2004 Ironman USA Lake Placid closed to general entry

LAKE PLACID, N.Y.-The 2004 Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon closed to general entry after only two days. More than 2200 athletes signed up for the 2004 event, which will take place on Sunday, July 24.

The event, one of the most prestigous in the world, closed to general entry late Tuesday night. The Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon, which will take place for the sixth time in the Adirondacks in 2004, will also serve as the U.S. Ironman Championship again in 2004. “The popularity of Ironman USA Lake Placid is amazing,” said Ironman North America President Graham Fraser. “The event fills in two days because of the great communities that help us play host to it, as well as the great reputation that the event has around the world.”

Athletes will be competing for 100 qualifying spots to the Ironman World Championship held in October in Kona, Hawaii, as well as a $100,000 pro prize purse. While general entry to Ironman USA Lake Placid is now closed, Community Fund Spots are available by calling the Ironman North America Athlete Service Center at 850-235-2608. For more information on the Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon, log onto www.ironmanusa.com.

HSBC Ironman Lake Placid Shaping Up To Be A Real Battle

HSBC Ironman Lake Placid is always a favorite race on the Road to Kona. Check out the links on IronmanLive.com to see how the race is shaping up.
Tune in to IronmanLive.com on Race Day for live coverage. The MetroTri Webmeister will be out on the course helping out on the spotter network.

* * TONS OF NEW IMAGES ON METROTRI * *

Image Galleries added this week include:
Long Beach Biathlon
The Manhattan Island Marathon Swim
The Long Island Gold Coast Triathlon
Larry & Ted's No_Frills Iron Camp at Lake Placid
The Tupper Lake Tinman
Images from the Long Beach Kids Biathlon will be posted shortly.

MONTAUK LIGHTHOUSE TRIATHLON RESULTS

Results from the Montauk Luighthouse Print Triathlon & Relay can be found at the Finish Line website
Overall-Individual
Teams
Clydesdales
Awards
Age Groups

GEARING UP FOR IRONMAN USA @ LAKE PLACID, NY

Here's some resources for next week's race:

Bib numbers have been assigned to HSBC Ironman USA Lake Placid particpants. You can find out who's doing it and their information on the participant search page.

2003 Athlete Guide revised 7/14/03
2003 Spectator Guide revised 7/14/03
2003 Race Day Guide revised 7/15/03
Ironman Prayer and Celebration info

For the third consecutive year, MetroTri will be covering the race. Look for updates and images on IronmanLive as well as on the official website . A brief description of the course and a lesson in getting up on time can be found in the Webmeister's 2001 Lake Placid Race Day Journal.

Bike Shipping and Race Needs:
In addition to InsideOut Sports at the Ironman village, athletes can find everything they need for the race at High Peaks Cyclery and Placid Planet Bicycles

MAKE A NOTE! TV Coverage of the race is scheduled for Sunday, October 12, 2003 at 3:00 p.m. EST

JULY 12th METROTRI NEWSLETTER NOW AVAILABLE!

Features include:
• Special TI Workshop and Camp News
LINK OF THE WEEK: Links to le Tour!
IRONMAN & LONG DISTANCE:
• Ironman CDA
• Tupper Lake Tinman Results
TRI, BI & DUathlons:
• New Morris County, NJ Triathlon
• Schiff Scout Sprint Adventure Race
SWIMMING
• USMS Nationals entry deadline extended
• Inaugural Metropolitan Open Water Swim Champs
New TOTAL SWIM Articles -
• News from Total Immersion Worldwide
• Q&A From the Website Discussion Board
• The Long Lap to the Triathlon: Lessons from a Novice Sinker
CYCLING
• Signature Cycles Demo Day @ Harriman State
• New York to the Hamptons Challenge

Click HERE for the newsletter

ALL HSBC Ironman USA Lake Placid Finishes to be Broadcast in Times Square !

LAKE PLACID, NY - HSBC Bank has pulled out all the stops in promoting the HSBC Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon July 27, 2003.

HSBC has confirmed that their Times Square Billboard will carry the live feed from Ironmanlive.com all day, Sunday, July 27, from when the gun goes off at 7a .m. all the way to the midnight finish. Additionally, to make sure the 1,800 competitors in the event get to see their personal finish on the HSBC Billboard, they will show every finish from the winner to the final finisher over a three-night period the week following the race.

Beginning on Tuesday evening (July 29), from 6pm - 9pm, they will be showing all people who finished the race between 3pm - 6pm. On Wednesday evening (July 30) from 6pm - 9pm, people who finished between 6pm - 9pm on race day will see themselves on the HSBC Billboard, and on Thursday evening( July 31) from 6pm - 9pm, people who finished the race between 9pm - 12 midnight will be shown.

HSBC will also commemorate the event as the first-ever US National Ironman Championship by awarding each age group winner with an exclusive, custom made, jacket. The jacket, produced by Duofold, will feature the race logo and designation as winner of the US National Championship.

More than 1,800 athletes from around the U.S. and the world are expected to compete in the event, which enters its fifth year in Lake Placid.

! ! Car Hits Bicyclists in St. Petersburg

A car plowed into a large group of bicyclists in St. Petersburg this morning, injuring 20 cyclists and the driver of the car. Nine of the injured were taken to Bayfront Medical Center, four with serious injuries. Four others were taken to Northside Hospital and St. Anthony's Hospital with lesser injuries.

The accident happened at 8:40 a.m. on 30th Avenue North, near 53rd Street. Witnesses said a man driving westbound in a Lincoln Continental on 30th Avenue suddenly crossed the double-yellow line and struck a pack of about 40 eastbound cyclists. The car hit about 20 cyclists.

The driver was taken to Ed White Hospital. The reason he crossed the center line was unclear this morning. Some witnesses said the driver, whose identity has not been released, appeared dazed after the accident, asking
police what had happend. Many of the cyclists are members of the St. Petersburg Bicycle Club and the St. Pete Maddogs. The cyclists were on a weekly ride that often takes them along 30th Avenue. See stpetemaddogs.com for a list of some of the injured cyclists.

2002 Ironman Wisconsin champion Lieto, 2002 Ironman Florida champion Shortis to race at HSBC Ironman USA Lake Placid !

(From Ironman North America) LAKE PLACID, NY-2002 Ironman Wisconsin champion Chris Lieto (Danville, Calif.) and 2002 Ironman Florida champion Jason Shortis (Australia) will compete in the 2003 HSBC Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon being held on Sunday, July 27 in Lake Placid and the surrounding Adirondacks.

More details at the IronmanUSA.com website as well as at Inside Triathlon

LOOK OUT FRANCE, LANCE IS BACK! IT's LE TOUR 2003 !

For those without OLN, Tour de France TV Coverage begins on Sunday July 13th @ 3:00 PM on CBS.

Follow the action at LeTour.com and, of course, Velonews.com

You can visit Lance's website for links to the CyclingNews and VeloNews Tour sites for some great previews.

Here's the U.S. Postal Service Team Roster:
Lance Armstrong (USA)
Manuel Beltran (ESP)
Viatcheslav Ekimov (RUS)
Roberto Heras (ESP)
George Hincapie (USA)
Floyd Landis (USA)
Pavel Padrnos (CZE)
Victor Hugo Pena (COL)
Jose Luis Rubiera (ESP)

Registration is open for Ironman CDA 2004 !

With more than 500 alreaqdy signed up, the 2004 edition of Ironman Coeur d'Alene is sure to be a sell-out within the month!

You can register on-line at active.com. It'll cost ya $400 plus a couple of bucks to active.com for processing.

Lesson learned from 2003 - book your room early!