CAIRNS has snared the Ironman Asia Pacific Championship after the Queensland government agreed to host the triathlon event for the next three years.
The move came after next March’s race in Victoria was cancelled amid claims by organisers that a same weekend clash with the Melbourne Grand Prix made the event “unmanageable” (‘Ironman canned’, The Times 2/11/15).
The state government claimed there was no reason for organisers to cancel next year’s race. The triathlon was hosted in the south east of Melbourne, beginning in Frankston and ending at St Kilda with the bike stage taking place along Eastlink after the swim stage at Frankston.