But how did David Giardini put 3 minutes into him on the bike?

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By choosing an incredibly poor pacing strategy.

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

I thought no one can outwatt LS...

+1.

The swim gap up to Potts is still about the same (4:15 at Oceanside, 4:23 today) so I guess his swim improvement in the pool still doesnt translate to open Water.
Fingers crossed it will, at some point. Hopefully before Kona.

....and rightly so.

Who needs to be a good swimmer when you can lay it down on the bike and run!!!

Oh, I think he will need it in Kona....

Regardless of his run time that split is unreal, especially coming from a guy that weighs 67kg

Guy played to his strengths and still placed 4th in a field where top 2 was probably a given.

http://www.slowtwitch.com/...win_Texas__5036.html
Sanders learned from his mistakes at Oceanside, dont burn out your legs in the bike, put some socks on to avoid blisters for the run.
This guy is the real deal

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res, non verba

How??? By backing it up with a 1:25:xx run split :)
Hell of a swim/bike combo though, I'll grant him him that



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I'll keep my personal opinions to myself for now but I don't think it has anything to do with a 1:25 run split.

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perhaps the male version of rinny? she never does well in the swim but powers through the bike and run

Rinny loses time on the swim AND bike. She has always lost time on the bike at Kona. The run is obviously a different story.

Lionel out rides just about everyone.

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Oh come on. Nobody likes a tease.

Great job Lionel and Cody Beals!

Lionel had a race best 1:12 run today, so we know can crush a fast bike course and still outrun some fast people.

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Agreed.

My point was Rinny and Lionel are not the same. They both can run.... that's for sure. Lionel uses the bike as a weapon. Rinny uses the bike as a way to get to the run. The bike is not a weapon for her.

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Seemed to work fine for Kienle and Carfrae in Kona last year….

They both can run. But, let's not equate Lionel's run with Rinny's. Lionel would need to run 2:24:18 at Kona to match Rinny's 2:50:27 record split. How do I figure? Well, assuming the Olympics Trials B standard is an equal performance measure across sexes, Rinny's record is 104.6% of the 2:43:00 Women's B standard. And, 2:24:18 is 104.6% of the 2:18:00 Men's B standard.

Point being that Rinny's run is just so far and away extraordinary that she can safely rely on just that weapon and can safely come from well behind.

And, while it certainly matters whether he is 6 minutes down vs 10 minutes down out of the water, if he is a threat to throw down a 4:17-2:40 combo, he can be dangerous even with an hour swim. But, of greater uncertainty than how far down out of the water he is, is how well he can perform in the heat and humidity of Kona.

even a 4:25/2:45 bike/run split with a 1:00 swim makes him dangerous. i don't think he should stress too much about the swim, it will come.

Drama!

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

Very pleased with Lionel's very wise, workman like victory today in Texas 70.3. Obviously he is still the 4min gap to the best swimmer in the sport, so work required there. Today instead of many spikes in his bike power like he did in Oceanside, he rode a very very high quality 2:02 bike split, but with consistent power and he had a lot left in his running legs as one could see. In my mind, Lionel executed just about the perfect game plan in Texas for his current fitness level & the depth of the field.

Like most of the other big-names, he has an Ironman in 3 weeks, so all of the guys I am assuming are coming off of big-fatiguing training blocks and if they were fresh would have all gone faster. Nothing Lionel did today was out of the ordinary. His modest swim is his regular swim pace. His 2:02 bike was well within himself and he has run much faster then 72 min off the bike. The filed was very good, but not nearly as deep as Oceanside was and Utah 70.3 will be next weekend. As a result, Lionel was able to really control his own race much more effectively today and he executed a very mature race from start to finish.

Kudos to Andy Potts for backing up New Orleans 70.3 a week ago and to the master of all world-class triathletes Greg Bennett for continuing to defy the 40+ age clock. I know that Lionel was extremely pleased to see one of his Ontario training pals Cody Beals, add his name to the new Canadians to look out for. Cody and Lionel have taken very similar paths over the last 2 years and were both weak swimmers who came to triathlon in their mid-20s with no bike or swim backgrounds.

The most impressive race of the day might have been Helle's victory on the women's side. Right now she is in an amazing zone and her ITU speed in the swim-bike and run are tremendously suited for the 70.3 race distance. I had the pleasure of announcing many of Helle's ITU races over the years and she had numerous injuries that kept her out of the biggest races. Its great to see her find her real distance and time in life to excel at the 70.3 race distance.

Lionel's real priority for the first 1/3 of the 2015 race season is a big world-class effort in Ironman Texas in May. We are both pleased with the learning and improvement he has made from Oceanside to Texas 70.3 and my fingers are crossed for a great-healthy effort at Ironman Texas in May. Lionel appreciates the many new followers and fans who have enjoyed his racing style and gutsy effort. Today was a fun day to see Lionel add another victory to his resume and the chance to race with Greg Bennett and Andy Potts in the same field (two world-class athletes and great people).

Looking forward to some great racing in May.

Regards
Barrie Shepley
Voice of ITU Triathlon & Coach of Lionel Sanders