monty wrote:
Phil Graves? If so he's concentrating on cycling these days. He had problems with running injuries. Yes that was the guy, sorry to hear about his issues, but good he can still cycle. He was a monster on the bike, but for my category here you have to have had somewhat of a career longer than a couple years.
Phillip Graves?!?! Your list is a joke. Phillip Graves didn't even have close to the fastest bike time in the only Ironman that he did in Kona '09. You are clouded by watching him start the ride at the front of the pack but seemed to have forgotten that he very quickly got overtaken by - just about everyone in the pro field. (He landed up with the 25th fastest bike split that day) But the fact that you consider including him on your list, just shows what a joke of a list it is. Leaving off Sindballe? What a joke considering you love Lieto and Sindballe had a faster bike split than Lieto in every single Ironman they ever raced together. You include Starky and Sanders who have done nothing in Kona yet and leave off Ain-Alar Juhanson and Maik Twelsiek? Talk about uberbikers.
And yet this whole notion of uberbiker is absurb. The sport is a triathlon. Any one of the very top Ironman athletes can have the fastest bike time should they choose, but it is not a cycling event. Faris al-Sultan could crush the bike and did so with the fastest bike time in 2005 (Peter Reid by the way was only one minute back, the rest of the field, far back) and close to the fastest in just about every Ironman he ever did. Peter Reid also had the fastest bike split in 1998. Crowie had the fastest bike split in 2011; Macca had several fastest bike splits in Kona (and certainly could do it every year had he chosen) at the beginning of his career. Tim Deboom was within seconds of Hellreigel in 2001. Pete Jacobs was only 1 minute slower than Kienle in 2012 (and Dirk Bockel was only a few second slower, yet you are convinced Kienle makes the list). Luke McKenzie was faster than Kienle in 2013 and finished ahead of him in the race). Frodo, Llanos, and and TO all rode within seconds of Kienle in 2015.
If there is an uberbiker in Ironman, his name is Normann Stadler. He by far and away had the biggest time gaps (20-30 minute gaps) to any other bike time. Kienle? Pshh. Lionel Sanders? Bjorn Andersson? Jurgen Zack? Please... But even then, I think Stadler would take offense to being called an uberbiker