Hoy and Hamilton to go head-to-head

Britain’s two most successful racers in 2008 – triple Olympic gold medallist Chris Hoy and Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton – will go head-to-head at Wembley Stadium next month.

On a parallel track, Hamilton will line up in a Mercedes-Benz road car while Hoy takes to his Dolan track bike. Starting side-by-side, the two stars will race around the circuit on a tight and twisty course.

The F1 ace would seem to have the advantage – 600 brake horse power and a top speed of 208mph (334kph), compared with the cyclist’s two-and-a-half bhp and 37mph (59kph). But Hoy’s explosive power should give him a good start and he only has 99kg (218lbs) or man and machine to steer around the hairpin bends, compared with Hamilton’s 1450kg (3200lbs).

The event is part of the pre-show entertainment at the annual Race of Champions on Sunday, 14 December. This pits competitors from two and four-wheeled motorsport – F1 stars, superbike champions, NASCAR racers and rally aces – against each other.

Hoy, who won the keirin, team sprint and individual sprint in Beijing, said: “I’m a big motor racing fan and I’ve seen the Race of Champions on TV so to be there in the flesh is going to be great and to be able to compete and take part in it is fantastic. I can kick out about two-and-a-half brake horsepower so that’s not going to quite match his car, but I think they’ll make the race as close as possible and I’ll be giving it absolutely everything. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Hamilton said: “This is going to be something very special. The atmosphere is going to be crazy. It’s going to be a great way to end a fantastic year, and I’m really looking forward to putting on a show to thank the fans from all over the world and my fantastic British fans for all their support.”

The Formula One champ will also perform a demonstration run in his championship-winning Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

Fredrik Johnsson, president of event organisers IMP, said: “Ever since we created the Race of Champions 20 years ago, we’ve been putting the greatest racers in the world against each other. With Britain’s fantastic performance in Beijing, especially in cycling, we thought about how we could include that in the event and when Lewis won the F1 World Championship it was just perfect.”

Hamilton and Hoy are both front-runners in the 2008 BBC Sports Personality of the Year contest which is being staged on the same day. After the race they will head to Liverpool for the awards ceremony.

For tickets to the Race of Champions, call 0844 412 1743 or visit www.raceofchampions.com. Adult prices start at £18 and child tickets at £9. There are also a limited number of hospitality tickets and packages available

Under blue skies and a hot 30 degree sun the racers were off to swin in the Gulf of Mexico.  This race has been known to be fast and it didn’t disappoint.  Records were shattered and where there is destruction (of course records) there is the LMS award!

Winning the day was Terenzo Bozzone.  Although he had his work cut out for him, beating the fastest men ever at Ironman 70.3 racing. Leading the way at the start of the day was defending men’s champion Andy Potts, who led out of the water and through most of the first half of the bike. At that point, though, he was joined by a group that included many of the race favorites. Oscar Galindez powered to the front at that point, but wasn’t able to stay there as the fast-riding group.

It was a quick transition that put Bozzone in front starting the run and no one could catch him from there on in. To say he was thrilled would be an understatement.

“Third time lucky,” he laughed. “The competition here is so awesome. Craig Alexander won the first year, Andy Potts the next. They’re both unbelievable athletes – this is definitely the crème de la crème of Ironman 70.3. I probably overdid the first couple of years doing everything I could to win. Today I was going for the perfect wave and today I found it.”

Bozzone’s day wasn’t without a bit of a scare, though, as Germany’s Andreas Raelert put together a blazing run split to close to within 32 seconds by the finish line. The German put together a 1:10 run split, but ran out of real estate as he gained on Bozzone. Richie Cunningham put together yet another top finish here in Clearwater to claim third, followed by Oscar Galindez and another 23-year-old, Reinaldo Colucci.

After two years of seemingly not racing to his potential here in Clearwater, Bozzone tried a slightly different tactic – one which worked like a charm:

“Coming from the ITU racing, everyone runs fast there,” he said. “This year I held back a bit on the bike and gave it all on the run.”

