Race Previews

Five In-State Tris, Plus Nationals...

Tuesday, 07 August 2018 23:20

WEEKEND PREVIEWS - Not including USAT AG Nationals, Minnesota multisporters have five triathlons to choose from this weekend, the largest of which is Sunday's YWCA WOMEN'S TRI, which has drawn 1700ish participants for its 10th anniversary celebration. The race is full, though a small number of "Charity Bibs" may still be available (RACE WEBSITE)....

The oldest event of the weekend is the NORTH MANKATO TRI, which is celebrating it's 20th edition next Sunday. We've reached out to their timers, hoping to get a peek at the registration list. If we hear from them, we will post some predictions.

A total of 600ish participants will be split between Saturday's NORTHWOODS TRIATHLON, where BROOKS GROSSINGER is hoping to post his 14th (!) win, and Sunday's GREEN LAKE races.

At Northwoods, Brooks will face his stiffest competition to date, as JORDAN ROBY is on the 2018 start list. Roby has come out on top in two of his last three confrontations with Grossinger. Both men are coming off wins; Jordan at Turtleman; Brooks at Waseca. 

We are predicting that MATA AGRE will claim her third straight women's title in Nevis. The race has been full for months, but folks are encouraged to attend as spectators or volunteers. (Races can never have too many volunteers.) WEBSITE

Approximately half of the aforementioned 600ish participants will be in Spicer for the 15th annual GREEN LAKE OLYMPIC and SPRINT triathlons. We are predicting a women's CR (and Masters record) in the Olympic race, courtesy of BECKY YOUNGBERG, who has returned to multisport racing after a six-year layoff. She is not only picking up where she left off, she is arguably faster than ever, and should garner a truckload of MMA nominations at the end of the season.

Yes, we predict that four-time GL Olympic champ SHEENA DAUER will finish in the silver medal position.

WADE CRUSER is coming off a record-setting effort at Brewhouse, and we believe that MARCUS STROMBERG's long-standing event record is in serious jeopardy. 

If ANDY ZABEL opts to compete in the Sprint race, we think he'll collect his 2nd tri win of the season. JEN NEUMAN, owner of two wins and four other podiums here, is our prohibitive pick to win the women's Sprint. The woman who could upend her, however, is Illinois-ian KARAH OSTERBERG, who won the Waseca Sprint last Saturday. 

Visit the GL WEBSITE to see if registration is still open.

The other Minnesota tri slated for this weekend is Sunday's WINGMAN, a 10-year-old sprint staged in the gorgeous river city of Red Wing. Our goal at MTN is to evetually attend EVERY Minnesota multisport event. We invite the athletes of our state to also adopt that goal. RACE WEBSITE