Pros Chase Final Kona Points At Ironman Mont-Tremblant

At this Sunday’s Subaru Ironman Mont-Tremblant, which serves as the North American Championship, pros will be vying for 4,000 points in the Kona Pro Rankings and a share of $125,000. The final seven women’s and 10 men’s Kona slots will be awarded based on the rankings as of Aug. 25. The location will serve as the site of the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.

The race is located in the ski resort of Mont-Tremblant, a small town tucked up against the Laurentian Mountains and adjacent to Mont-Tremblant National Park about an hour and a half drive from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With multiple hotels and restaurants within a quarter mile of transition, it’s an easy vacation destination for athletes.

The course itself has been described as being on par in difficulty somewhere between Ironman Wisconsin and Ironman Lake Placid. Theone-loop 2.4-mile swim takes place in Lac Mont-Tremblant, and the two-loop bike and run courses are the same as the Ironman 70.3 race that took place here in June. The bike has rolling hills, and much of the marathon takes place on a trailnext to an old railway bed. The race has incredible scenery the whole way.

In the men’s race, there’s no clear favorite. France’s Romain Guillaume has returned to defend his title, but he’ll face a strong field this year. Australia’s Luke Bell, who finally won his first Ironman title in Australia last May, will be some of Guillaume’s toughest competition. He’ll also face tough competition from other Europeans and Ironman champions: TheUkraine’s Viktor Zyemtsev has won titles in Austria, Coeur d’Alene, Lake Placid and Florida and is motivated to get a top finish here, as he’s sitting in 63rd place in the KPR; Hungary’s Jozsef Major is just outside the top 50 men in the KPR (52nd). Also look for Great Britain’s Paul Amey, Australia’s Paul Ambrose and American Matt Reed to vie for podium spots.

In the women’s race, the favorite is Team TBB athlete and American Mary Beth Ellis, who hasn’t lost an Ironman outside of Kona, where she finished fifth last year. Her top competition will come from Erika Csomor, who is fresh off a fast win at Ironman Austria last month. Also look for other Ironman champions to make the podium: Australia’s Rebekah Keat (who’s sitting only two spots outside the top 35 women in the KPR), Great Britain’s Liz Blatchford, veteran Kiwi Joanna Lawn, and Americans Bree Wee (43rd in the KPR), recent Ironman Lake Placid champ Jennie Hansen (39th), and Jessie Donavan.

RELATED: Ironman Announces Mont-Tremblant As 2014 70.3 Worlds Host

Pro Men
Romain Guillaume (FRA)
Paul Amey (GBR)
Viktor Zyemtsev (UKR)
Maik Twelsiek (GER)
Jozsef Major (HUN)
Paul Ambrose (AUS)
Bryan Rhodes (NZL)
Luke Bell (AUS)
Clemente Alonso-McKernan (ESP)
Bert Jammaer (BEL)
Matt Reed (USA)
Leon Griffin (AUS)
Alejandro Santamaria (ESP)
Martin Jensen (DEN)
Brandon Marsh (USA)
Mike Schifferle (SUI)
Dominik Berger (AUT)
Jerome Bresson (CAN)
Simon Cochrane (NZL)
Trevor Delsaut (FRA)
Logan Franks (USA)
Paul Hawkins (GBR)
Adam Jones (CAN)
Greg Kopecky (USA)
Michael Louys (BEL)
Arland Macasieb (PHI)
Brendan Naef (CAN)
Stefan Schmid (GER)
Jan Van Berkel (SUI)
Nigel Gray (Can)
Swen Sundberg (GER)
Ben Cotter (CAN)
Daniel Halksworth (GBR)

Pro Women
Jessie Donavan (USA)
Mary Beth Ellis (USA)
Joanna Lawn (NZL)
Rebekah Keat (AUS)
Hillary Biscay (USA)
Erika Csomor (HUN)
Bree Wee (USA)
Christine Anderson (USA)
Morgan Chaffin (USA)
Haley Chura (USA)
Anna Cleaver (NZL)
Monica Dalidowicz (CAN)
Marie Danais (CAN)
April Gellatly (USA)
Annie Gervais (CAN)
Malaika Homo (USA)
Amanda Kourtz (USA)
Molly Roohi (USA)
Kim Schwabenbauer (USA)
Jessica Smith (USA)
Jennie Hansen (USA)
Nina Pekerman (ISR)
Keiko Tanaka (JPN)
Sarah Piampiano (USA)

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