Course was 42-44k (new key hole loop added to course). couple guys did go under 1 hour, brownlee did not

I was blown away that Emma Moffatt (of all people) couldn't make a flying mount out of T1. Forced her to chase onto the front 3 for a bit.

Oddly enough, and I just rewatched it to double check, it was Abram another Aussie who did the exact same mount as Moffatt did, pretty much everyone else jumped on their bikes Both came to a dead stop fixed their left shoe so they could step on it and then got on the bike. Very weird. Also Moffatt had a miserable t-1 anyways instead of stepping on her wetsuit while she was putting on her helmet to get it off she kept trying to pull it down with her hand and wasted a bunch of time.

My Vent: At a WTS race there is no reason these girls shouldn't be developed in all things bike racing ... ride a wheel, know when to pull thru when the pace slows (to move up, be safe, keep momentum even w/o going to the front, be in better position in the bunch etc.) ... and for god sake use the drops when they corner ... this stuff has been driving me crazy and I discuss with a couple guys I guide ... look at Annie Haug ride and watch some other girls, Haug has different skills ... she dives thru corners in her drops with a low center of gravity and opens huge gaps that girls have to close with super hard efforts because they can't corner at her level. Every bit of energy saved (mainly avoiding alot of the huge spikes in effort) in those races goes into the run and 2sec per K can be major! And even though the Spanish girl in the break yesterday wasn't strong ... she can at least contribute by pulling thru and getting off the front. That makes the whole group smoother and faster. All of he girls at that level should have been taught this stuff. I'm sorta baffled why many of them appear to not have been taught .... OK, thanks I feel better now ;-) ... (the men are better but there's some guys that could use a bit of work too)

As far as the original question ... the biggest issue is the men (women too I guess) are all racing for themselves so there won't be as much pure pace lining as we see in bike racing when guys have a number of teammates who in theory are there to keep the pace high

Also ... Vasiliev only had 30sec on the main bunch yesterday but he wouldn't have won with 2min ;-)

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Dave Latourette
http://www.TTENation.com

I thought Brownlee's post-race interview was pretty telling - he was basically saying that the guys in that initial 8-9 person front group weren't working hard enough, and that it was stupid for them not to bike harder because no-one (besides him and Gomez) finished in the top 10. The quote was something like "I just think some of these guys aren't too sound in their tactics".

He seems kinda like a turd, but I love the way he attacks every leg. Kid wants to go fast!

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

Do these girls not have coaches? There's no excuse for that.

Here's what happening though. The importance of the swim and run are so crucial that the bike is kinda the forgotten piece. It's almost the last cog so to speak. I mean it wont matter how good of a biker you are if you cant make the main pack of the swims. So I think what we are seeing is simply a by product of what ITU racing is: an super hard swim that ends with a balls out run. So weak bike skills are just something that is going to be apart of ITU. Now, if ITU get's it's shit together and actually puts some teeth into the bike leg, I think alot of that will change. But as long as the bike legs are of the weaker variety, having strong biking skills arent really all that important. Just dont be the jackass that crashes out 25 others.

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com

Yeah that is exactly whats happening for sure ... but we are talking about the girls (and some guys just not as much as the girls) that ARE making the main pack OR the front pack ... agreed if they aren't making any pack they don't need all those skills yet. A by product of ITU racing is learning pack riding skills so that once you are in the pack you aid to the movement of the pack AND do it in the most economical way that aids your run. Having strong bike skills IS important and having the attitude that it isn't leads to lack of development of athletes ... every ounce saved on the bike leads to a better run (every 180, every turn etc.) ... if one can ride in the bunch @ 10-15-20 watts less by being smart and learning where / how to ride why would you not learn those skills? You can look at a power file from an athlete who rides smart in a draft legal race (or crit or circuit race) and one who waists a lot of excess in that same race, a big difference. The athletes that have already addressed this aspect are having success. If Gwen J can sort out the non-wetsuit swim and her cycling she'll be very hard to beat at any race / any place for a long time ... not just wetsuit swims with flat / semi flat bike course

Credit to ITU they have a better variety in some course this year w/ Auckland being the most difficult & technical // Kitzbuhl is just hard

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Dave Latourette
http://www.TTENation.com

Let me rephrase, I am not suggesting that good bike skills isnt important. What I meant was that due to how important the swim and run are, I can understand why some athletes will have weaker bike skills in ITU. It's simply the last cog that has to be mastered. Do you hope athletes have it mastered, absolutely, but I can gurantee you that the bike component is the least important "skill" that is used in determining ITU success. Simply go look a the standards USAT has for athletes in the sport, and you'll notice the run and swim times and very little with the bike. There are skills that they hope are passed on to athletes, but the importance is put on the swim and run. So yes I agree that bike skills can be super critical and important and smart for an athlete to take advantage of, but in an priority list, it simply won't be at the top.

