IM Iceland would be awesome... as long as the swim is in the Blue Lagoon.

Fermented shark and Black Death, anyone?

[reply]actually that's not a great comparison because Boonen is smoking and is the face of the next generation of euro cycling - now the 2004 world champ - anyone? anyone?[/reply]

Piece of cake, Friere, three time world champion who has done little else due to a chronic back problem.

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Proud Founder of the Jamis Mafia- Daring to be different.

It doesn't matter if Dubai is the "World Championships" or not. If the UAE is willing to throw enough money down to triple the Hawaii or WTC payout, it will not matter if it is the world championships, or even if it is associated with the WTC.

They could host an "Iron-distance" race the same weekend as Hawaii and if the purse is big enough, every pro worth their salt would skip Hawaii and do the Dubai race. The pros will pick money over a world championship almost every time, if it is truly a much bigger prize purse. There isn't enough money in triathlon to turn your nose up at a race that can set you financially for a year by getting more money for third than you would if you won Hawaii.

what does terrorism have to do with a triathlon in the Dubai? Nothing. Zip. Nada.

Would have to be HUGE prize money -- cause Hawaii is where all the Sponsership dollars are at -- If you were a sponser - would you rather have your athlete feature your products on NBC in front of a HUGE audience or go to Dubai and race where it may or may not be on TV ??

My Guess is that big names still go to Hawaii and get on NBC while minor pros go to Dubai for prize money - in other words - this would be a great thing - more money for everyone - I hope Dubai does this.

As for me - Dubai or Hawaii ????

In Bicycle racing - It is Europe or Qatar ??

Qatar



Europe





Europe wins !!!



Now - Hawaii or Dubai

Dubai



Hawaii





Hawaii wins

maybe not in Kona anymore...but back in Honolulu.

[reply]My personal opinion is that the WTC don't have any serious plans to move the race, unless it's for a huge $$$. They know that the heart of the race is in Hawaii, and that if they moved then another race would just take its place in Kona, and that race could also call itself the World Championships (Sharon Ackles could put on a good race, and WTC just are a self-declared world champs, not a bona-fide one).
However, I'm sure that the town of Kona makes a lot more money out of the race than does WTC. If WTC wants to see a bit of that, maybe they're just making all these noises so that they can demand more $$$ from the town of Kona. If that's the case (I'm only speculating here) I'd hope that the mayor of Kona would call WTC's bluff.
Does anyone know if Kona already pays a fee to host the race?[/reply]

Exactly. I said that somewhere before. That´s what´s happening, a little pressure on the local autorities in Kona.

Axel

They should move it to Dubai. That way there would be 2,000 lottery spots for Kona and I'd have a hope of getting my name drawn.

that is all you need to know to make the decision

Leave it in Hawaii. If anyone wants to do other races because, the climate is too extreme, the time zone is wrong, the pay isn't enough, the course isn't fair, the cost is too much, then go for it. There are a ton of choices out there. Hawaii is the place for the championships, it has been for over 20 years. Hell, if it wasn't for Hawaii most of us wouldn't even know what tri's are about.

Mahalo,
Matt

that Giro podium girl rocks

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-still fat, drunk, and stupid