Three-time Hawaiian Ironman triathlon champion Craig Alexander will race at Ironman Melbourne next month, further raising the profile of the inaugural event.

The 38-year-old on Monday confirmed his entry for the March 25 race, which will be the Asia-Pacific Ironman Championship.

Alexander regained the Hawaiian title last month and became only the fourth man to win triathlon’s most famous race three times.

He also beat the course record by 12 seconds, finishing the 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42.2km run event in an astonishing eight hours three minutes and 56 seconds.

Last year Alexander also became the first triathlete to win Hawaii and the world 70.3 (half-Ironman) titles in the same year.

Alexander’s opposition in the Melbourne race will include Sydney’s Pete Jacobs, who was runner-up at Hawaii last year.

Melbourne will be Alexander’s first Ironman-distance race in Australia since he finished third on debut at Port Macquarie.

The race will start with the swim at Frankston, followed by two laps of the Eastlink tollway for the bike.

The marathon run will start in Frankston and finish at inner-suburban St Kilda.

“I have heard great things about the course already – it could be very quick given favourable conditions,” Alexander said in a media release.

But the bike ride will be exposed and the triathletes will be praying for a southerly wind, given the entire marathon course travels north along Port Phillip Bay.

Meanwhile, cycling great Lance Armstrong has started his campaign to qualify for Hawaii with a second place at the Panama 70.3 race.

The record seven-time Tour de France champion was leading during the run, but New Zealander Bevan Docherty passed him to win by 31 seconds.

It was the perfect start to Armstrong’s campaign this year to earn a professional start at Hawaii.

Armstrong showed great potential in triathlon as a teenager before switching to full-time cycling.

Last week, American federal investigators announced they had ended an investigation into into Armstrong and alleged doping in cycling without laying any charges.