Steffen, Appleton set to line up at California

Manama : Caroline Steffen and Sam Appleton are set to line up at Ironman 70.3 California, US and the first US 70.3 race for 2016, Oceanside which has attracted 47 men and 33 women professionals, one of the deepest fields outside a world championship.

“It’s gonna be interesting to see where I am compared to the rest of the world,” says Steffen. The Sunshine Coast-based Swiss flew nearly 48 hours on Easter Monday for her North American assault, but is confident she can shake off the travel fatigue in time to perform on the weekend. “I can’t wait to race Oceanside! I’m pretty happy with how my training went in the last few weeks with a new programme under new coach Daniel Plews is challenging me daily.”

Appleton has been quietly building up in Boulder, Colorado, US after his sprint finish win at Ironman 70.3 Buenos Aires, Argentina. The young Australian says, “I’m really excited to race in Oceanside. I’ve heard it’s a North American classic and will undoubtedly be a tough race with all the guys on the startlist but excited to test my form against some of the best guys in the world.”

In Asia, Fredrik Croneborg signaled his return to racing this year at last week’s Ironman 70.3 Taiwan, finishing in sixth place only six minutes behind the winner. He follows that up this weekend at Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya in Malaysia, known to be one of the hottest races on the calendar.