Published March 3, 2011 01:17PM
New Zealand’s Terenzo Bozzone chats with a local newspaper about what it will take to beat nine-time Ironman New Zealand winner Cameron Brown this Saturday in Taupo. His main objective: play it smart.
Terenzo Bozzone is ready to shrug off the bridesmaid tag. Where better, he asks, than in front of his home crowd at this weekend’s Ironman in Taupo.
But, Bozzone concedes, it won’t be easy. Nine-time champion Cameron Brown will make sure of that after showing a clean pair of heels to the tyro for the past two years.
“Maybe third time lucky,” said Bozzone this week as he prepared to go head-to-head with the master and sometime training partner. “I have put in a lot of hard work but he always seems to have the day of his life in Taupo.”
The buzz word for Bozzone as he lines up in his sixth attempt at the ultimate triathlon test is respect – respect for the challenge the Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironman New Zealand demands and respect for his fellow competitors who are just as determined it will be “their” day in Taupo tomorrow.
“The thing with Ironman is that it has no respect for you no matter what your age,” said Bozzone. “Some say I have age on my side, being more than 10 years younger than Cameron Brown, but when you look at the results you quickly see that the last six world champions have been in their mid to late 30s.