First off, congrats to Barb on showing that she is arguably the most dominant triathlete in the sport. However, it is great to see the likes of Simon W. and Greg B. laying it down in a non-drafting race, against some of the best bikers in the sport.
I hope that their performances change some peoples' views on draft-legal racing and the athletes that compete in this format. They are not only world class swimmers and runners who take a 50-60 min. recovery spin between events. They are laying it on the line for 2 hours, all while playing a very tactical game of chess. For a forum that so reveers the Tour and its riders, there is a fair bit of ITU bashing, that I feel is unwaranted. When Simon and Greg aren't taking pulls, it's no different than when Lance lets lower ranked GC athletes go on 25 min. breaks-they know who is a threat, and how much time they can give each athlete and if they feel the race is slipping away, they can push a mighty fierce pace. They also must make these tactical decisions ina split second, while redlining-most of the time, when I'm in that state, I can barely remember my name, let alone get myself to push harder and read and anticipate what other genetically freakish athletes are about to do.
So once again, kudos to Barb, but good on ya Simon and Greg for showing off the true talent of the ITU.
Adam
http://cdamaampbell.blogspot.com/
I hope that their performances change some peoples' views on draft-legal racing and the athletes that compete in this format. They are not only world class swimmers and runners who take a 50-60 min. recovery spin between events. They are laying it on the line for 2 hours, all while playing a very tactical game of chess. For a forum that so reveers the Tour and its riders, there is a fair bit of ITU bashing, that I feel is unwaranted. When Simon and Greg aren't taking pulls, it's no different than when Lance lets lower ranked GC athletes go on 25 min. breaks-they know who is a threat, and how much time they can give each athlete and if they feel the race is slipping away, they can push a mighty fierce pace. They also must make these tactical decisions ina split second, while redlining-most of the time, when I'm in that state, I can barely remember my name, let alone get myself to push harder and read and anticipate what other genetically freakish athletes are about to do.
So once again, kudos to Barb, but good on ya Simon and Greg for showing off the true talent of the ITU.
Adam
http://cdamaampbell.blogspot.com/
Last edited by:
collisiontheory: Aug 2, 03 14:26