Lifetime Fitness Chicago Triathlon Set For Sunday

The Chicago Triathlon may have a new name and new owners, but little has changed in the hype for this big event. The Illinois race has continued to explode. Evidence of that is the fact that between the events on Saturday and Sunday, more than 10,000 athletes will take to the downtown Chicago racecourse. While age groupers attend for the experience of both the expo and the race, the professional field comes looking for both valuable prize money and points in the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon Series Race To The Toyota Cup.

Both Americans Matt Reed and Sarah Haskins took wins at this race in 2009, and then went on to win the Lifetime Fitness Series. Despite this serving as the fourth of six races in the series, neither is sitting at the top at this point. They’ll use Sunday’s race to try to change that.

Despite being most well known for his dominance of the Ironman distance, reigning two-time Ironman World Champion Craig Alexander has continued to show he can perform well at the Olympic distance, and he is a definite contender for the win. Reed will also face competition from American Cameron Dye; although, Dye may be a bit jet lagged after competing in ITU events in Switzerland just one week prior. Also look for New York City Triathlon winner Filip Ospaly and Australia’s Clayton Fettell to make bids for podium spots.

While the women’s starting list is not as long, it does feature a strong list of contenders. Although Haskins has been virtually unstoppable at Olympic distance non-drafting races in 2010, she has yet to face off against a healthy Rebeccah Wassner. After struggling through a foot injury for the first half of the year, Wassner won the New York City Triathlon in July, showing she is once again healthy. Wassner has the ability to outrun every female on the starting list, including Haskins. Her twin sister, Laurel, finished second in New York City and has showed steady improvement over the last two years. The two other contenders are ITU-focused Sara McLarty and Jillian Petersen of the United States.

The Chicago Triathlon boasts a unique schedule in which all of the professionals will start after the age groupers. The pro field is expected to finish around 1 p.m. local time. Follow us on twitter throughout the weekend @Triathletemag for pro sightings and race updates. Check back to Triathlete.com post-race for a complete race recap and an exclusive photo gallery.

See the complete starting lists below:

Men

*       Craig Alexander (AUS)
*       Damen Barnett (USA)
*       Ryan Borger (USA)
*       Ethan Brown (USA)
*       Kevin Collington (USA)
*       Holden Comeau (USA)
*       Cameron Dye (USA)
*       Clark Ellice (NZL)
*       Clayton Fettell (AUS)
*       Lars Finanger (USA)
*       Mark Fretta (USA)
*       Ryan Giuliano (USA)
*       Stephen Hackett (USA)
*       Jordan Jones (USA)
*       Eric Limkemann (USA)
*       Joe Maloy (USA)
*       Filip Ospaly (CZE)
*       Devon Palmer (USA)
*       Matt Reed (USA)
*       Gregory Reznich (USA)
*       Edelson Salles (BRA)
*       Andrew Starykowicz (USA)
*       Richard Swor (USA)
*       Frederic Walther (USA)

Women

*       Jenny Fletcher (CAN)
*       Jennifer Garrison (USA)
*       Carmen Gutierrez-Smith (MEX)
*       Sarah Haskins (USA)
*       Sara McLarty (USA)
*       Jillian Petersen (USA)
*       Susan Urbanczyk (USA)
*       Vicki Wade (GBR)
*       Nicole Voelkel (DOM)
*       Laurel Wassner (USA)
*       Rebeccah Wassner (USA)