Oh sure, I get and know all about evidence-based. Healthcare is a great example because evidence-based treatment is applied in situations in which a clear problem condition has been identified. Obviously, if someone is misdiagnosed, using a validated treatment may not be effective, and maybe even harmful.

What's the problem you're solving here? My .02 is that this is a hopeful fishing expedition, but a successful outcome is predicated on there being an audience whose existence isn't really agreed upon. Obviously, you wouldn't agree but you should consider the possibility that it is worth it for the TdF to invest in coverage while it just isn't for IM. Is there evidence that there is a market for this, or are you just wishing IM would be more popular and/or assuming that a market exists for everything?


Racewise, good for Sam and too bad TB didn't catch him... always rooting for the guy in second. Was also hoping readbdeal wwas able to run into the top 10 but it must have been brutal today.

Say goodbye to your Ironman media credentials... ;)

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Never mind, this is pointless. good luck with your ideas.

How does Cozumel weather compare to Florida? I imagine it’s just like Florida with a little more heat/humidity (if that’s even possible). With it being an island, the ocean breeze should keep temps down (relatively speaking).

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Ironman has not given me credentials in years. haha SO I dont need to worry about that. They have been trying to shut me down since 2017.

I have never been or shoot Ironman Florida but Ironman Cozumel is my fav ironman out of every ironman on the circuit. I am actually going ot race it this year. i THINK! haha I need to get to training. :)

Probably not, and at some point the PTO runs out of cash.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Too bad Lionel wasn’t there so he and Sam could go head to head and settle their beef.

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Let food be thy medicine...

How exactly have they tried to shut you down?

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

What you're failing to know is that evidence-based medicine was met with decades of skepticism of the very nature you are presenting: strawman arguments presented in an overly-confident pragmatic tone with zero evidence.

Problem being solved (which you possibly asked rhetorically, as if there isn't a problem to be solved): Is Ironman as a business venture leaving money on the table by not pursuing a consistent and well-funded presentation of pro athlete performances?

The investment in presenting cycling in the US on OLN pre-Lance was viewed as a poor investment and critics claimed it only made sense because OLN was this fringe network that probably wouldn't succeed. Fast forward 20 years and we treat cycling as a trusted institution which we slap the claim 'this is just the way it is' on without reflecting on the not so distant past. The pragmatism you present is the same logic that delayed evidence-based medicine, tossed stones at broadcasting international cycling in the US, and continues to delay what could be a great value proposition to Ironman.

I provided the example of 70.3 WC getting as many viewers as Kona with no marketing.... that's actually a pretty compelling statistic. I hear a lot of assumptions in your pragmatic opinion and it's that kind of thinking that turns me off. It's a 'this is just the way it is' mentality and that alone fires me up, because it's not critical thinking. Call it fishing, but at least it's original and critical and offers more than a strawman argument: 'if there were value in providing coverage of pro races, IM would have done it because IM is a dominant institution and such institutions make evidence-based decisions.'

You have a hypothesis; let's test it rather than assume it's correct. I appreciate the feedback.

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

I think they will go head to head at the Collins Cup

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

very true. I don't completely understand their model.

I wonder why ST didn't have a frontpage story on the Bear Lake Brawl or (as of yet) Cozumel 70.3?

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

Welp here we go. Trying to nurse my dehydration headache before I drown my disappointment in margs tonight.

Obviously not the day I had hoped for. It's obvious where some things went wrong, like missing the bike finish chute and instead continuing down the road towards another turnaround. The rider in front of me missed it and I followed. Should have known better, definitely accept blame for that one, just a big bummer. Added probably 3 minutes as I stopped a few hundred meters down the street, got off my bike to cross a median, then headed back.

Even without that mistake though, I wasn't where I wanted to be. Big currents and swells on the swim made sighting and swimming hard tough, though still clearly fast. Bike power was the lowest I've ever had in a 70.3, even from before I was racing pro. That one was kind of intentional though, as I ended up in a pack with a few guys, including Taylor Reid, and it just wasn't going to be worth it to try to breakaway in the wind. Put in a few surges from the front but couldn't drop them, much less put any time on them.

After the T2 mishap, I was pretty demoralized and figured my already slim chances of fighting into the money were over so I just kind of ran. Not fast, not super slow. Just ran. With that said though, I don't see how I could have cut 4+ minutes off my run time. It was of course, ridiculously hot, with a heat index of over 100 by the time we were running and pretty much no shade, but everyone in front of me ran faster in the same conditions. I executed my nutrition on the bike about as well I could have hoped for but just absolutely fell apart in the heat. By far my two worst races as a pro are now this, and the similarly hot but less humid Boulder 70.3 last year. Absolutely blows my mind how fast Tyler Butterfield can run in those conditions. And we knew it, but Sam's bike isn't his only strength, super impressive run from him as well.

