Aussies top faves in race
Australians Thomas Bruins and Matt Smith hope to flaunt their worldclass form as they banner the crack international field in the 2017 Powerman Philippines Asian Championship Presented by Summit Drinking Water firing off Sunday at Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga.
Bruins and Smith loom as the duathletes to beat in the centerpiece Elite category with the former, No. 2 in the Powerman world ranking, coming off a victory in the Powerman Asia Duathlon Championships in Malaysia.
Bruins is also out to improve on his runner-up finish to Frenchman Gael Le Bellec in last year’s edition of the event also held to showcase the local bets’ potential to be among the world’s top duathletes.
Smith, on the other hand, is ranked No. 9 in the world, and is tipped to crowd Bruins for top honors in the premier run-bike-run event organized by F&F International Events Group along with Malaysians Ziq Junaidy and Jason Loh, who placed fifth in Powerman Malaysia and ranked No. 11 in the world.
“The driving force behind the staging of this event is to bring the Filipino duathletes to world the stage by cashing in on their innate strength in running and cycling,” said Powerman Philippines’ general manager Kaye Lopez.
Presented by Summit Drinking Wa- ter, the event is backed by Clark Freeport Zone and SCTEx as Official Venue Partners, Cobra Energy Drink as Official Energy Drink, Official Sports Nutrition Partner ActiveHealth, Official Timing Partner Garmin, Official Footwear Partner Skechers Performance, Official Hotel Partner Fontana Leisure Park, and Event Partners Seafood Island Restaurant, Hammer Nutrition, 2XU, Starbucks Coffee, Hotel Stotsenberg, and Lohas Hotel.
Local celebrities, meanwhile, take time out from their busy schedules to compete as well.
Gerald Anderson, Jake Cuenca and Kim Chiu have signed up in the individual competition while Aubrey Miles, Troy Montero and coach Al Gonzales will vie in the Classic distance (relay) and Sitti Navarro and Joey Ramirez are entered in the Short distance (relay) of the premier run-bike-run event organized by F&F International Events Group.
They will be among the 1,127 participants set to compete in the event also held to help produce world class Filipino duathletes.
Events on tap are the premier Powerman Classic (10km run, 60km bike and 10km run), the Powerman Short (5km run, 30km bike and 5km run) and the Powerteens set on smooth, wide roads of Clark with the course offering scenic views of SCTEx.