Sad to see him go. He made races more exciting on the bike. I'd be querulous to see if he makes a jump to IM in 5 years or so.

I think it makes perfect sense for him although he certainly added an interesting spice to races this year. But as a second or third pack swimmer and someone who can't run within 5 minutes of the top runners after the bike leg, he seemed to have very little future in triathlon, other than to help other NZ athletes in a few specific races which would be waste of his prodigious biking abilities. I'd like to have seen him and the Brownlees in a front pack together just to see whether he could drop them, or whether they would combine to drop everyone else.

He also seems a very likeable hardworking guy, so sorry to see him go. But it is the right decision.

Good luck to him!

Not completely surprised knew he had outstanding bike ability but I didn't know he came in 3rd at his national championship this year. Hopefully he gets into a team where he can get a few opportunities to get noticed.

It was a pleasure riding his wheel up to the lead pack in Yokohama! I'm sad to see him go... from races that I come out of the swim in front of him. :) It can be a long day when you are on the other side!

As long as I've been following ITU, there hasn't been another athlete with his skill level on the bike + his motivation/commitment to ride hard. I'm very interested to see how his transition to cycling goes.

He's a fun follow on Strava: http://www.strava.com/athletes/1205553

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Jason Pedersen
RunPd.com - Running as fast I can since '93
@jasonpedersen