Bradley begins first full season as professional triathlete

Contributed Photos – Scott Bradley

Lyndonville native Scott Bradley is off to a strong start in his first full year as a professional triathlete.

Bradley finished 14th out of 23 professional mates and 16th out of 1,397 total competitors at the Ironman 70.3 in Puerto Rico in a personal record total time of 4:15.24. He had a time of 31:07 in the 1.2 mile swim, 2:11.24 in the 56 mile bike ride and 1:27.55 in the 13.1 (half marathon) run.

Interestingly it was a third place overall amateur finish in the Ironman 70.3 at Puerto Rico last year that qualified him to apply for his “Pro Card”.

Bradley then scored a win at the Flower City Duathlon in Rochester which consisted of a 5K run, a 20 mile bike ride and another 5K run. He won the event by over 9 1/2 minutes in a time of 1:23.22. His bike time of 46:01 was a course record and his total time was an event record. His finish currently ranks him 2nd in the USA Triathlon National Duathlon ranking in the male 30-34 age group.

Bradley also journeyed west to compete in the iconic Wildflower 70.3 in Bradley, Calif. which has been named “The Woodstock for Triathlon.”

Scott Bradley in competition on his bike.

“This event has been on Scott’s ‘Bucket List’ for several years,” said his dad, Wes Bradley. “It is labeled as having one of the toughest bike courses and toughest run courses of all triathlons in the country. The bike contains some significant climbs and 60 to 70 percent of the run is on trails, many of them sandy, through the hills.”

He finished 23 out of 32 pro males and 27th out of 728 total competitors with a total time of 4:36.25. That includes a swim of 30:47, bike of 2:30.43 and run of 1:30.09.

“Turning professional has placed many challenges in front of Scott,” said Wes. “The greatest of these is his swim.  In Puerto Rico he came of the water 22nd out of the 23 Pro Males.  In Wildflower, he came out of the water 31st out of the 32 Pro Males.  His swim has shown significant improvement in the pool over the winter, but it has not yet translated to open water swims.  He is looking for a breakthrough swim for him of under 30 minutes, with a goal of eventually getting in the 27-28 minute range.  His bike, his strength, continues to improve.  This portion of each event is where he gains the majority of his finish spots.  Currently he is able to hold his own during the run, with the expectation of eventually being able to gain some finish spots here, too.”

His next two races will be the Ironman 70.3 in Raleigh, N.C. on May 31 and the Ironman 70.3 at Mont-Tremblant, Quebec on June 21.