Podium Picks

For whatever my opinion is worth, here's my breakdown of Saturday's events.

Men
1. Craig Alexander*
2. Chris McCormack
3. Terenzo Bozzone

Look for this to be the marathon battle we have been waiting for the last two years between two of the best runners in the history of our sport. It's going to take a course record to win this year, and with the expected weather conditions my bet is Crowie will once and for all show Macca who's boss on the run, with Terenzo breaking through at the Ironman distance for a close 3rd. A lot of people are picking Rasmus Henning for the podium, but I think he's going to cramp on the run. Others like Lieto and Bockel will have strong performances, but won't match the run strength of these three.

Women
1. Chrissie Wellington*
2. Rebekah Keat
3. Tereza Macel

No one is going to be close to Chrissie once again this year. With no one in her zip code look for her to set sights on her own course record and demolish last year's 8:54. The other girls will be forced to go for it on the bike rather than let Chrissie slip away for the fourth straight year. Runners like Mirinda Carfrae and Rebekah Keat will push themselves beyond their comfort zone and lose their chances of making up time on the run. Keat will settle for second with a heroic effort. Tereza is one of the strongest women in the world on the bike and will be in touch with Chrissie to the run and hold on for third with one of the most consistent races of the day.