Endurance challenge on home soil: BMW brand ambassador Alessandro Zanardi to compete in the IRONMAN 70.3 Italy, Pescara.

Munich. Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) has added another event to his 2017 triathlon schedule: on 18^th June, he will take part in the IRONMAN 70.3 Italy, Pescara. After he had won two more Paralympic gold medals in handcycling in Rio de Janeiro (BRA) in 2016, the BMW Brand Ambassador decided to intensify his activities in long distance triathlons for this year. Before he tackles the Austria-Kärnten event in Klagenfurt (2^nd July) and the World Championship in Hawaii (14^th October), he will compete on his home soil in Pescara.

Pescara is located at the Adriatic coast and offers a scenic backdrop for the event. The swimming portion of 1.9 kilometres will be held in open water. It is followed by a 90 kilometres bike section through the foothills of the Abruzzo Mountains. Zanardi will use his handcycle for this course through vineyards and groves of olive trees. The running section, that Zanardi will complete with his olympic wheelchair, will be held on a 21.1 kilometre course along the beach promenade and through downtown Pescara.

“It is something special for me because I am Italian and I know Pescara quite well. I have a lot of friends there,” Zanardi said. “In fact, I have personally been to Pescara several times as one of my friends from the Italian para-cycling team is from the area and, thanks to him, we had the opportunity to organise several training camps there. In the last one we went out the cycling course of the triathlon. I am very excited because it is a very technical cycling course, and the landscape is beautiful there. It could be that on this hilly course I will not be as fast as I normally am with my handcycle on the flat, but I will try my very best.”

“It is a very competitive triathlon. I have seen in the previous editions that the level of the athletes is normally quite high,” Zanardi continued. “I mainly compete there to prepare for the challenge that awaits me in Hawaii. To test myself among a very strong and large group of fast triathletes is a unique opportunity to go through my learning course as I am still a beginner in this new discipline. This is the reason that I am very excited. For me it is a continuous discovery in the things that I do and the only way that you can gain experience is by participating in good competitions. That is why I decided to go to Pescara.”

In addition, Zanardi is also planning his para-cycling schedule for this year, starting with the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Maniago in Italy from 12^th to 14^th May.