Marten Van Riel is a perfect two from two in T100 triathlon this season so it's little wonder he arrives in Las Vegas feeling lucky.
The Belgian triathlete followed up a win in Alcatraz with another in Ibiza last month, and has now made the promise that he will put all his winnings at this weekend’s event in Las Vegas on red in one of the city’s many casinos.
While he might already be regretting that promise, Van Riel’s form would suggest that he could be putting a lot on the line as he looks to make it a hat-trick of victories before next month’s Grand Final in Dubai.
He said: “After the race, we’ll go back to the casino. I still have to see if I will follow up on my promise that I made.
"There is a purely logistical problem in that I don’t think I can get that much cash out of the ATM. Maybe I’ll put my bike on red!
“I’ve settled in here in Vegas, I’ve been here for more than a week so I’m starting to get really excited for the race on Saturday.”
Based purely on form, Van Riel looks a strong contender once again, even on what he describes as one of the most brutal running courses he has ever seen.
Between his two T100 successes, he was left disappointed by finishing outside the top 20 in the men’s Olympic triathlon in Paris – where Alex Yee took gold.
But having focused his training back on the longer format of the T100, Van Riel was impressive in outrunning everyone in Ibiza and warned his rivals that he is going to be even better in Vegas.
He said: “I’ve won both the races so there is definitely some pressure building but I think my form is really good. I knew that I was not 100% yet in Ibiza because I didn’t have the best preparation, especially on the run.
"So I was really, really happy with the run I put together there. Another three weeks on, I think I’m probably stronger than I was there and hopefully can build stronger towards the final now. Physically, I’m feeling really good for this one.
“With the Olympics, it’s something you train for as a big target. This cycle was three years but still, if you have a very bad result, I really felt it wasn’t in line with my training and how things were going, that really hurts. It puts you mentally in a bad place.
“I was doubting everything and it was really good that I had T100 Ibiza and the series to look forward to. It was the switch in my brain. It was a bit of a mental reset.
“Ibiza was an amazing result for me because the bike course is a bit flatter there and I’m probably one of the lighter guys. I was a bit afraid over whether I would be able to keep up. I did that there so it was a really good confidence boost.
“This course is about 400 metres of elevation so it’s going to be quite a crazy run. It’s by far the hardest run course I’ve ever done. It’s going to be brutal.”
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