New Zealand triathlete Tony Dodds has once again put his money where his mouth is – or should that be the sponsors ten thousand dollars where his mouth is for the Contact Tri Series race in Wanaka next January.
 The man to beat, Tony Dodds(Photo: Janos Schmidt / ITU; click to enlarge) |
The 'Doddsy Challenge' has become something of a highlight of the summer of racing, with Wanaka local Tony Dodds generating the money through local sponsors and supporters and putting it on the line to the winner, with the twist being if he wins the race himself, the money all goes to charity.
And while Dodds is not yet releasing the identity of the principal funder of the ten grand, he has come up with something a little different to help promote the race this year.
"Indeed we have, we try to better it each year by doing something a bit more outrageous, Tim Pierce had a good idea to release a promo video so we went ahead and did that and it is now out in the Internet world hoping to attract some international athletes to an outrageously beautiful part of the world to chase some cash.
"We have a nice sponsor on board from Wanaka who is putting in a lot of money towards the $10,000, this will be released soon enough and yes, they have a connection to triathlon. Let's just hope this time for my sake that I can put the money back to where I want it to go and that is Cystic Fibrosis if I win."
The cash and no doubt the venue has certainly turned the super sprint race into an early season international clash, with world number 8 Laurent Vidal amongst those to regularly line up at Lake Wanaka, last year the Frenchman won the cash from Ryan Sissons and Dodds.
The Contact Series race takes place on Friday January 18 and forms part of a weekend of racing with the Challenge Wanaka events taking place on the Saturday, creating a wonderful atmosphere in the popular holiday town in Central Otago.
There are races for the elite men and women but also events for all abilities and age groups from the Contact 1:2:1 for children to the Contact 3:9:3 for those looking for a sharp and fast hit out or a gentle introduction to the sport.
To see the promotional video and perhaps accept the challenge, click here.
For further information and event schedule for the Contact Tri Series, visit www.triseries.co.nz.
