IRONMAN 70.3 LAPU-LAPU: Schoeman faces broken bike ahead of title defense

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Defending champion Henri Schoeman of South Africa will have more than a strong international field to worry about when he returns to the IRONMAN 70.3 Lapu-Lapu Cebu on Sunday.

The South African triathlete arrived in Cebu with a major equipment problem after the frame of his bike broke, forcing him to borrow a bike from a local athlete ahead of the race.

Despite the setback, Schoeman decided to push through with his title defense, hoping to enjoy the race, reconnect with the Cebuano triathlon community and, if possible, claim another victory.

“Yeah, it’s nice to be back. I thought it would be fun to put this race on the calendar. I’ve just had a few hiccups just arriving here with my bike breaking,” Schoeman told CDN Digital.

“So I’m borrowing a local [athlete’s bike], so I’m really grateful for a local borrowing his bike to me. So in terms of performance-wise, maybe it might not be exactly where I want it to be, but yeah, I’m familiar with the course, I’m familiar with the heat. So I’m hoping that everything will work out and I have a good race.”

Schoeman said the borrowed bike is as close as possible to his preferred setup, but admitted that racing 90 kilometers on an unfamiliar machine could affect his performance.

“It’s not ideal, but I’ve got something as close as possible to my fit,” he said. “When you’re cycling 90 km in a long aero position, you want to be comfortable in your own position that you’re used to.”

The challenge is particularly significant for Schoeman, who had the fastest bike split in last year’s race.

With his own bike, the defending champion would have been more confident heading into Sunday’s race. But with a different machine underneath him, he is taking a more cautious approach.

“Well, if I had my own bike, yeah, but at the moment I’m on someone else’s bike, so we’ll see how it plays out,” Schoeman said.

Asked about the condition of his own bike, Schoeman simply said: “Yeah, the frame is broken.”

Still, the Olympic bronze medalist is not using the problem as an excuse.

He said he chose to return to Cebu because the race fit neatly into his schedule and because of the strong support from the local triathlon community.

“This year I wanted to put a nice fun race on the schedule. It worked out that this was in a gap with all my racing and I wanted to come back here and it’s just such a great community,” he said.

“And to come back as a defending champion, I’d love to try and win again.”

Schoeman will also have to contend with a strong field of international professionals, including Ben Hamilton and Sam Thomas.

“There’s Ben Hamilton, Sam Thomas, so yeah, it’s a strong lineup of international guys, so it could be anyone’s day,” he said.

For now, Schoeman’s focus is simply on making the borrowed bike work.

He knows the course, understands the heat and has already experienced the demands of the Lapu-Lapu Cebu race. But whether his unfamiliar bike can carry him to another championship remains one of the biggest questions heading into race day.

After all, Schoeman had the fastest bike split last year. This time, he will have to do it on someone else’s bike.

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