KEY POINTS:
New Zealand triathlete Shane Reed takes a big step towards reaching the Beijing Olympics when he competes in the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman at Mt Maunganui on Saturday.
Reed, 34, is chasing the third and final spot on the team to join already qualified Bevan Docherty and Kris Gemmell, to be decided at the World Cup race at Mooloolaba, Queensland in March.
Saturday's race, which doubles as the official Triathlon New Zealand national championship, is a key part of his build up.
Reed, who has two World Cup wins and 32 top-10s to his credit, steps up in distance to take on arguably the deepest field in the event's 19-year history.
It includes the favourite and eight-time winner Cameron Brown, along with seven of last year's top-10.
Among them are record-holder Nathan Richmond, Ironman Canada winner Kieran Doe, national Olympic distance series champion Stephen Sheldrake and three-time ironman winner Bryan Rhodes.
While Reed is chasing the one remaining Olympic spot, he does have credentials at the longer half ironman distance, having won the international race in the Caribbean two years ago.
His memories of the Mt Maunganui race are not so good, forced out with a puncture in 2002 - the only time in his career that he has suffered a puncture.
Reed said Brown would be the man to beat.
"I definitely haven't done the sort of preparation if I wanted to win it but I'd be pretty disappointed if I finish outside the top three," Reed said.
Brown will be hoping to springboard his way to an improved year after injury and illness plagued most of 2007.
He returned after an absence to win an impressive eighth title at the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman last year.
There is real interest in the development of Doe, 26, who won the recent Tinman Olympic distance race at Mt Maunganui, a year after he crashed heavily in the same event.
After some months out, he recovered to make a breakthrough wire-to-wire win at Ironman Canada.
Rhodes has plenty of credentials, having won Ironman Malaysia twice and Ironman UK, while Sheldrake has numerous top-five finishes here.
Richmond, the Athens Olympian, has talent to burn and the knowledge that if he gets it right, as he did in breaking the course record two years ago, that he could be a real contender.
While the women's field is not as deep, it has the same quality of riches at the top end, with five-time Ironman New Zealand champion Joanne Lawn taking on Australian Ironman champion Rebekah Keat, Ironman USA winner Gina Ferguson and former world long distance duathlon champion Fiona Docherty.
There are 750 individuals and 150 teams racing on Saturday, with the 2km swim, 90km bike and 21km run event starting in Pilot Bay.
- NZPA
