Kona 2018 - the Post Mortem

[Jorgan]

Not at work, so can't write an essay, but...

- After all the hype and promise of a real battle, both races turned into a procession early in the run. It was like the Allen/PNF years. It really was a bit of an anti-climax, not even the course records were a surprise!

- Who ever thought Sanders & Kienle would come off the bike behind the main runner group! Their day was done early in the bike. The bad swim from LS & Kienle's mechanical just seemed to hit both of them hard physically & mentally. They made it to the Skipper group, but ended-up losing contact with them too before T2. Some real soul-searching there I think.

- Sanders will go for the WR in Arizona now

- Welch was still his gloriously annoying self. Nutritionalised, meshing energy, Hoka Onaay Onaay, Amazahn Arch....and he did all this with a peg on his nose.

- Joe Skipper....AWESOME step-up, and on a Ribble too

- David another stellar run.

- That Specialized bike is a bit pants......
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26 Years since it all began....

[TRO Saracen]

- pseudo blatant domestique work from Dreitz for Lange on the bike. Think at one point he checked Lange was there and ready before making a move.
- quite a few ‘Uber swim runners’ seem to have stepped up on the bike. But I’d love to see the race re-run with at least ‘normal’ Kona winds, better still a horror day
- Gomez was schooled. Will he be back? It was an ideal day for his game plan.
- Lange irritating post race.
- Most importantly: Heal quick Jan! (even though he imparted more wisdom in a 5 minute guest presenter slot than the rest of the show combined). The only one atm with a potential antidote to Lange.
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2018: IM Wales and Florida. Let the games begin.

[Jorgan]

Of course, I forgot 'Team Blue'. Lange will have even more spite poured on him now, and not just by the other Germans.
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26 Years since it all began....

[Race1+]

-Ryf stung before the start!
-Charles dropping her bottle probably made no difference really.
-True, clearly spaced out when she crossed the line. Gave it everything, so once she gets it together should be a winner

-Lange isn't likeable, but I guess that doesn't matter
-Why ARE the Germans (and German speaking Swiss) so good at this?
-Gomez was strangely absent
-Where did McNamee come from?
-Tim Don was 36/44 MPro. I fear he'll never podium cause he'll run out of time racing at the top. Perhaps should have switched from ITU to long course few years earlier


-Like Jorgan, that Shiv looks like it was designed by people who've never competed at IM. BTS cages are far from brilliant anyway, so to put a water tank there reeks of aero over practicality. She rode faster mind.

[Wheezy]

Very curious to know what Sanders gives as his reasonoing for his performance and whether this will mean he accepts some form of coaching in the future.

Gomez never really in it; should that be a surprise? World class athlete, obviously, but will it take him a couple of goes to nail it on the island?

Re Lucy Charles, surely a case of not if she wins the big one, but when?
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[TRO Saracen]

Did strike me that Lucy is in a strange, almost unprecedented position. That insane swim is almost a disadvantage. She’s got no alternative but to ride and then run, solo, at the front all day unless caught and that’s a hard way to win unless you are an Uber biker.

No pace line, no company. Ryf wins for as long as, but I can see a post Ryf world in which a paceline of Uber runners behind a couple of good bikers can give chase on the bike at lower individual cost and then run her down, with someone like Haug playing the Lange role.

She probably is good enough to dominate post Ryf, but it’s no way a sure thing.....
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2018: IM Wales and Florida. Let the games begin.

[PCP]

[Race1+]

[tuckandgo]

[Tony Stark]

[gingerbongo]

I read a post from Gomez saying he overbiked and subsequently blew his run. Not a great position to be in then, as he just sat on that paceline for the entire bike not putting in any (obvioulsy we don't know how surgey the ride was) obvious efforts. Still, it's early days for him.

ToD going a bit under the radar - he's no spring chicken and that was a great race! Ran steady and finally pulled away from Currie (who looks like he has a whole lot of heart, but a horrendous running style!).

How old is Haug? Does she have enough years to really come through, or will True bed into that Lange-esque role in 2/3 years time?

Also - Matt Russell! Hats off dude. Almost being decapitated last year to finishing 6th. Impressive.

We just need Brownlee to commit to IM now and we'll have 3 very decent Brits on the men's side and a probaly a few more than that on the ladies (once Ryf vanishes!). That's quite cool.

[PCP]

[Jorgan]

Ryf broke the course record by a magnitude way bigger than Lange, and she did it solo. I don't know whether Sutton has a gift for finding outliers, but we've seen this story before - a world beating almost peerless female long distance athlete. He's never managed to find a male with the same 'raw' dominating talent; in fact I don't think he's had any top-tier male athletes? It begs the question why not.

Maybe he's just lucky, but there is a sceptical voice knocking away at the back of my mind.
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26 Years since it all began....

[hammerer]

[gingerbongo]

... or get the Jellyfish Joo Joo