Team captains of different triathlon teams are together in a press conference at the Casino Español. They are (from left) Gianluca Guidicelli, Jonel Borromeo, Bryan Borja, Dudin Cuyos, Bernard Sia, Tonyson Lee and Richard Ho. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
Seven team captains to strut wares for a cause in side event of AsPac Championships
Team captains of different teams will be competing head-to-head in one of the exciting side events of the Cobra IronMan 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championships on Aug. 7 dubbed the “Clash of Captains” (COC).
Those who will be joining are Jonel “The Sniper” Borromeo of Team Motor Ace-Kawasaki, Brian “The Debonair” Borja of Volvo Multisport, Gianluca “Capo” Guidicelli of Team Ford Forza, Richard “The Master” Ho of TTB Cebu, Tonyson “Baby Face” Lee of Omega Pro, Bernard “The Operator” Sia of Rotary Philippines and Dudin “Buttercup” Cuyos of Team Tri S.
Aside from bragging rights of being called the first COC champion, the winning team captain will have a chance to donate the pot prize that was put up among the competitors to a chosen charity institution.
The charity institutions chosen by the captains are Khyte Foundation for Ho, IPI Foundation for Lee, End Polio Program for Sia, Don Bosco Boys Town in Liloan for Dudin, less fortunate kids in Surigao for Borja, unfortunate families and sports program for Borromeo and Forza Foundation for Guidicelli.
Special awards to be given in the COC competition are the Best Swim, Best Run Split and Best Bike Split, and Best Transition Split.
Aside from the COC, other side events in the prestigious international triathlon event are the IronGirl, which will be held Aug. 5, and the Alaska IronKids, which is slated Aug.6.
To level the playing field, organizers have come up with the handicap system. The handicap will be based on the previous times of the participants.
Borromeo and Guidicelli have no handicap. Borja will have a 30-minute handicap, Ho 24 minutes, Sia 20 minutes, Lee 7 minutes and the lone female participant Dudin 63 minutes.
All seven team captains were in a press conference yesterday at the Casino Español to launch the COC event.
“In a race distance of 70.3 anything can happen no matter how prepared you are. The game is not only physical it’s also mental toughness and some luck. Anybody of us has a good chance to win,” said Guidicelli.
Sunrise Events Inc. (SEI) General Manager Princess Galura, meanwhile, said that even if all these captains are friends, expect tough competition between them.
“These captains are really serious about this competition,” Galura said.