had really helped, particularly as the local season has wound down.
His training has topped out at about 20 hours a week recently, complementing the swim, bike and run with strength work and yoga.
They travelled out on Tuesday, flying direct from Heathrow to Las Vegas before a two-hour coach ride to St George.
Professional and age group women race tomorrow, with the men’s races all taking place the following day.
This leaves them time to acclimatise to the heat and elevation some 800m above sea level.
Syvret does not expect that to be problematic, but the weather could be.
‘Last time they raced there were hail storms, so you never know,’ he said.
‘Half of the course is in town, half of it goes into the national park, the red desert, that’s going to be a unique experience racing in those conditions.’
Syvret, who is at the top end of his age group, is targeting a top 100 finish in his category.
‘I’m feeling good, feeling strong, and would like to be up there and giving it a go.’
All three will be taking inspiration from the performance of fellow Jersey triathlete Jo Gorrod, who took 10th in her age group at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.
Syvret has always been a cyclist and did a little bit of running, moving into triathlon on returning to the Island around 10 years ago.
‘The club is great, there are great people to train with and we’re lucky that there are three of us that have qualified to go, it’s meant that the training has been much easier.’
He has ambitions to compete over the full ironman distance, having gone through a full training cycle to do so before the race got cancelled because of Covid.
‘Just over 12 months ago I had a knee operation, so I’m really pleased to have qualified this summer after that and still be able to race now. One day I would like to step up but I just need to get my knee a bit stronger.’
