Statements by Javier Gómez Noya prior to the race "I dream of winning, but I do not consider myself a favorite maximum"
The 13 Saturday is the great annual event for the world triathlon, the Ironman of Hawaii, which arrives at 2018 at its 42 edition.
It can be said that the presence for the first time of Javier Gómez Noya is the great media attraction, given his sensational record in other distances and modalities of triathlon since he began competing in 1998 with 15 years of age.
Since he made the decision to participate at the end of 2017 he has followed a specific training plan for it, with longer but less intense sessions than when he competed at the Olympic distance. In June he faced the distance for the first time in Cairns (Australia). Ironman, finishing second behind New Zealander Braden Currie with a time of 7h56.
Your competitors
In Hawaii it will be measured again not only with Currie, but also with the rest of the world's best specialists in the distance, with the exception of German Jan Frodeno (winner in 2015 and 2016 and former Olympic champion in 2008) who due to a stress fracture in the hip had to stop training after getting the victory just ahead of Gómez Noya in the Middle Ironman World Championship in September in South Africa.
Specifically 55 participants in the male Elite category (with Javier carrying the number 7 and some 2.500 in total between both genders and all age categories not elite), being also Galician Igo Raña the only other Spanish participant in that select list of Elite.
Among them there are several that have achieved great results in other editions, including the victory in the case of the Germans Kienle y Swaddle and the Belgian Van Lierde: "I'm looking forward to the competition, with the usual nerves before a great date to which you come for the first time. I already know what it is to do an Ironman but in this one there are extreme conditions of heat and in addition there are the triathletes with more level.
"I dream of winning, but I don't consider myself the top favourite"
"I arrive with aspirations of being in front positions and obviously I dream of winning, but I do not consider myself the maximum favorite. Absent Frodeno, the ones that I put in that first echelon are Patrick Lange, Stefan Kienle and Lionel Sanders".
The last week has been of little training, attending to engagements with the press and sponsors, finalizing the details of the material that will be used and proposing the strategy of the competition and the refreshments (apart from the numerous that there are of the organization for all by the Cycling and pedestrian routes, there is a point in cycling where you can take a bag with your own supplies:
"Everything has gone well these days in training for the tours. It was not about improving the state of form but recognizing them, doing some stage at the rhythm of competition. You have to arrive refreshed and rested by Saturday. The last night he hardly falls asleep since we have to get up to the 3 and everything has to be ready.
In the swimming I hope to be in the head group, but if someone escapes and I notice that to be there I will have to swim more forced than expected, I will not try to follow him.
By bike you have to keep a good rhythm but always thinking that Then there is the marathon. Be supposed to Kienle, Sanders and some others will try to take advantage of the bike but It would be a mistake to have to change the rhythm a lot to get with them to the second transition.
My new Specialized Shiv has a reservoir for internal liquid and there I will take the concentrated carbohydrate drink necessary for the whole journey, while the pure water and the isotonic drink will be taken in the drums of the refreshment posts.
Finally in the marathon you have to give everything, but not going to the limit but at the maximum possible rate but that does not end up taking your toll. What also can not be predicted is the total time.
In Australia I narrowly missed the 8 hours, but in Hawaii no one has ever dropped below 8. You can not compare the times in different Ironman and not even here in different years: depending on the ambient temperature and the wind several have been about to lose 8 hours, instead there have been years in which it has won more than 8h20".
About the test
The start, with the triathletes already in the water next to the pier of the town of Kona, for those of the batch of male elite will be at the 6: 35 on Saturday morning (18: 35 in Spain) with the usual routes.
Los 3,8 km de natación, con el agua a unos 28 grados, son en ida y vuelta en paralelo a la costa hacia el sur. Los 180 km de ciclismo son prácticamente todos por la misma carretera en ida y vuelta hacia el norte de la isla en siempre cerca de la costa, con algo de subida llegando al punto de giro, unos 200 metros de desnivel entre los km 80 y 90 . Y, tras haber dejado la bike In the same transition zone where the marathon finally started, there are also round trips: at first heading south parallel to the coast for 7 km, turning back towards the finish line near which you pass at km 14; and then another round trip heading north, coinciding in part with the same road as the cycling route, with the other turning point at km 28 to return to the centre of Kona, again next to the pier where the triathlon starts.
Therefore, routes in which it is easy to control the references with the other triathletes, but which can be a bit harder to be long lines in which it seems that there is no progress.
The competition can be followed entirely live through the official website ironmanlive.com, with comments in English and on-site interviews with experts from the scene.
The total amount of prizes is 650.000 $ for the male and female Elite categories, distributed from 120.000 to 1º and 1ª, to 10.000 to 10º and 10ª.