Do you think if he swam in college he would have won by a few minutes?

I think Sam's race was outstanding in that it showed that athletes are not just going to come from the front swim group for top positions in this race series. At least it's something they are justified to cover in the race coverage.

I thought Sam was freaking amazing - it was a clinic that he put on in pacing and I haven't ever seen him look this good on the run ever. Very impressed.

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DFRU - Detta Family Racing Unit...the kids like it and we all get out and after it...gotta keep the fam involved!

His best chance for good results will be the beginning of the season. He is probably better off peaking now-June and then re-peaking for the finale.

You were on site and could see what was going on off the cameras that was our only view from home so you would have seen Sam early on the run. Did he just do a steady grind out of T1 or T2 and lock in his pace, or did it look like he was "attacking". From a distance not seeing him all the time his form late in the race suggested he just dialed in a three hour iso effort day. The 20m rule had to help and from what I understand it was pretty windy too?

What was it, a top 2 bike and top 2 run and he has always been good in the heat, so not surprised at all. These types of races are always going to have a huge blow up factor, similar to Kona. Only in Kona everyone knows it is hot, and most pace accordingly. In these 3 hour races they just feel like an olympic distance one, and the pacing is mostly as such. So the heat sneaks up on guys and when it hits, there is no time to recover and get back in the race. We saw that from Ali and Laidlow who at least limped in, and others that just had to pull the plug entirely. In Kona you gradually get hot and you can feel it coming on and can mitigate it. This race it just flat out hammers you within minutes, and then its too late for any recovery.

And Sams swim was right about where it ought to be with his abilities, so neither good or bad. If you watched it, you could see even if he were a second or two per 100 faster, he would still just be pulling the group he was in. But he was pulling it when I saw him, so that is good news. Just means with a more filled out swim where he can draft, he would be much closer to the leaders with the same effort. Their times wont change, but his would drastically with a proper draft that pushes him...

Jan: Do you have the strongest legs in triathlon? Sam: Technically no, technically yes.

Sam's bike/run combo is becoming pretty hard to top. I think Race Ranger will help him continue to be competitive in the series since it'll be harder for people to get dragged to the front of these races. That helps to mitigate some of the things that he doesn't have going for him in this format -- slightly longer swim/slightly shorter bike.

Sam seems much more composed/mature in interviews this year. It's been great to see his development inside & outside of the sport.

I say "What about Magnus??????" Don't be so North-America-centric. Magnus had a great race and deserved to win. Further, if "Race Ranger" were used in the swim, Sam would not have made it up to 2nd. Everyone complains about drafting on the bike but on the swim it is just a smart strategy. And this is not even mentioning the fact that swim is such a small part of the race. Make the swim 4000m and then it would be a fair race.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Further, if "Race Ranger" were used in the swim, Sam would not have made it up to 2nd. //

You're usually pretty spot on with swimming observations, but I think you are way off here buddy. From what I saw, sam swam most of the swim pulling his own water. If there were a race ranger in the water, the front guys would have gone slower, as they did trade leads and there were many just hanging on. Without a draft in the swim, Sam likely wins the race since his time was pretty much scratch, and all others would be slower.... Just saying... (-;

You don't need race ranger in the swim because it is not against the rules to draft in the swim.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

I know that but my point is if you allow drafting in the swim why not on the bike??? I know it would be hard to enforce but I suspect it could be done if enough people put up a fuss about it. :)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

But that's not what you wrote................

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Team "Sam is an idiot for firing Dan Plews" where art thou?

This is a very fair point! One race is just one race, it will be interesting to follow his narrative this season (to go with Sam Renouf buzzwords)

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

I wasn't on site - I did a watchalong with Travis from The Daily Tri, and we just watched the whole dang thing. But I've never seen him so light footed and smooth. I don't know if he was really doing these 90 mile weeks but the big man really was a plodder in the day and between his work with Ryan Bolton onto his continued work self coached, he's becoming a truly great tri runner off a hard AF bike ride. It is impressive.

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DFRU - Detta Family Racing Unit...the kids like it and we all get out and after it...gotta keep the fam involved!

Pretty sure he started working the dr Dan plews to get better at the full im distance. Pretty obvious how that venture has gone on his own…..

What was the prize purse $ for 2nd place?

1st place – $25,000
2nd place – $16,000
3rd place – $12,000 (at each T100 race)

That was my thought. He seemed to just be holding a higher cadence and lighter on the feet after that hard ride. He is also likely just maturing as an endurance guy now compared to when he was in his early 20's. Late 20's he is getting into his prime endurance years.

It was really impressive for sure, but I'd note that a big part of the result was that he appeared to handle the heat better than pretty much all the other racers (hard to figure out why that would be given his size tbh). The heat won't be as big of a factor at many of the remaining races, so will likely dent his competitiveness some.

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

I am not exactly sure why drafting is accepted in the swim and run but not the swim. I'd imagine that it has something to do with safety.

I say "What about Magnus??????" Don't be so North-America-centric. Magnus had a great race and deserved to win. Further, if "Race Ranger" were used in the swim, Sam would not have made it up to 2nd. Everyone complains about drafting on the bike but on the swim it is just a smart strategy. And this is not even mentioning the fact that swim is such a small part of the race. Make the swim 4000m and then it would be a fair race.[/quote]
Because Magnus raced exactly how everyone expected him to and won. Long has been good for a while, but its nice to see him getting to the tippy top. Plus, its exciting to see someone come from behind like that.

Drafting on the swim decreases energy cost about 5-10% depending on your source. Drafting on the run is variable depending on the wind, but around 1-4%. Drafting on the bike is around 30 to 50%. So from a "benefit" standpoint, biking is in a category of its own. And yes, from a safety standpoint, draft legal racing with aerobars would be result in some serious carnage.

Great riding, excellent running.
I guess the challenge is that there won't be a "more filled out swim" for any of the T100 races. Maybe if he's still strong enough to race Taupo he could benefit from company he can get on the feet of, but not before. Many long hard 2000m swims ahead.
On Saturday he led Chevalier and Horseau (NB wildcard) round the buoys and that's the minimal company he can expect every time. Weiss is the only other swimmer 'adrift' and he's 100 seconds ahead: 5 secs a 100 faster.