Still only 34, Will Clarke has been a stalwart on the elite triathlon scene since 2002, where he made his debut as an elite junior racer. The road to Kona 2019 has witnessed Clarke collect an U23 ITU world title in 2006, the Olympic Games in Beijing, and failure to make the 2012 team four years later as the Brownlees captivated a nation in Hyde Park (a selection process Clarke described as being \u201clike hell.\u201d).<\/p>\n
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The BMC-Vitfit Pro Tri Team athlete\u2019s move to long-course racing has brought about further highs (he has three sub-8hr Ironman finishes to his name) and lows (he\u2019s struggled in his two previous attempts in Kona). And yet he\u2019s back in Hawaii as the best prepared he\u2019s ever been, having spent late summer altitude training at Livigno in Italy before warm-weather acclimitisation in Texas alongside the reigning Kona champ Patrick Lange.<\/p>\n
The latter saw Clarke perform low volume, high intensity efforts with the German, and he admits to feeling more potent as a result. But talking to the Brit at a Team BMC showcase at Huggo\u2019s in Hawaii, and you become aware and the sacrifices, perils and pressure that pro triathletes have to face in order to make a living in Ironman.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen my four-year-old son for a month and the Hawaii experience will have cost me six thousand pounds,\u201d says Clarke. \u201cIt is a sacrifice and a burden, but it\u2019s something I have to do as if you take yourself seriously as an Iron athlete then you have to be here. If you don\u2019t come here desperate, then you can go home. The pressure is good for me and keeps the fire in my belly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Clarke\u2019s Hawaii ventures so far have ended in disappointment, and he\u2019s aware of the pitfalls of not racing to his own plan come Saturday morning on the Big Island. \u201cThe race does scare me,\u201d Clarke admits, \u201cEveryone over-bikes and moves out of their comfort zone. The worst-case scenario is to miss the packs on the bike and ride on your own for 180km; you need other athletes to bounce off and the aero benefits of being in a group.\u201d<\/p>\n