So assuming my fitness is better than this result reflects, that's definitely going to be what I need to figure out going forward. Can't just avoid hot races forever. This straight sucked though. The double out and back run made it oh-so-tempting to just call it after 6.5 miles. Glad I finished but no desire to come back next year!

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Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors

Figured I could also chip in on the purse situation. I posted about the absolutely abysmal purse and Ironman's initial response to me on other threads, but followed up more with them. For reference, they basically said that since the race was licensed, they weren't in charge of the purse. A weak excuse considering it makes zero difference to athletes whether Ironman is running it or someone is paying for the name. When it became clear they seemingly weren't interested in upping the purse, I reached out to Paula Newby-Fraser directly asking for help with this. I had also been talking with a few other guys who I asked to reach out in hopes of putting some pressure on them. I did not mention the PTO and their support of races as I figured that wouldn't be helpful in this situation (though I'm sure it's been on their mind). Paula promised that she was doing all she could to figure out a way to add money to the race, and I absolutely believed her. I've never questioned Paula's dedication to the pros.

She reached back out to me a few days later with the news that the purse was getting doubled and money would be going 10 deep instead of 5. Sure, this was (hopefully) going to be very self serving, but the field deserved at least that. It still sucks, but I appreciate them for at least making some kind of effort. In talking with Cody about it, he mentioned how this race used to have a $50k purse. Taylor was pleased at the finish line for making "pretty much exactly enough to cover the costs to get here and lodging". It's not ideal and I desperately hope the PTO is able to both accomplish their goal and put pressure on Ironman to do better. Summer has converted me into a Tennis spectator and it's hard to watch the Opens without thinking about how much money someone gets for losing in the first round. Not a fair comparison for sure, but impossible not to be jealous.

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Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors

Missed the T2 Chute and came 12th against that field. Pretty solid race there homie.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Good job on the race. Out of interest, when you missed the T2 chute, had your transition time already started?
When watching on the tracker I saw the T2 time was about 4 minutes, and I thought maybe you had taken more time due to dehydration from the bike, etc.

Thank you! And I noticed that as well in results. I'm generally a rocket in T2 so just a weird timing thing. I definitely never crossed the timing mat but I did ride next to it, so I assume it somehow picked me up there. Kind of odd but I think I'd prefer that so I don't look like as much of a slouch on the bike as I felt :P

I'll be curious to see Sam's thoughts on the race as his average power via Strava was only 309w, well under what most would have expected. Makes me feel a bit better about my 250w(????) average.

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Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors

Sorry it didn't work out for you today. I can't tolerate even a wee bit of heat when it comes to running (and I'm significantly less big of a deal!), so you have my empathy and respect for giving it a go and finishing the race no matter what.

Training doesn't lie, I'm sure you will get better results once racing in more suitable conditions resumes!

Did you do any specific heat acclimation before the race?

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Let food be thy medicine...

I was out there today and the heat and humidity are something i've never experienced. I rode from Naples to the end of Sanibel island in the dead of the summer and it didn't come close to the conditions today. Most age groupers today including myself ran 20-30 minutes slower for the half marathon. Truly unreal what Sam did. What a phenom!

From what I've read, heat acclimation is a relatively uncertain science. If I had a sauna, I would probably use it directly after working out as I've read that produces the same benefits. That said, since April I've been in central Virginia and we've had the hottest summer in history (34 days above 90° and usually at least 70° humidity), and I'm not one to get up early to workout, so I often end up outside during the hottest part of the day. Ill be honest though, after 3 years in dry Albuquerque, I absolutely despise humidity.

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Benjamin Deal - Professional - Instagram - TriRig - Lodi Cyclery
Deals on Wheels - Results, schedule, videos, sponsors

Same here. That heat and humidity was no joke. Very little shade the whole race made it close to impossible to find any relief. I dumped a bottle of cold water over my head and ice down my kit at each aid station during the run.

Do you know what happened with World Championship slots since the ceremony didn't happen? I was expecting some kind of email about it but I haven't received it yet.

I don’t know how they handled the roll down. We stuck around the square for a little while. They had the pro podium but I didn’t see any ceremony or announcements for AG awards.

I got my email yesterday with the registration link to St. George. Had to pick up the podium trophy a few hours later and kind of wish I didn't since it's a clunker that weighs down the bike bag even more than it already is lol.