Mendez hoping for trouble-free 70.3 campaign this time around

Mauricio Mendez knows full well the odds he’s facing in pursuit of back-to-back championships in the Regent Aguila Ironman 70.3 in Cebu on Sunday, but the Mexican star hopes he’ll be spared of the misfortune that spoiled his most recent title-retention bid.

Mendez was all set to sweep the first two editions of the IM 70.3 Davao in March but suffered a technical problem on his bike and failed to finish, enabling German Markus Rolli to snare the crown on his very first 70.3 race in the country.

This time, the 2016 Xterra world champion hopes to get the breaks and race trouble-free, although he would also need some luck to buck a talent-laden field and emerge a repeat winner in the 1.9-kilometer swim, 90-km bike, 21-km run event organized by Sunrise Events Inc. at Shangri-La Mactan Resort & Spa in Mactan.