[thread may contain spoilers]
Starting a thread for tomorrow’s race.
No Gustav, no AB, no Jan; if he isn’t sick, don’t think anyone can catch Kristian, especially on this bike:
After seeing all of the track bikes at the Olympics, I was wondering if tri would take any cues.
Women’s race may be more interesting.
His position is just SO bad on that bike….as I noted in the TT thread, that looks like the aero position you would get on a road bike.
I don’t know how he runs as fast as he does with that huge upper body (relative to other triathletes)….but you can’t argue with the results.
Interesting ob. Surprising. He is one of the most scientific/ marginal-gain oriented triathletes out there. I am sure he has spent a lot of time in the tunnel. In a GTN video, he talks about making position less aggressive due to crosswinds. I would think a front end like that would be pretty unstable in crosswinds. Maybe he had to go less “mantis” to maintain control? Likely offset any gains from the wild front end compared to other rigs.
Found it; talks about lowering hands for control. Big trade-off with front-end like that. Won’t fly in Kona with cross winds.
I don’t disagree, but his positions have often looked odd. I’m not sure how much he is really carrying upstairs. He definitely has a large frame, very big rib cage. I can relate.
Flip side, should be an exciting race! Less so without Iden, Frodo, Lange, and Brownlee. I suspect it’ll be a total wild card with the win tomorrow.
Wait Brownlee and Iden are out? I missed that haha. Hopefully Wurf does something fun.
I’d really like to see Ryf nail it, I think a lot of people have written her off. Will be interesting regardless- lots of up and comers that have been really dominant in their respective events but haven’t been stacked up together yet. Suspect it will be a hell of a bike leg, but if Haug is a factor on ths run that will shake thngs up.
Bike Count is in….a few surprises.
Biggest one for me was that there are as many Shimano Mechanical systems there as SRAM Elecronic. Would have thought SRAM would be WAY higher.
Caveat that I’m not in the slightest bit familiar with the course, but I heard there’s some significant uphill and some crosswindy descents. Could be a few question marks there with Sanders opting for a lighter bike and Wurf running a 58 up front. (Though i don’t know if the latter will be in for the top spots)
KB’s setup does strike me as a gamble, and as much as im certain he knows more than me and has the numbers to back it up, there’s also more incentive to push the limits which by nature doesn’t work all the time especially during a race. But if anyone can pull it off it’s probably that guy.
So is anyone left to race? I don’t really get it why pros aren’t more cautious, getting to the start line healthy is sort of fundamental. In the many pre-race videos one could get the impression that they consider themselves invulnurable. These are pros.
Wonder how well Sam and Kienle had slept after hearing that AB and GI are (still) sick.
So pleased to see this thread.
Planning on following along live.
I feel like Sanders will want to prove a point given, Sam Long might be in contention (but ultimately fade away) and I can imagine Brownlee being in the mix (but also using it as training practice - which is weird to say for a world champs!)
Edit: Just read that Brownlee is out.
Won’t lie, I’m very disappointed the mens field is decimated, and LCB won’t have her chance.
Nevertheless! It is WC day and it’s great to have the event on. Blu’s chances are much improved, but anything can happen. Hoping Kat Matthews but realistically I think Haug is favourite.
Havent seen too much on socials, but havent gone searching. What’s going to be the best way to follow along? I’m seeing FB, Youtube, and Peacock as all options?
FB Live for sure, the IronmanNow channel.
@dmetz39 Is this thread going to contain spoilers?
Thanks, @JoeX. I added a spoiler disclaimer in the first post. I was hoping we could discuss race details here.
And we’re off 
Baekkegard leading now, starting to make some distance, but it’s a huge pack behind him. Some pros seem to be struggling with the cold water.
Yeah, thought I saw someone bow out of the men’s field in the first minute.
Blummenfelt drifting back into no mans land is a bit of a surprise, Wurf and Long catching him.
Hmm. 2-3s doesn’t indicate proper spacing. They need a warning from the Marshall.