ETA: and here is the issue. The women aren't penalized for their poor riding skills yet, unlike the men where the bike is finally starting to be pushed. However, the women still are kinda lagging behind and so the athletes that lack good skills can still get away with it. That's where we are with the ITU scene as of now.

ETA #2: now if I were an coach of an elite female, they'd bore of me and my skill work that I put our DL athletes through. Because I agree and see the bike as you do. But I also realize what are the most important aspects of an ITU race. So when/if the women finally get some hard aggressive riding riders, then well see the bike skills really get pushed to a new level.

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com

Caveat, I race draft-legal and have been one of the first people to go into bat against the "its not a triathlon because they draft' mob.

But in saying that the women are (comparatively) poor when it comes to the bike leg. The Brownlee's/Gomez have taken the sport to another level, seeing some of the Aussie guys training, you'd be suprised how much work they do on the bike, we haven't seen that with the girls yet. It's a miracle that someone like Emma Jackson manages to run so well, considering she spends the whole bike hanging onto the back, getting dropped in many corners.

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http://twitter.com/willrc91 --- instragram.com/willrc91

My guess is that rubber bands are not widely used because bikes are parked nose in. Rolling it out of the stall backwards spins the pedals backwards as well, stretching and possibly breaking the bands if there were any there in the first place. The bikes being in a lower gear for starting off exacerbates how far the pedals move when backing out.

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ETA: Looking at the pictures, I guess the bikes were backed in. Never mind...

Yeah I was going to say they aren't that direction. Most people do have rubberbands in itu. Even yellow shoe girl in the video did haha.

Agreed on the need for better transitions and basic road racing skills. (guys and gals, but seems to be most apparent on the female side) The technical things are the easiest to improve and perfect, just takes specific coaching and practice. I coach a couple youth females who could put on a clinic for some of those girls (and guys - don't forget the spanish male athlete who jumped off at the dismount line and took a dive. who taught him to jump off his pedals?!?!?) I honestly think many of the coaches for these world class individuals may not have the technical knowledge to coach them through that stuff. They may know physiology to the 10th degree, but not the whole package.

I saw a lot of floppy shoes, stopped mounts, coasting slowly to try and find the shoe openings, etc. All that equates to wasted time and more energy spent to catch up. I also noted many of the athletes who were trying to save time by stepping out of the wetsuit while putting the helmet on usually took longer than those who did one thing at a time.

If you watch the video again and look at the replay he didn't jump off his pedals it he touched the ground and it looked like his feet just slipped and he lost control. That blue carpet can really suck sometimes.

I disagree on the wetsuit and helmet. If you are doing it right doing both is always faster. Watch Moffatts transition she took forever because she was trying to pull it off where if you look at Gomez and Zaferes they blew through transition because they did it that way.

I still think at this point in the game especially on women's side, it's just not required. By that I mean, poor bike skills aren't having athletes penalized to the point that the lightbulb goes off for them. Now you look at what the ITU is doing with tougher courses and the invention of the what we call the brownlee brothers, on the men's side, technical skills are becoming a must now.

Now that's also not to say that the top women aren't working on the technical skills, you can bet they are. Just to what degree, is it a half hour/ hour squeezed into an session during race prep week, or is it a continued skill that is drilled weekly.

ETA: I think what we are seeing is the evolution of ITU racing. In a few years athletes won't be able to get away with what they can now. The bike is really the next evolution and I think the men are starting to see that. Guys are now starting/ trying to push and sill run fast off the bike. My guess is that within a few years the WTS schedule will be very similar to this years race courses. Some flat fast courses, but also some courses that have some bite to them and will keep athletes honest. The more that occurs the better technical skills will allow athletes to really benefit from that.

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com

Brooks: agreed! I'm excited to see the evolution and we're playing a part in that. I think the junior programs, ETA, CRP, and Collegiate races are getting stronger and stronger every year. I think the next generation will be so strong and technically proficient, that athletes won't be able to get away with those little things. I think the US has definitely had it's growing pains but I like what I see going on right now. I have a hunch we will see the same players for Rio, but by then, there will be a new batch of US athletes on the international scene ready to battle it out for the next quad.

i billeted and trained with a male ITU pro for a week, once, and that was one of his comments about the male v. the female race at the moment. simply that the margin for error was much narrower for the guys- pooch your transition, have a rough patch during the bike, whatever, and your race is over. among the women there's still enough 'slack' in the field that you can ride out those sorts of things. that'll likely change over time.

-mike

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

I believe big waves/swells in the swim messing up everyone's balance.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Bumping this.