Jake’s iron will is back
THE Geelong 70.3 half ironman is the scene of Jake Montgomery’s greatest sporting achievement and now the event will become even more special when the triathlete arrives at the start line this weekend.
Montgomery won his first, and so far only, 70.3 in Geelong last year and now the Gold Coast triathlete will use the race to make his return to the elite racing format after bounc- ing back from a horrific car crash in September last year that nearly cost him his life.
“Knowing I have the first 70.3 coming up and being in Geelong, I don’t think there is a better one I could go back to,” Montgomery said.
“I’m the defending champ and I’ll get to go down there and have No.1 on my shoulders and bike so I’m pretty stoked about that. I’m itching to get down there and just get among it all again.
“Seeing the ironman crew again and going through the whole weekend of it all, the prerace stuff and then the actual race itself will be incredible.”
Montgomery’s lead-up and goals for the race couldn’t be further from his 2016 win where he entered the race off the back of multiple secondplace finishes in other events and in great form.
Instead, the 22-year-old is aiming for a top-10 finish and to soak up every facet of a level of racing he hasn’t experienced since last year.
“It’s been about six months since I last lined up in a 70.3 so it’s about getting back out there and putting the body through a 70.3 again because it’s only February and I’ve got a long year ahead,” Montgomery said.
“Top 10 would be pretty much what I’m aiming for. The field is pretty strong and there will be a lot of the top guys there so it will be a tough race.
“Judging off where my current fitness is, a top 10 should be a possible for me.”
Montgomery was hit by a car a day before he was due to make his 70.3 World Cham- pionship debut on the Sunshine Coast on September 3 last year.
The Tugun resident said he was fitter than he expected to be at this stage of his return from injury but was yet to reach the fitness he enjoyed before the accident.
“The way I have been going the past few days I feel fresh,” Montgomery said.
“It’s hard to say numberswise but it’s beyond where I’d thought I’d be but in comparison to where I was before the accident it’s still a little off.”