Any time an Ironman World Champion is in the field at any triathlon, he or she enters that event as the one to beat. Such is the case at the 2001 Subaru Ironman Canada triathlon, as two- time Ironman World Champion Peter Reid of Victoria, B.C. leads a strong male field.

Reid is the defending champion in Penticton having claimed the 2000 title with an outstanding overall time of eight hours, 29 minutes and 49 seconds, more than 13 minutes faster than his nearest competitor.

The 32-year-old Reid is one of only two "active" male triathletes to have claimed a pair of Ironman World Championship titles in his career. Reid claimed his second Ironman Hawaii title in October of 2000 by posting an overall time of 8 hours, 21 minutes, in some of the worst conditions ever seen at the Kona event. Having claimed eight titles in his career, Reid enters as the most decorated athlete in the entire field at Subaru Ironman Canada.

Also returning to Penticton is 1999 Subaru Ironman Canada champion Chuckie Veylupek (Liberty Lake, Wash.). Penticton has seen some great racing out of Chuckie "V" with his 1999 title and 1998 second-place finish. Look for him to better his 11th place finish a year ago at Subaru Ironman Canada.

The Czech Republic's Petr Vabrousek has won a pair of Ironman titles in his career (Ironman Asia and Ironman South Africa, both in 2000) and was thrid at Ironman Austria last month. The 27-year-old Vabrousek is an experienced racer and could challenge Reid and Veylupek.

A pair of Canadians will also be in the mix, led by Jasper Blake (Collingwood, On.) and Garrett MacFadyen (Halifax, N.S.). Blake was fourth a year ago at Subaru Ironman Canada, his first ever Ironman event. Blake also claimed the Subaru Triathlon Series overall title in 2000, and was seventh at Ironman New Zealand in 2001.

MacFadyen was right behind Blake at the 2000 event, earning fifth place, and has a pair of strong finishes at Ironman events in 2001 (third at Ironman Australia and fourth at Ironman Malaysia).

Also in the mix will be Lance Muzslay of Tuscon, Ariz. (5th at Ironman Asia, 10th at Ironman California in 2001), Dan Dethier of Luxembourg (fourth at Ironman USA Lake Placid in 2000) and Danile Kezele of Croatia (eighth at Ironman California in 2001).