ironmayb wrote:
Thomas Gerlach wrote:
tallswimmer wrote:
Updated results show Thomas winning in 8:59:59 and Rudy Kashar 2nd. Local media has reported Edward Schmitt (3rd) as the overall winner. Such a strange situation.Agreed, this is how an article reads:http://host.madison.com/...0d-c6364ad8bf5b.html[/quote[/url]]
Thomas:
I respect you and what you contribute to this site. I think in this case you are missing a bigger picture:
1) could everyone/anyone sign up on Friday as you did. Meaning, could any AGer sign up on Friday
2) bigger picture, while I have seen all your reasoning (including your "home town" event:)
a) there are Ager's who now sign up for AG only events, like this, Louisville etc. with the expectation they will be competing against only other Ager's and therefore have the opportunity to "break the tape". They train for months with this expectation.
b) IMWI is either AG only or include a PRO race. There are AG'ers who didn't participate this year because they couldn't "compete" against pros. I don't know Thomas Brunold at all (never met him). I watched him help a AGer this morning on the side of the road with a bike issue (and I was impressed/humbled). I do know at least one other AGer who didn't do WI this year, but would love to line up against you (and I believe would beat you) if they knew you were going to be there and if they were given the opportunity to sign up as late as Friday.
Sorry but you are a PRO and as such you should focus on the PRO races as designated.
I will say more importantly I don't think IM should have let you in in the first place. If they designate this an AG race it should be just that.
Pros have always been able to do non-pro races - the majority of triathlons in the US are non-pro races. IMWI is not an AG only race. This is a branding thing to let people know there will be no "pro" coverage and is the point of confusion that is somewhat being discussed by a few others in this thread. It doesn't mean that pros won't be in the race - to the contrary there have been quite a few pros race these races already and I suspect we will so more in the future.
BTW, this is no different than strolling down to my local olympic or sprint and racing - it just so happens Ironman Wisconsin is my local race. And I can guarantee there are quite a few age groupers who have put in more training than me for the race, especially if you just count bike/run. In addition they are more focused and more tapered for the race. And Yes, AGers could sign up for the race.
But to get back to where you are going. The majority of pros do not even finish in the money at races so what you are going to have here in the near future is really good genetic athletes returning back to the age group. This will happen because a certain pool of IM Pros saw the WTC membership as a good deal. With race selection going down this year and seemingly next, I know more athletes will opt to forgo their WTC membership because there are not as many races with reasonable travel costs. In addition, a lot of pros saw Challenge as a way to survive still but with those races being cut as well the writing is on the wall. The pros are NOT needed and some athletes will go back to racing as amateur. They are likely just as talented. Will go faster because they won't have to deal with the same pro rules or tactics and will be able to race their own race. They will break tapes, take kona slots, and ultimately piss off a small % of top age-group athletes.
Funny you should mention Thomas. I love Thomas. I talk to him nearly day at the SERF where he and I swim. What makes you so passionate that you think he would one - are my previous results dismissed?
But this get to my points. I am injured, I have been injured. I gave every opportunity for an AG to step up to beat me today. I made a huge mistake going with a sleeved wetsuit swim today. I biked 4:43 straight from out of the top ten in the swim with a couple of days of riding which started 12 days ago. In those 12 days my long ride was about 30 miles. I was so out of shape that last week at an Olympic I biked so slow then could only manage 7:07 to run my slowest 10k ever because I was so short on bike fitness. I have gone faster at Wisconsin two weeks post a high-heat 3rd place Louisville. I could have gone faster today but I didn't need to. I think one thing people forget is that I am going for the opposite of a PR. I wanted a win with the slowest time possible - not the fastest. I am not in search of a PR. My motto is just get the job done with the least amount of damage and residual fatigue as possible.
I saw Thomas on the course today as well and I said to hello to him. I would be curious to know who the other age-grouper is. And I don't personally know any Ironman athletes who said
they wouldn't race because it wasn't a pro race. I think that is a great gesture, but life is too short. Live your life. If you want to race, race.
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