RowToTri wrote:
I think given that many people expect Brownlee to lead Kona wire to wire the first year he transitions to long course, losing a TT to a triathlete who was briefly in the front of the bike at kona once is not a result that is expected to impress.
But maybe Graves is a stronger cyclist than any triathlete in the world now... I have no idea.
Hi Ed. I think some of the UK guys on here who are in touch with the UK TT scene have been trying to give you some context, whether it impresses or not is in the eye of the beholder I guess! Phil is seen over here as less of a triathlete and more of a TT specialist who has tried his arm in triathlon with a bit of success (I think he won Lanzarote once). When he led Kona that time he was firmly a multisport guy, but he is back to a TT focus now, I think. Phil has a 25 mile best of 46:28. A certain Mr Boardman, temporarily of this parish, is on the same list only 31 seconds faster at 45:47. Different course, but this is the UK all-time fastest list and each entry is that rider's best ever.
Another comparison was against Richard Bideau as I mentioned above. Richard has done 100 in 3:22. Michael Hutchinson's best is 3:23. Some bloke called Sean Yates once managed a 3:30. Richard is also on the 50 list with a 1:35:22, just 9 seconds behind Steve Irwin on the same day. For a bit more context, Steve Irwin has a 17:49 for the 10, a smidge faster than a certain bloke called Bradley ever managed. But Richard is a pretty big guy I gather, and this was what we call a "sporting" course.
This is all very empirical and doesn't really tell you anything, but if you are familiar with the UK TT scene then it is pretty interesting to see AB rub shoulders with proper testers at this level. That's about all you can take from it, but it is pretty interesting if you are a triathlon fan.
Be interesting to get Steve Irwin's take if he is still knocking about on here? Paging...