Triathlon: Mr Ironman under siege

Terenzo Bozzone has the pedigree to do well at Taupo and at Ironman's spiritual home in Hawaii. Photo / Doug Sherring

Terenzo Bozzone admits he can be accident-prone. Scars on his elbows and knees attest to that.

There have been numerous occasions his life has flashed before his eyes as he's been flung over his handlebars - Supermanning, Bozzone calls it - before heavy contact with the tarmac.

It is, unfortunately, a common occurrence in cycling, especially with New Zealand drivers. One time, he simply hit a speed bump too hard and broke his hand.

Bozzone will hope, however, he gets through this week unscathed.

On Saturday, he lines up for his second Ironman New Zealand, and just the fourth ironman of his career, hoping to upstage Cameron Brown.

It would be some achievement. Brown has won the past eight races and last year, at the age of 36, set a course record of eight hours, 18 minutes and five seconds.

"He owns that course," Bozzone says. "He's just incredible what he does down there. People say if the world champs were at Taupo, he would be the man to beat."

Bozzone, though, is a big threat. He's not one to talk in grand tones but 12 months ago he showed his potential in finishing second, seven minutes behind Brown, in his ironman debut.

It takes years to understand how to race an ironman and it's often said athletes don't peak until their mid-30s. At just 24 - he turns 25 tomorrow - Bozzone is a kid.

"I don't have the patience [to wait to my 30s]," Bozzone says. "Anything is possible. I'm definitely in a good place. I don't know if it's better than last year but I know what to expect this time and I know the race now.

"I'm not going to let him win. I'm not going to waste the last three months building up to be second again. I'm going down [to Taupo] to give it everything."

It's what people tend to do in an ironman. There's not much left when you swim 3.8km, bike 180km and run a full marathon (42.2km). Athletes are not just tired when they enter the finishing straight, many are broken. Some can barely stand afterwards. Others need immediate medical treatment.

It is clearly an accomplishment but rarely does it look like fun. Bozzone ponders this.

"The big thing I found was when I got to the finish line running down the finish chute, it was amazing," he says.

"The mental challenges you go through are crazy. You're up, you're down, you want to stop, you want to walk, you want to cry. When you make it to the end of that marathon, you're just overwhelmed.

"That's what is so good for everyone who does an ironman. If you can get through the mental challenges to get to the finish line, you can do anything in your life. I had tears in my eyes as I ran down the finish line. I accomplished something so hard."

It meant he could compete at Kona in Hawaii, the sport's toughest race and spiritual home. Bozzone finished 11th, the best of the Kiwis, and 11 places ahead of Brown, who had a day to forget.

Ultimately, it's at Kona where he wants to succeed the most. He thinks he might be ready in three years when his mind and body are more hardened. But he has the pedigree to do well.

Bozzone won the 2001 and 2002 junior duathlon world championships and the 2002 and 2003 triathlon world championships. He also won the 70.3 world title (half ironman) in 2008 and was seventh at the 2007 ITU world championships over the Olympic distance.

He was desperately disappointed to miss a place in the Beijing Olympic team but it's hard to see him return to the shorter distances. They don't appeal to the South African-born Aucklander.

"I was going OK in the shorter distances but the drafting [allowed in cycling] is appealing to me," he says. "Racing in such an individual race isn't a lottery.

"The guys in the ITU [Olympic distance races] pull out a lottery card in the morning when they roll out of bed. There are 70 guys on the start line sprinting 300m to the first can and where you end up at that first can is going to determine how your race unfolds.

"With ironman, if something is going wrong, the challenge is trying to work out how to fix it. That's what makes it so cool, you can affect the outcome."

Bozzone will probably need a lead over Brown heading into the marathon. Last year, Brown ran a phenomenally quick 2:44 (the world record is 2:03.59 but Haile Gebrselassie hadn't swum the equivalent of Takapuna to Rangitoto Island and biked from Auckland to Dargaville) and he has in the past made up 17 minutes on the run to win.

The men's race should be decided between Brown and Bozzone. Kieran Doe has battled a mysterious illness for 18 months and isn't likely to mount a stern challenge and few of the top international athletes are fronting.

The women's race, though, should be hotly contested. Last year's winner Gina Crawford (nee Ferguson) is back, along with six-time Ironman New Zealand champion Jo Lawn, accomplished Australian Kate Bevilaqua, who finished second in 2008, and three-time American ironman champion Kim Loeffler.

National time trial cycling champion Melissa Holt, chasing a place in the Commonwealth Games, could cause a stir because of her cycling background but should be caught on the run.

There was considerable interest in the women's race last year because Lawn's run of six-straight wins was snapped.

An even bigger commotion would happen if Brown was dethroned this weekend. Bozzone will hope he's the one to do it. Assuming, of course, he gets to the start line in one piece.

Ironman NZ
* Saturday's race is the 26th in the event's history. Only two people have completed all 25 to date: Auckland's Mike Ramsay and Tony Jackson.
* Taupo's Neil Fleming, a five-time finisher of the event, will be the oldest competitor at 73 and one of five septuagenarians. Aged just 18, Welshman Gareth Denman will be the race's youngest starter.
* Seven people will celebrate their birthday by competing in Taupo, while three couples will include the race as part of their honeymoon.