State series leader Hayden Armstrong has elected to stand out of the Coles Bay Half triathlon on Saturday.
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The absence of the current Triathlon Tasmania champion can pave the way for rival Andrew Rolls or Michael Boult to take the lead in the open men's standings with a first to-the-line finish.
Armstrong had won both races of the season, including the postponed Bridport Olympic state championship that was rescheduled south for Seven Mile Beach after bushfire smoke from Victoria made race conditions unsafe.
Organisers also confirmed that Craig Shepherd, who sits on 18 points, four behind Armstrong, will also miss the triathlon on the East Coast.
Shepherd leads Rolls by six points in the senior male group ahead of Coles Bay.
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
The pair's decision not to race comes under Triathlon Tasmania's state series conditions requiring only the top four performances count towards a competitor's season.
Pia Austin is a confirmed starter to extend on her lead at the top of the female opens after a first and a second.
She stands ahead on 20 points from Sarah Ford and Larissa Oates both on 14.
Coles Bay is set to deliver near perfect conditions compared to last year with a very choppy swim. The Coles Bay Half is the longest and most challenging state triathlon.
More than 200 competitors will swim 1.9km swim off Muirs Beach, cycle 90km of a two-lap circuit along the Coles Bay Road and finish with a four-lap, 21.1km run along Muirs beach and its Esplanade Road circuit.
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