taos111 wrote:
I dont want to take anything away from two amazing athletes having a great training day and racing each other, but I am just going to say it. World records in triathlon are ridiculous. Its not like a 100 meter dash on a track. Everyone knows that Iron distance races are all on different terrains/wind conditions and of course temperature environments.
You just cant compare one race to another like that. This course is super flat as a pancake on great roads (A highway) and cool conditions. Yes, it was raining and a very amazing performance by both, but please stop touting an Iron distance world record. Its meaningless.
I especially cringe when I hear of a Kona world record. Every day in Kona is different with some days zero wind and some day a 25 MPH head wind with some days with a cloud cover and some days blazing hot sun. Also, it goes without saying that the Kona course has been changed at least 4 times over the years if not more.
I am generally positive and dont want to hate on this event or others, but please stop comparing one race to another in iron distance triathlon.
This was a full on race. Everything in it was covered by normal tri long course rules. It was probably more legit than any pro race in the last 20 years.
Kudos to Jan. What a machine. Sanders breaks his own record 3 weeks after already doing an Ironman and flying east across 9 time zones all in a span of 3 weeks and
only finished 16 minutes behind Jan. Maybe fresh and without last moment travel and not recovering from another IM, he is only 10 min behind Jan. Poeple can hate on Lionel all they want, but this was a solid Ironman outing however you want to slice it. Especially 3 weeks later from a disaster at IMCda.