One male had a top 5 split (ben). Girls had top 3. It's not that much of a discrepancy. each leg is affected by the dynamics of the previous leg, so saying one is this better than other is lacking context. It's silly to debate so no I don't think one carries the other.

---

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

44 seconds is a massive discrepancy (that's all day over 19 minutes). It took elite performances by the two women, and a very good performance by the other dude to compensate.

Yes but do you understsnd he context you are talking about? Your talking about splits when your split is directly impacted by the previous athlete. So saying it's one or the other makes no sense. So saying girls carried or boys carried is kinda missing the whole point.

If matt doesn't get involved in crash at front of race, that 44s becomes what 28s, etc.


ETA: and oh by the way your split is going to also be impacted by someone not even on your team.

---

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

I'm just going to hedge a guess but it seems all the money and glory goes to Ironman and 70.3 events ergo that's where all the talent goes. Not to mention UCI poaches triathletes from time to time and even further depletes an already depleted talent pool.

---

I still lapped everyone on the couch!

 If you can swim and run strong you go itu route. If you have no swim ability you got non draft much faster.

If you go itu you don't leave until you basically can't keep up. So one doesn't have more talent over the other. They just have very different demands of competition that once lost in itu, ppl move to LC.

I'd say the money is as good in itu as it is in wtc if not better. However both are very light on depth of paychecks. If your the top 1% your in money, if your 14th best your eating Raman.

---

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Clearly, you didn't watch the race, or you didn't understand what you were watching. Tactics late in the event are different, and McElroy outkicked everyone but Bertwhistle. Circumstances of the race and how it unfolds affect the opportunities and outcomes of the athletes late in the race, and how those circumstances mesh with the individual strengths of that athlete. This is a big reason why it is such an exciting race.

---

Jim Vance
http://TodaysPlan.com.au (Disclosure: I am contracted with Today's Plan)
http://www.CoachVance.com/
Twitter @jimvance

Jim, Congrats on Bren’s race at 70.3 Worlds

Thank you!

---

Jim Vance
http://TodaysPlan.com.au (Disclosure: I am contracted with Today's Plan)
http://www.CoachVance.com/
Twitter @jimvance

I did not watch. I don't watch triathlon. Just going by the numbers. But yeah, it seems the hard-earned head-start blew up when the Canadian crashed and it became a 4-on-1. As a bike racer I know what that's like. And finishing 2nd out of a 5-up race is solid. (even though it's my understanding that the Brit and Dutch guys were also briefly held up by a T2 crash).

Fine effort, and they all represented the U.S. well. I'm not here to bash anyone. Just pointing out that - by the numbers - the women are in something of a golden age. It appears they're competing with the Aussies a bit (without Gwen this year) for honors of dominant country in ITU triathlon.

And the men show some promise, and can deliver solid results when the tactics suit them in niche events. Just not yet in big-time events. (relays may be fun, but they're not nearly as prestigious as individual tri - is that right, or is that just my impression?).

Fair statement. I think in Tokyo, when the mixed team relay makes it Olympic debut, the perception of it will change greatly. I also think you'll see that in the coming 2-3 years, more relays are contested at WTS events, and that will add to the prestige. It really is an exciting event, and a different skill set than Olympic distance draft-legal, even sprint draft-legal.

---

Jim Vance
http://TodaysPlan.com.au (Disclosure: I am contracted with Today's Plan)
http://www.CoachVance.com/
Twitter @jimvance

Agreed with above - great work with Kanute this season! Balancing WTS, non-draft short course like Alcatraz and quite the debut in 70.3 racing is impressive.

As a religious ITU watcher since 2010, it seems to me that America has never really had that transcendent runner who can hang when they get off the bike together in a bunch like Rotterdam. Maloy and Billington had top 10-20 run ability at times and are fairly balanced. Kanute and (to a lesser degree) Lagerstrom have the swim/ bike, but would need quite a leap to make that front run group.

I suppose if the packs came together and the bike was easy enough McElroy might have that run ability - World Cup results are nice - but we have yet to see that in the WTS. Do we have guys in the pipeline with the potential to go sub-30 off a modest swim/ bike? Not talking Leeds 2016 with Ali or anything, just one where they can do a Mola and catch the leader and come off the bike together.

Having the stars and stripes in that lead pack on the run would be incredible.

---

Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

I am not american and let me share my opinion with all of you.

1. US tri does not suck. It's amazing the amount of new women coming into scene in the last 2 years: zaferes, cook, kasper, spivey, tomlin, apart from gwen and sara true that has gone into 70.3. I do not know the reason why there are not men at the top now.The last ones were Hunter Kemper and Mat Reed...long ago.

2. I wonder if the men's field are focussing in local competition such us "the escape" series or go in longer distance, 70.3 and IM. I dont really know the money prices they can get in the us. races.... USA has been kind of a world apart in many sports such us football, baseball, ice hockey,basketball... because it is a big country and those sports are not popular around the world, except from basketball (but even NBA rules are different from FIBA rules)... So, maybe men try other sports that can allow them to get a life.

