ScribbleLive

Bracht, Crawford top seeds for IRONMAN 70.3 Bintan

IRONMAN stars Timo Bracht and Gina Crawford have the top billing as the spotlight returns to the tropical Indonesian island of Bintan for the inaugural IRONMAN 70.3 Bintan on Sunday.

Bracht, from Germany, is a six-time IRONMAN winner who has also achieved six top-10 finishes at the IRONMAN World Championship in Hawaii.

The star who has victories at Germany and ?Roth to his credit, will not have things his own way with challenges expected from two-time Australian Olympian Brad Kahlefeldt and Sweden's Fredrik Croneborg, who both have shown great form in 2015.

Kahlefeldt took third on his IRONMAN debut at this year's Asia-Pacific IRONMAN Championship in Melbourne, while Croneborg had a superb eight days in April, following up a third place at IRONMAN 70.3 Putrajaya by going one better at IRONMAN Taiwan a week later. The Phuket-based Croneborg has a great track record racing in heat and humidity, conditions that are guaranteed in Bintan.

In the women's race, 13-time IRONMAN champion Crawford has also shown that she can handle the sultry conditions expected on race day, having won MetaMan Bintan in 2014. Fellow Kiwi Candice Hammond has experienced winning in Bintan too – she took the MetaMan crown in 2012 – while 2015 IRONMAN France champion Caitlin Snow of the United States will also be among the favourites.

The race weekend is centred on the IRONMAN Village in the beautiful Plaza Lagoi resort area of Bintan, just a short coach trip from the island’s main ferry terminal. Bintan sits on Singapore’s doorstep, with most of the athletes transiting to the race via a 50-minute cruise from the city-state.

The action begins at 6am on Sunday for the start of the professional race with the winner expected around 10am (local time).

Joining the pros on the start line at the Lagoi Bay beachfront will be 800 age groupers chasing the 40 qualifying spots available for the 2016 World 70.3 Championship on Australia's Sunshine Coast next September.