Star triathlete Mauricio Mendez. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Mauricio Mendez is back to his old stomping ground and he’s confident he can once again rule Ironman 70.3 Philippines in Cebu.
The 23-year-old Mexican triathlete ruled the 2018 race clocking in at 3:21:29, 41 seconds faster than second-placer Tyler Butterfield.
“I’m confident because I know that I can win the race,” said Mendez during his media availability Friday at Shangri-La Mactan. “I have won here, I have won in other places and I’m really happy to be here and grateful.”
“I’m fit and healthy. It’s going to be a good battle out there.”
Apart from his goal of getting a repeat in Cebu, Mendez also wants to erase the bitter memory of his performance in Davao in March where he suffered a technical problem on his bike, preventing him Mendez from finishing the race.
“I did mechanical work and if that goes well the race is going to be perfect,” said Mendez.
His road to a second straight title, however, won’t be easy and Mendez is well aware of that.
Mendez sees Tim Reed and Tim Van Berkel, the top two finishers of the Subic race, as the stiffest competition in his bid for a second straight championship.
“There are several guys and I always think about Tim Reed and Tim Van Berkel,” said Mendez. “There is a war zone this year so I think it’s going to be good.”