Sounds like he was racing smart. With the improved swim times and less of a gap now to make up to get to the front of the race, and him having been able to do this now repeatedly, I'm sure there is now a level of confidence that has taken over, and perhaps a more "relaxed" approach to the chase, knowing that he WILL catch them.
In the past that had been a bit of an unknown. Now he knows it will happen. Thus, he can perhaps dial things back a bit for that first half of the bike. With repetition comes confidence. Before he was dealing with an unknown, and most likely using up huge watts in the chase.
We saw this in Kona last year. The catch came BEFORE they even got to Hawi, and then Sanders, Keinle et al rode right on by the lead group, and headed up the road, throwing a wrench into the plans of many I'm sure!
Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog