Singapore give green light to all-Expressway bike route for Ironman 70.3 triathlon

    /24-7PressRelease/ - SINGAPORE, July 16, 2008 - Participants of this year's Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore (September 7th), will again make history as for the first time ever in Singapore, an all-expressway bike route will be introduced for the exciting Ironman 70.3 event; the biggest such race in Asia.

The inaugural Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore race also set a precedent in being the first triathlon ever to receive approval for part of the bike route to be held on a local expressway by local authorities. This year organisers have worked even harder and authorities are allowing the 2008 Aviva Ironman 70.3 to be the first-ever sporting event to take the competitors from one end of the island to the other, with the scenic bike route spanning the island via freeways from the East Coast Park Way to Pasir Panjang, passing iconic landmarks like the new Singapore Flyer, the Esplanade and the famous Marina Bay cityscape, towering skyscrapers in the business district, Vivocity Mall, Sentosa Island and Mount Faber.

Another major change for this year's Aviva Ironman 70.3 race includes a new start/end point at Playground @ Big Splash on the East Coast, and that means just one transition - a welcome change for competitors and spectators alike and allowing organiser, Hi-Tri Singapore to subtly reshape much of the course for safety and speed.

The running leg has been changed to a faster, flatter and shadier course when compared to the inaugural city route, which contained many twists and turns.

Jeffrey Foo, Course Director of organiser Hi-Tri Pte Ltd said: "Last year, Singapore hosted the inaugural Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore and the general feedback was very positive. However, we are constantly looking for ways to improve the event in general and to give our customer, the world's triathletes, an even better race experience."

"As an active Ironman competitor, I fully understand what our participants are looking for, which is why this year we incorporated all the feedback from our post race surveys in 2007, and devised a new and improved route, a course with the participants' safety, comfort and enjoyment in mind. We are also confident that the changes will result in faster times than last year!" he added.

The 70.3 mile / 113.1 km route starts at the Playground @ Big Splash, with the two lap 1.9km swim leg off the East Coast, before participants take to their bikes for the 90.1 km along the airport bound direction of the East Coast Parkway towards the Keppel Flyover before a U-turn near the Pasir Panjang Village. A minimum of two lanes of the express-way will be closed to form a dual direction cycle route.

The final leg of the Aviva 70.3 Ironman Singapore, the 21.1 km running leg, will be centred on the East Coast beach front. The shady run route will take participants through two loops from the Playground @ Big Splash towards the direction of the KPE and then back, towards Changi Airport.

Jeffrey explains, "This year's bike course is especially sure to excite competitors returning to race for their second event. Last year's route was a tight four-lap course with many twists and turns; this year's route promises to be quick and exhilarating, and with a superbly fast and safer bike leg and a flat, shady run leg that will allow competitors to go harder and faster.

"I am sure our participants will particularly enjoy the new bike route as it will be on the faster three-lap course, from one end of Singapore to the other and back. Our overseas visitors in particular will be able to see much more of Singapore as they cycle along the highway."

Added Shaun Meadows, CEO of Aviva Singapore, Hong Kong and the Middle East: "I believe we at Aviva are just as excited about the new route as the Hi-Tri team.

"In fact, we were blown away when we first found out about the proposed all-expressway bike leg, which will take the competitors from the East Coast Park to Pasir Panjang and back, allowing them to take in some of the best-known scenery and past some of Singapore's most iconic landmarks along the way.

"With almost half the field comprising overseas triathletes, this new route could well turn out to be the perfect tourism advertisement for Singapore!"

And it's a serious win for Singapore spectators too, who now have a marvelous area from which to view much of the race, without moving out of the Big Splash area with its myriad restaurants and playgrounds.

The elite male and female categories of the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore will share a prize pool of $USD 50,000.00, which equals the world record purse for an Ironman 70.3 qualifying event.

The 2008 Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore will be televised around the world through ESPN / Star Asia and ESPN International.

The big challenge for many entrants is the 75 qualifying slots to the 2008 Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3, in Clearwater, Florida, USA this November.

Ironman 70.3 races consist of a 1.9km / 1.2 mile swim, a 90-kilometre / 56-mile bike and a 21.1km /13.1 mile run, which adds up to 70.3 miles of total racing, hence the name, Ironman 70.3.

The first Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore, in September 2007, saw Brazilian youngster, Reinaldo Colucci and Australian veteran, Belinda Granger take on the world's best to become the inaugural Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore Champions.

Ironically, also on the podium was a then unknown British athlete, Chrissie Wellington, who, just one month later would become the Ironman World Champion and catapult the Singapore based Team TBB into global success!

One more month later, in November 2007, Miranda Carfrae, second in Singapore, would win the Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, Florida - an auspicious podium for that first Aviva Ironman 70.3, confirmed when Belinda Granger backed up from Singapore in the first quarter of 2008, to win Ironman Malaysia Langkawi and then Ironman China!

Information relating to the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore event can be found at the official Web site, http://www.ironman703singapore.com

About Hi-Tri Pte Ltd

Hi-Tri Pte Ltd is a Singapore based joint venture company formed by X-Tri Australia P/L and Hi-Velocity Singapore to organise and conduct the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore Triathlon

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