Victoria to host Ironman Asia Pacific

SYDNEY (AAP) - Aug. 04 - Melbourne will host the Ironman Asia Pacific Championship for the next three years.
Starting in March, the new event is one of the qualifiers for the world championship in Hawaii and will bring thousands of competitors to Melbourne.
The course includes a 3.8km swim along the Frankston foreshore and a 180km bike ride along EastLink, and will finish with a 42km run from Frankston to St Kilda.
Premier Ted Baillieu says the event is estimated to generate $10 million of economic benefits for the state.
"We certainly want to sponsor and support our Victorian athletes in these events so we can have more and more Cadels," he told reporters in Melbourne.
"Unfortunately the timing of this event is going to interrupt my campaign for (the) London (Olympics) to compete in the pool."
Cadel Evans last month became the first Australian and just the third non-European to win the Tour de France.
The government is contributing money to help stage the event but would not disclose the amount for commercial reasons.
Top Victorian triathlete Ricky Jeffs said the race would be an iconic event.
"A lot of people said it would never happen but today it's happened," he said.