3. In my region in Spain, less than 3 million people, we have Gomez, Raña (former world champ. and doing IM now), and also Serrat and Abuin who are racing in the WTS from time to time... and some very good guys in middle distance...There is boom here, and there are a lot of kids already training and racing in school leagues (8-9 year olders and upwards)...

So, if there are many top american guys in IM and 70.3, there should be a good bunch in ITU...the reason, I DONT KNOW, but could be money, the sport is not apealing, not enough support to foster going into ITU racing...

---

Spaniard. Sorry for my english for the sensitive ones :P

Here's the real truth.....there is no real difference in the men and women in the US for itu development. Where the difference is the demands of competition, and thus the demands for development, the variability of what they have to develop, etc.

That's it......women can get away with not being a triathlete at 19 and "develop" into a triathlete because the depth and strengths aren't as strong as it's on the men's side. Maybe some of these gals are better swim backgrounds in their teens, etc., but at the same time, the only male triathlete in ITU who I can think of who didn't swim is Murray. He came from a mtb/cycling background. Every other athlete I know of on the itu circuit trained as a triathlete, or atleast had the swim to put them in contention.

So the issue is understanding the demands of competition and then building athletes from that. Now, imo GJ's greatest strength is that she's now accelerated her competitors to force them to turn triathlon into a full on s-b-r; very similiar to what B's and Gomez have done...it's full on now for the whole race. So in order to beat GJ, each of these world class athletes is having to develop and play their strength. Flora is simply becoming a front pack machine of an athlete who's simply going to force you to bike to catch/keep up with her, and hope it fries your legs just enough that you can't catch her. Spirig for most of her itu races was 2nd pack (she had a crazy good tail end front pack swim in Rio...bravo for that effort), and usually biked up to the front, and forced the pace there.

So the US can bring in these truly stud D1 athletes who had some multi-sport background and build them into world class top 30 talent in 2-3 year window. That's almost unheard of at the men's level...atleast not to the point of getting a top 10-15 result on a fairly consistent basis.

So what does that mean? You have to figure out how to keep your creme de la creme junior talent in the sport, that's the reality. Keep them in the sport, move them into U-23's, keep them racing, put them in Europe for summers racing FGP or German Bungledesh (spelling). Have them go to college on simple academics and race club level and mash it (IE the Ben Kanute pathway)....Maybe just maybe you can develop 1 guy from a run background into a top 15 wts talent, but that's been very very hard process, and kudos for those coaches trying. And the reality is that's still really the only viable option, so that's the process you will continue to see. All the top US junior guys are usually very talented single sport athletes enough to get some money from universities, so they take that, kinda cross train, kinda don't cross train, do a few races in the summer, but really don't "come back" into the sport until they've exhausted D1 scholarship or were broken from that experience that now itu is the only option.

---

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

In the US, you only hear about Kona, period!!!! There basically is zero anything at the young kids level. Yea, some adults have their kids race kids Tri, but no visibility about them. Just look at ST, short course racing gets no respect.

Bottom line is there is no money in Tri. So seems any guy who has real talent is going to do the single sport stuff, unless they get hurt or really are not good enough.

---

Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

I'd add that as a pure observer (not coaching like Brooks, for example) the concern is not the swim or the bike. You have to be a very good runner to be in that front pack at 5k, and if you are that good of a runner in the US you will likely run in college. Those are the kids we need to somehow keep in triathlon, the ones who can swim and bike well enough to be in a main pack and then unleash a run.

I hope McElroy gets to a point where he can come off the bike in a main WTS pack and have a go at the big boys. Watching him run in Hamburg was fun.

---

Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

I got you. So, why in the hell triathlon is not involved in college? you've got the olympic female gold medal and that should be encouraging....
I'll tell about Spain too. Gomez is a former swimmer, he started the sport at 16-17, casual, he is one among one million. Ivan Raña, our first world champion started at 14. We both studied in the same high school. nobody at that time knew WTF was triathlon. Anyhow, for any oly sport, since the 90's, there is a central base in Madrid where you go in if you are talented, at younger ages (25 or younger).... Gomez did not even go once there. Raña was there for 1-2 years. Juniors and U23s are there. there is a good bunch. they just focus in training and studying...if they are good enough, they ll be allowed to stay longer, if not...game over.
Not even a single spanish guy but gomez,mola and alarza who get paid for being in the top 3-5 every year or the olympics plus some sponsorship, get profits. The rest of them just live for the day, even wts ocassionals like serrat,castro, abuin...
So, if triathlon is considered by the entire US university sports autorithies (iow, people in power) you ll get a dozen of guys in the series, same as women.
By the way, here Kona, not a big issue. ITU is on TV, Kona, nope...there is no culture for ironman. Not an olympic sport, too hard, too long...people think it is boring

---

Spaniard. Sorry for my english for the sensitive ones :P