Amateurs Set For Annual Cda Triathlon Missoula’s Seeley Back To Defend Men’s Title

Although the pros will be absent at the 13th annual Coeur d’Alene Triathlon on Sunday, it doesn’t mean the event will be any less entertaining.

Or less competitive.

Founded as an amateur-only event in 1984, the triathlon expanded to include a pro division in 1987. But lack of funds forced race organizers to drop the pro field this year.

It’s not likely a pro division will be offered again any time soon - especially with the advent of a handful of pro tours and the fact that the Coeur d’Alene race was the final race in the Pacific Northwest to offer a pro purse.

“There’s no reason to believe the race will be any less interesting than previous years,” longtime race organizer Lee Brack said. “Besides the amateurs were the ones who probably would want to watch the pros race the most and they never got to see them because the pros were way out in front of everybody.”

The top finishing male and females won’t be too far behind the typical pro pace.

Last year, for example, top male amateur Matt Seeley of Missoula finished just under 6 minutes behind the top male pro, while Tory Valentine of Mountain View, Calif., was just under 7 minutes behind the top female pro.

Seeley will be back to defend his title, but Valentine won’t be back. Runner-up Ann Seifert of Helena, Mont., who finished 13 seconds behind Valentine, will return for a fifth straight year.

Seeley’s victory- he covered the CdA layout in just over 2 hours at 2:01:04, moved him atop the rankings in the Northwest, according to Northwest Tri-Sport magazine published in Seattle.

If Seeley, 25, wins Sunday, he’ll retain the top ranking. He won two earlier races this summer, the Valley of the Sun in Yakima and Whiskey Dick in Ellensburg.

In late June, Seeley placed fourth overall and second in his age group at the U.S. National Championships, qualifying for the World Championships which will be held Aug. 25 in Cleveland.

The Coeur d’Alene race will serve as a tuneup Seeley for the world event.

“I haven’t been quite as busy this year because I’ve traveled more to bigger races,” Seeley said.

Seeley is at a crossroads of sorts - whether to turn pro or slow down his pace and remain an amateur. He’s finishing up a master’s degree in mathematics at the University of Montana and will be in the job market soon.

“I’m not committed either way; I’m just not sure if I want to make triathlons my highest priority,” he said. “A lot probably depends on how I do at the (World Championships).”

Seeley figures his stiffest competition will come from Team Stampede, a triathlon club based out of Missoula that includes himself and several competitive friends.

Team Stampede teammates Todd Struckman, 25, and Ted Zderic, 24, figure to chase Seeley. Struckman recently won the Lake To Forest event at Sandpoint.

Seifert, 39, is coming off a win at Troika in Spokane last weekend. Her time at CdA last year was 2:21:15, more than 5 minutes slower than her all-time best as a previous three-time CdA winner.

She’ll be out to improve on last year’s time. Linda Nelson of Olympia, Wash., who finished third and a minute behind Seifert last year, and a handful of others should challenge.

“(The Coeur d’Alene Triathlon) is the biggest race in the Northwest,” said Seifert, a homemaker. “And the setting, the beautiful surroundings, make it so enjoyable.”

Racing will begin at 7:15 a.m., with the women taking the plunge first in the 1.5-kilometer swim in Lake Coeur d’Alene near the Lee Administration building at North Idaho College.

The men will follow 20 minutes later. The staggered start should mean that the top male and female will finish the race at about the same time, approximately 9:30.

The triathletes will move from the lake to the bike on College Avenue near Christianson Gym. The 40-kilometer route moves along Northwest Boulevard and U.S. Highway 95 south to Tall Pines Road and north to Kidd Island Bay Road before returning to NIC.

The event finishes with a 10-kilometer run along Lakeshore Drive to Tubbs Hill and back to NIC.

Brack predicts a crowd of about 2,000 will watch the race.

A familiar face at CdA is multiple age-group champion Charlie French of Ketchum, Idaho.

French graduates to the 70-and-over division this year. Brack predicts French, who holds a handful of age-group records, will blow away the 70-and-over record time of 3:30:49.

“He’ll break it by at least 45 minutes,” Brack said.

French will head to the World Championships where he’ll contend for a division title, Brack said.

Carol Montgomery of Victoria, British Columbia, who currently ranks among the top triathletes in the world, will be one of at least two female pros who plan on running just for fun Sunday.

Montgomery will attend the event with her sister, Darcy, an amateur in the 25-29 division. Darcy could challenge for the overall title.

Kristen Whelan is the other pro expected to race. Brack believes a couple of male pros may decide last minute to race as well. z, About 36 age-group champions will be crowned including men’s, women’s and mixed relay team divisions.

Entries were expected to top off at about 750, down from last year’s record of more than 900.

, DataTimes