Multisport: Business as usual in front of pack

Cameron Brown gives a "business as usual" impression as he prepares to dip into Lake Taupo for the start of his eighth tilt at a race he has made his own.

The only slight hiccup came in January when an ankle injury kept him away from his normal warm-up at the Tauranga half ironman, where he opted for the team event rather than his usual romp in the individual race.

"That wasn't a problem. I couldn't run for three weeks before January 1, but it hasn't made any difference," says Brown. "I have followed the same schedule I usually do with a 16-week build-up following the rest I always have after Hawaii."

Not surprisingly, Brown still has his sights set on races beyond the Bonita New Zealand Ironman.

Sure, he wants to win in Taupo and hang a sixth straight winner's medal around his neck, but he is looking ahead to higher honours with July's Ironman Germany this year doubling as the European Championship (and with it a healthy pay cheque). Then there's the biggie: the World Championship in Hawaii in October.

"I still haven't won [an ironman] overseas mainly because I focus on the two hardest," says Brown. "I know I could have probably had 10 wins in other races, but I'm not into that.

I want, at this stage of my career, to test myself against the best."

Many of the overseas races have lake swims. Brown, a strong swimmer, says the Taupo swim is "beautiful".

Brent Foster, who holds the swim record and usually hits the cycle leg with a handy lead, will again challenge Brown and the other contenders.

"He has improved his cycling and running and is becoming more of a challenge," says Brown. He's also wary of 25-year-old Keiran Doe, who finished sixth last year.

Many rate Ukraine's Victor Zyemtsev as perhaps Brown's biggest challenger.

"Victor will be hard," says Brown.

"I have been up against some strong cyclists over the years, but Victor backs that up as a very strong runner. For that reason, I would be happy to head out on the run with some kind of a lead."

It will be the first time the pair have gone head to head over the full ironman distance. Zyemtsev has a run [marathon] best of 2h 41m. Brown's Taupo best is the 2h 45m 47s he ran in winning in 2001.

"I know I can run 2h 48m any time at my own pace," says Brown. "If pushed, I know I can find an extra four or five minutes."

Brown, well-prepared as ever, is confident he can front for the biggest international race of the year in any sport - in New Zealand.

"I know I'm in shape to win. I'm not too worried about the opposition. I'll do the talking on the race course."

Like Zyemtsev, Estonian Ain Alar Juhanson will be looking to overcome the loss of ground out of the lake to mount his challenge with a strong ride on the 180km bike leg.

Among those they will be chasing is likely to be Frenchman Gael Mainard.

A strong swimmer, Mainard will test Foster on the swim and then seek to turn in strong cycle and run legs in his bid to go one better than last year and claim a podium finish.

Dread-locked Doe has a cult following, which spurs him to mix it with the best.

Expect more of the same as he makes a statement on the swim and cycle legs and then looks to hang about on the run as he did a year ago.