Frodeno, Sanders, Charles-Barclay, Haug and Findlay highlight stacked Challenge Miami field
Canadian stars up against competitive international field at inaugural event in Florida
Photo by:
Jose Luis Hourcade
Two of the biggest names in long-distance racing – Jan Frodeno and Lucy Charles-Barclay – are now confirmed for the inaugural Challenge Miami race next month – March 12 to 14. That means the field now includes the two defending Ironman world champions – Anne Haug has also been confirmed for the race. Canada’s Lionel Sanders and Paula Findlay are also being hyped as potential favourites in looks to be another competitive race for the Challenge North America franchise.
Today race organizers announced that three-time Kona champ and 2008 Olympic gold medalist Frodeno would be competing:
Yesterday they announced that Charles-Barclay, a three-time Kona runner-up, was set to take part.
Related: 5 takeaways from the PTO 2020 Championship at Challenge Daytona
Last week the group opened up the pro field announcements with the news that Sanders and Findlay would be part of the competitive field competing in Florida. Findlay has an outstanding track record at Challenge North America races – she won Challenge Daytona in 2019 and took the PTO 2020 Championship that was part of the event in Daytona in December, 2020. Sanders won Challenge Daytona in 2019 and took fourth at the PTO 2020 Championship.
Frodeno and Sanders are expected to face stiff competition from Americans Tim O’Donnell, Ben Hoffman and Rudy von Berg. Super-cyclist Andrew Starykowicz makes a return to racing after being suspended for not having a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) and testing positive for vilanterol at Ironman Florida in 2019.
Findlay, Charles-Barclay and Haug are the pre-race favourites for the podium, but others to watch for in the women’s field include Sarah Crowley (AUS) and Meredith Kessler.
Other Canadians in the field include Jackson Laundry, Taylor Reid and Angela Naeth.
Like Challenge Daytona, which takes place at the famous Daytona International Speedway, Challenge Miami is also set at a Nascar racetrack – the Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race begins with a two-lap 1.6 km swim. That’s followed by a 17-lap bike around the speedway road course for a total of 60.3 km. The race ends with seven laps around the oval race track – a 16.9 km run.
