Race Previews

RochesterFest & Manitou Preves...

Saturday, 20 June 2015 00:10

UPDATE: Brooks and Suzie win LAKE MINNETONKA DUATHLON (cancelled swim) this morning. RESULTS

Two great races will take place tomorrow: the 8th annual RochesterFest Tri and the 24th Manitou Sprint Triathlon. Without further ado, here are MTN's predictions:

ROCHESTERFEST OLYMPIC - Podium Guesses

David Thompson, RFT's course record holder, picked up his 95th career win last weekend at the Accel Triathlon in Iowa. His margin was humongous. The margin will not be as large on Sunday because his competition includes Patrick Parish, Kris Spoth and Kevin O'Connor. Our Top 3 picks are: 1. DKT, 2. PP, 3. Spoth, who will pick up the amateur win. O'Connor, who's racing like a banshee this season will take fourth. We think he'll lower his masters record, a 2:01:01, set here in 2013.

The women's race for the top spot will be intense. Gaby Bunten and Bridget McCoy are evenly matched, but we suspect that Bunten will come out on Top, though not by much. She has finished 2nd in her last two efforts--Trinona and Capitol City--and appears ready to collect her first win of the 2015 season. Her time at Cap City--1:05:11--clearly illustrates that she is faster than last season.

Our pick for the final podium spot is Rochester's Diana Shewmaker, who finished 4th here last year....

MANITOU SPRINT TRIATHLON - Our choice for women's champ is a clear one: Nicole Heininger. After Heiney's awesome win at Cap City last Sunday, we're picking her to win at Ramsey County Beach by a substatial margin. The victory will be the eighth of her young career.

Our picks for 2nd and 3rd respectvely are Megan Erlandson and Ali Norgel.

We're going out on a limb here, but we think that two teenagers will make the men's overall podium. Our pick to win is 18-year-old Nick Klonne, who is the fastest male junior we've seen in a long time. We think that fellow 18-year-old Mitchell Clayton will take the bronze medal position. Our pick for the silver is Jim Guenter.