You can’t win the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 if you aren’t a great swimmer, cyclist and runner. Today we saw once again that putting it all together and being strong on the run can make all the difference. Just ask the man who held off the best in the world today to claim a world championship, Terenzo Bozzone (borrowed from IronmanLive).

I was their first hand to witness the carnage albeit from an hour behind these guys (silly wave starts!).  Knowing how hard I’ve worked to get where I did and still get beat by almost 40 minutes is staggering.  Someday…

Hats off to Tereno Bozzone.  He deserves the cash and the most prestigious award in sports (LMS award given to the individual who pushes their limits and exceeds their own expectations).  Maybe our paths will cross in the future.

LMS

So im hoping to be a regular columnist for livemultisport. Cliff has asked me to blog for the site, as I go from zero to hero and train to do an Ironman.

Part of the appeal for doing this, is it makes me accountable. I’m sure many of you check the site daily (including me) looking for inspiration from Cliff, Chris and others as they train for their respective events. For me to write every week allows a “regular guy” to partake with, which I consider, to be elite athletes.

Cliff being my brother, I’ve had a chance to see him grow as an athlete. I remember him to be a budding duathlete, and the joke was always, “when are you going to learn how to swim.” As youve all seen, last weekend he competed in the World Ironman 70.3 Championships. Not bad in two years. Not bad for learning how to swim too.

All this to say, is that I think its reasonable to say that Cliff looked up to his big brother as an athlete, and now the tables have turned. So much so, that I’ve enlisted his help to get me Ironman shape.

The INFERNO Triathlon, with its ascent of 5500 metres, is one of the toughest in the world and already ranks as a classic. The unforgettable encounter with nature in the incomparable Alpine world of the Bernese Oberland and the easy-going atmosphere make the INFERNO a most impressive challenge.  Top sport in the world’s most scenic setting: in front of the Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau!

Max. 250 participants

Route

Swimming:
Thun - Oberhofen
Distance 3.1 km

Road Bike:
Oberhofen (562m a.s.l.) - Sigriswil (810) - Beatenberg (1153) - Interlaken (563) - Meiringen (593) - Grosse Scheidegg (1962) - Grindelwald (943).
Distance 97 km, slope 2145 m.

Mountain Bike:
Grindelwald (943) - Kleine Scheidegg (2061) - Wengen (1275) - Lauterbrunnen (795) - Stechelberg (862).
Distance 30 km, slope 1180 m.

Fell Running:
Stechelberg (862) - Lauterbrunnen (795) - Mürren (1640) - Schilthorn (2970).
Distance 25 km, slope 2175 m.

The 208 Mile Blue Ridge Relay (BRR208), which is one of the longest running relay races in the United States, takes place in the picturesque Blue Ridge and Black Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina. The BRR208 consists of maximum 12 person (4 person minimum) teams that rotate through 36 transition areas as they cover the 208-mile distance of the race. Each relay team member runs 3 legs of varying lengths and difficulty and will cover an average total distance of ~16.6 miles. The runners rotate in a set order once the race begins and will be obligated to follow this rotation until the final runner finishes in Asheville, North Carolina!The BRR208 starts at Grayson Highlands State Park, Grayson County, VA, which is near the base of Mount Rogers (5729′), the highest peak in Virginia. The course primarily follows scenic, country roads as it winds its way through North Carolina’s High Country to the finish in Asheville. The course features some of the region’s most spectacular scenery including the balds of Grayson Highlands State Park, the New River, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Grandfather Mountain (5964′), and Mount Mitchell (6684′), the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. 

The Blue Ridge Relay is organized by Blue Ridge Endurance, LLC, which is also the organizer of The Black & Blue Double Century Relay.

http://video.cyclingnews.com/video/2008/lance_armstrong/video_player.php?id=1

October 31, 2008 — planetultramarathon