Race Previews

V3 Minneman Stuff...

Wednesday, 26 June 2013 03:10

Minneman IX - The 9th annual Minneman Sprint and 2nd annual Minneman Olympic, hereafter known as the V3 Minneman, are set for this Saturday at Lake George in Oak Grove. The tri venue is one of the region's best and the courses are flat, fast and scenic. The sprint is as fine an introductory experience as any in the region.

Let's do some predictions. Understanding that the weekend is engorged with races--Minneman, Average Jo, Croixathlon, Lake Waconia and North Mankato--which spreads the talent around like cream cheese on a bagel, and that the registration list we saw was partial and that some late sign-ups will likely finish well, we will say that we have a special level of excitement for

MM. Why? Because the "usual suspects" will be elsewhere giving a new crop of athletes a chance to race at the front. DKT and Dan Hedgecock and Cathy Yndestad and Claire Bootsma and Patrick Parish and Matt Payne et al will be elsewhere, thus we think that someone like Chap Achen or Iowan Jesson Baumgartner will win the men's title in the Olympic race. Alaska's Lori Deschamps, a former overall Top 5er at Nationals and winner at such biggies as the New York City and Nations triathlons, is our clear favorite.

As for the sprint race, we believe that the eventual winner wasn't registered when this post was penned (Monday). For the women, however, Heather Lendway should lead the way. Check out last year's Minnesota Rookie of the Year's 2013 resume: 1st at Blaine (Course Record) and Lake Minnetonka (2nd fastest in 10-year-history), and a 2nd at Buffalo Olympic (behind CY!).

In the earliest years of this event, a Novice Division was included. The new management, V3, have re-installed that category, which we think is a totally cool thing.

UPDATE: We have just learned that Diane Hankee is registered for the Olympic event. Diane has two wins in four starts this year. Will she give Deschamps a run for her money? Yes. Will she beat her? We can't wait to find out.

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Great Photos by Kerry Yndestad