COUNTDOWN begins for the Alveo Ironman 70.3 Davao as world-class triathletes will be among the close to 1,800 entries from 39 countries seeing action on March 25 here.
Australian Tim Reed, a three-time champion of the Ironman 70.3 Cebu, is among the heavy favorites.
Reed ruled the 2016 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Moolalooba, Australia and Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Reed is also a two-time Ironman Australia champion (2015 and 2016 both with fastest run and course record) and a two-time Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific champion (2015 and 2016).
He also topped the 2016 Foremost Ironman 70.3 Thailand (fastest ride and run), 2016 Cobra Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships (fastest ride, fastest run) and 2015 Ironman 70.3 in Subic Bay.
Mauricio Mendez of Mexico, meanwhile, became the youngest Xterra world champion in his second year as a pro but he placed second in the Xterra World Championships last year.
He clinched titles in 2017 Ironman 70.3 Texas, 2017 Ironman 70.3 Los Cabos and 2016 Ironman 70.3 Cozumel. Mendez also collected several Xterra titles (2016 Xterra World Championships, 2016 Xterra Sweden, 2016 Xterra Denmark, 2016 Xterra Italy and 2013 Xterra World Championships.
Another Australian, Tim Van Berkel, won his first Ironman at age 24 in Western Australia and he got the rare distinction of becoming the world's youngest three-time Ironman distance champion. He was champion in 2017 Ironman 70-3 Vietnam and in 2015 Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast.