Vincent's Ramblings: STORM THE WALL

With the finals in both the Ironman and Ironwomen division only a dozen hours away, an athlete profile seems appropriate, as such the daily recaps will be a little delayed. With the largest UBCTC showing in Storm the Wall history, a few podiums are guaranteed along with a strong potential for the top spot in both the male and female division. As mentioned previously, the girls have out-performed the guys with 5 advancing to the finals where as in the mens division only three made it forward.

As such, I shall profile the girls first!

Yup, everyone here looks female

In no particular order, I will begin by profiling the SWIMMERS:

RACHEL SCHOELER: Strength clearly in the swim. Expected to be the first to exit the water. Rachel will need to put together a strong bike run combo in order to maintain her lead. Demonstrating that she has the legs two semesters in a row in the UBCTC Aquathon, Rachel is a strong favourite for the win.

MELANIE THOMPSON: A swimmer turned triathlete could almost be characterized as an all rounder if it weren't for her dominant swim. Although she may be a few strokes back from Rachel out of the pool, her triathlon experience on the bike and run will show to be a fearsome adversary to all challengers.

Next we move into the second category of competitor: THE ALL ROUNDER

At the elite level potentially the largest threat. Will this be the case in STORM THE WALL?

BRITTANY BUCHANAN: Sneaking up on her competitors, Brittany is strong in all three events slowly stalking the leaders until reaching the wall she is upon them. It has been mentioned that Brittany is the silent hunter as her shoes create no sound as she runs surprising many as she come up behind them. Not a Storm the Wall freshman, Brittany will put together a strong race.

MELANIE VAN SOEREN: After a few quick lessons on cornering from Sherwood, Melanie demonstrated that her bike does in fact follow her line of sight two weeks ago on the crit course. Working on the technical aspects of the bike has made her a real threat on the bike. Put together with a solid swim-run and a most spectacular wall execution could put Mel ahead of the rest.

And finally the RUNNER:

CLAIRE H: Running people down is her specialty. Coming out of the water in the tail end of a race would typically worry most triathletes, however, Claire has such a dominant run that she easily catches up much of her deficit on the first uphill sprint. Coming in with the fastest UBCTC female time to the wall, Claire will be running with each other girl in her sights, hoping to pick them off one by one.

The woman's champion could be any one of them. With only 23 seconds separating these five in their semifinal, its sure to be an exciting race!

Nice Legs Ladies

The mens field is more simple, there are only two types of competitor in the mens field. The Swimmers and the all rounders.

THE SWIMMER:

NATHANIEL JANZEN: Main hopes ride in his ability to demolish the field in the swim. Match to that a huge improvement in his biking and running over the past year and he is a sure threat. Having reached the wall the fastest all week, Nathaniel will just have to make sure he makes his way over the wall. With his 4th place finish last year, he definitely will be looking to move up.

THE ALL ROUNDER

MATT REEVE: Matt is a workhorse plain and simple. Although his fitness may not be at its prime, you can pretty much guarantee that he will bring the hurt when the time comes. This mental toughness is what won him second place in the Aquathon as he broke Vincent's spirits on the run. Will the same be done in the final by putting together a strong swim/bike/run combo?