Race Previews

Buffalo XVII Preview...

Wednesday, 01 June 2022 00:10

BUFFALO TRIATHLON PREVIEW - The 17th edition of the Buffalo Triathlon will take place at scenic Sturges Park on the eastern shoreline of Buffalo Lake next Sunday. Weather Underground forecasts favorable conditions and an early look at the registration list tells us that,once again, Buffalo will be one of the most competitive races of the season. Let's talk about that, starting with the Olympic event....

Olympic Men: Our podium pics

1. TED TREISE - This 3rd-year pro told us last week that he hopes to set a new course record. The old one, Matt Payne's 1:54:15 set in 2016, is stout, but Ted should get a good push from our state's Top 2 amateur triathletes in 2021, DAVID KOPPEL and KYLE SWENSON.

2. DAVID KOPPEL - Buffalo's 2021 winner is our pic to collect the amateur victory behind pro Treise. He outraced Swenson in the two races--Heart of the Lakes and Nationals--in which they faced each other last season, but we expect Kyle to be a tougher opponent this time around. 

3. KYLE SWENSON - Now 20, Kyle was named US Junior of the Year in 2021. A well-deserved accolade. He should give Koppel, Minnesota's Triathlete of the Year last season, a helluva race on Sunday.

Olympic Women: Our Podium Pics

1. DANI TREISE - A rookie pro, Dani is best known for her long course and duathlon prowess. She has never raced in a legitimate Olympic-distance event before, thus we are not predicting that she will shoot down Hannah Grinaker's 2:06:57 course best, set in 2019. She might, but a 2:10 Olympic debut is a safer bet. A win would be the 13th of her career.

2. BECK YOUNGBERG - Becky owns the Masters Record on this course, a 2:12:56, and is our clear pic to place 2nd. Youngberg, 47, has amassed at least 45 wins in her impressive multisport career/

3. VANESSA NAGEL - Nagel has been flying slightly under the radar since 2018. Her mid-season injury in 2021 kept her there. She's raced well at Buffalo in the past, 5th in 2019 and 6th last year, and we're predicting a Team Minnesota-worthy season for her in 2022. She'll need to hold off Kristina Swenson in order to climb Buff's final podium step.

Sprint Men & Women:  Our Winner pics

1. BRIAN STORHAUG & CHERYL ZITUR

We're convinced that later registrants will vie for podium berths, thus we are only sharing our winner pics. Brian has placed 2nd in this race on two occasions, and as of this posting, we think he'll break through for the win on Sunday. A victory would be the 8th of his career. As for Zitur, she's a four-time champion and despite her age (57), we won't bet against her. At this point, BETTINA KEPPERS appears to be her closest challenger. Keppers was 3rd here in 2019. It's possible that two 55-59 women crack the Top 3 this weekend. The other one: CHRISTEL KIPPENHAN.

Approximately 500 athletes are expected to particpate in Buffalo XVII. We hope to post Age Group predictions later in the week. RACE WEBSITE