Be interesting if it is Kat, since she is considered a super biker. Bike leg will obviously be where the big gains are.

Probably need a new team too, if that wasn’t already on the cards, since Lucy wasn’t going to use a pacer on the swim and Kat would probably benefit significantly from one.

Would she need to do much to her “normal” full distance run?

Yes, will benefit from a pair of swim legs to follow.
Likely she have people with her / in the team (?eg Astle +) who may have been involved in LCB pacers.
Run prep for someone racing at St George will be to just roll on.
Edit to add: https://www.tri247.com/...at-matthews-sub7sub8

If it’s a Brit I do hope it is her. No disrespect to the other British women but she is really the only LC athlete in the same league as LCB at the moment, I think it would be disappointing to go ahead with someone who wasn’t of the same calibre.

It's official, it's Kat Matthews: https://www.sub7sub8.com/sub-8/katrina-matthews/

I would of thought the bike is the least important leg. Just sit in the pack at low watts and save your legs for a fast run.

It’s a pity Ryf Isn’t taking part. I know Sutton hated Wellington going after the IM world record and from what I heard would basically tell Ryf just to do enough to win. Now that he’s out of the picture, it could have given her the freedom (and maybe motivation) to do something like this.

Spirig just recently "jogged" 2:46 in Zurich. She also announced her retirement from triathlon after finish of this season

I would expect that over this event the biggest time gain versus normal legs in a race would be on the bike. It’s not easy sitting in when riding in a pack, even when you are saving so much energy. Mentally it’s completely different. These people race alone, suddenly you’re working together with others in a group that you may or may not be familiar with.

Pretty much everyone drafts on the swim at some point and in the run you aren’t going to save mega amounts of time compared to a normal race I’d imagine.

funny you mention this. when ever pros talkingg about bike leg in long distance tri they always talk about someone "putting the work in for the group".... this usually a term in draft legal races

It’s an interesting point when those racing in draft free races talk so much about working as a group. In theory it’s the encouragement of being in a group but in reality they’re drafting, however minimally.

I was at the race, and it was absolutely flawless marathon conditions. Zurich is also a pancake-flat course. but yeah, Nicola can definitely run. WI be quite curious to see how the bike pans out at sub-8, though ...

---

____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

Spirig will swim faster than Matthews, both benefiting from feet to follow.
Spirig out-biked Matthews at Gran Canaria last April, by 5 whole minutes. But fair to say Spirig was in full 'prep for last Olympics' mode and this spring Matthews showed at Lanza that her bike has stepped up a notch from rather good to better.
However Matthews will be confident that her bike pace team (organised in less than a week) is going to allow an easier faster ride. The UK women's TT community and expertise is very strong and she seems to have mobilised that UK TTT expertise and excellence, in the same way that Brownlee has for his draft train which will include many of the UK's best TT riders (Skipper is atypical). Apparently both Spirig and Blummenfelt have reached out to UK TT cyclists to bolster their effort.
On the run it's difficult to predict who will be able to go faster, off a sub-200w bike. Spirig has run sub-2:40 in a stand-alone marathon and as we've seen just ran 2:46 in leggings in Zurich, in (as Mike says) excellent conditions. Matthews ran 2:49 last year at Tulsa after a decent 4:40+ bike and a 5 minute sojourn/chat in the penalty box tent before T2. Her sub 1:18 at Lanza (fair bit of up/down and twists/turns) suggests she is in similar shape, in preparation for St George of course. Can't help speculating that St George's climb/descent fest [https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38499172 and https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38507607 ] 4 weeks before the Lausitzring Sub8 challenge will have blunted that speed/endurance.
All to play for.
Discussed on Pro Tri News at 16:16
https://podcasts.apple.com/...1865?i=1000557654314
Sub7/Sub8: ". . . attempt will be held on either the 5th or 6th June 2022 (weather dependent) at the Dekra Lausitzring in Germany"

"....'cause we don't want the pesky Norwegians finding out exactly what we're doing"

The dropdowns in the sub7 website FAQ aren't working on any of my devices or browsers, so I can't see any answers.

1. Has the date been set, or could the event still take place on either the 4th or 5th?

2. Will it be open to public or ticketed? If ticketed, how much will it cost and when will they go on sale?