I was not trying to mock him. To me, as I stated, it was easy to see how awestruck he was. Maybe the editing did not help him but I would be surprised if even the most ardent LS fans did not notice that.

I saw it too and couldn't grasp his preparation. At the very beginning he's pumping tires and talking about the heat. His shorts are covered in salt. He then says he lost 10lbs during his training session. Then proceeds to talk about most pros getting out of Tuscon in the summer due to the extreme heat. His stubbornness needs to be reigned in. He seems he'll bent on self destruction. I think he just likes punishing himself event to his detriment. I really like the guy but I do think a sport psychologist would help him harness his energy more positively to his benefit.

This is a good analogy actually. Did you see him ask Jan about the air pressure? Jan was like: "Uh no. I don't check that sh*t every day. We are racing head-to-head, you know, so we will both have to deal with the same air pressure."[/quote]

Gee you guys can be sad...and dare I say pathetic in the petty mocking.

The context as always is key, it was actually Frodo who raised the topic of air pressure when discussing how quick the bike might be.

Sanders then went on to explain how when he was going for his hour record he was monitoring it as it can make a difference of 20 Watts. Frodo then gave the back hander of 'not checking that shit' which I thought was pretty rude and arrogant.[/quote]

I was not trying to mock him. To me, as I stated, it was easy to see how awestruck he was. Maybe the editing did not help him but I would be surprised if even the most ardent LS fans did not notice that.[/quote]----
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Unfortunately this is the way social media seems to work these days. You are either 100% with me or 100% against me with no in between,and here if anything can be interpreted as anti-Lionel then you are a "hater".
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We both were making harmless "observations" and no matter how many times we say we actually like Lionel we may as well have kicked somebody's puppy.
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Personally I think teasing the rabid,blind faith,emotionally over invested Lionel fans is where the entertainment really lies.
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Normally he would be in Windsor right now.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

This is not a race (still can't believe people here thinks it will be real) in any sense of the word, but simple theater where Jan will direct every scene from curtain up to curtain down but will on occasion allow his junior study to have a line or 2 in the play.

Great video as always, Talbot. I'm a huge fanboi of Lionel and Jan, but all of this set up with inviting Lionel to come to Germany seems a little like my mom inviting the turkey to Thanksgiving dinner.

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HAHAHAHA...You win..
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If Jan's aim as others have mentioned is to beat the IM distance record, this is probably the way to go. Swim 5 mins slower and let Lionel draft, then work together on the bike, which will give him a better bike split and leave him fresher for the run.

I like Lionel but I think this is going to be the Frodo show. He'll lead from the get go........

No one has mentioned that what Jan has put together here is pretty impressive!! He’s set up a pretty cool event that perhaps becomes an annual Mano a Mano event each year, for the two best athletes each year.

As for the race, agreed Jan is going for the world record.

Worried about Lionel’s performance I don’t think he has figured out the IM distance. He will finish either way.

The best thing that can happen to Lionel is that he can learn from Jan throat his experience.

Everyone talks about how much money they are making, I realize it’s speculation but can someone explain how?

Do you think anyone is expecting Lionel to come out of the water first?

It's more like 6-7 minutes, remember Sanders will not have anyone to draft in the water whereas Frodeno can lead the swim on 46 minutes (IM Austria 2017 comes to mind).

I don't see him giving away this much time and then assuming Sanders will work with him. Worst case scenario, this would allow Sanders to legally draft and him having to lead anyways.

My prediction, Frodo is going hard from the gun.

How is this event cool? I hate the concept of a field of two professional triathletes competing at a 140.6. The distance is already boring af from a spectator standpoint and this is worse.

If one of them has a mechanical, bonks, etc., it's over. If one of them gets a big lead the race is pretty much over.

Finally, as much as I respect and admire Lionel he's not on Jan's level. Beat him in Kona or anywhere else for that matter in a sanctioned race. Lionel is coming off a really bad race and I'm just not sure this event does him any favors. The big question is how does Jan get motivated for this event? He's never lost to Lionel. I actually wish they weren't doing this. I'd so much rather see Lionel focus on a KQ and see if he can win against the field there. That would impress me.

Since reading the comments and seeing the videos, my guess is Jan had this course and World Record attempt planned before trolling the public asking for a challenge. Lionel responded and Jan said, sure Lionel come on over and race me. You won't be in my way.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

It does appear Frodeno is using Sanders as a domestique for an attempt at the WR. I guess this adds another wrinkle. What an odd event.

I did find Frodeno to be pretty aloof in Lionel's latest video. He didn't exactly seem very relatable. Sanders seemed awestruck. The whole thing is so odd.

Agreed Jan had this in mind all along for a world record but Lionel and Instagram helped turn this into a race.

They are doing everything to make this course as fast as possible. Banked turns, a wire to follow along in the water ALA Lake Placid, they even made the run turn arounds less obtuse so no time is lost.

Just that alone makes it worth watching and the fact that there will be real time streamed data, watts HR this is a first.

It is in the middle of the night for me so not sure if I want to miss sleep to watch this.

Canyon just delivered Lionel a new Green Canyon for the race. C'mon Nike, send him some green kicks.

Just an FYI. Lionel did beat Jan in 2017 at Kona. On any given day, anyone can bonk and lose it. Even the GOAT. It happens. Is this the only way in hell Lionel beats Jan this weekend. Yes. Absolutely. But that's why we race every year and not just give the trophy to the #1 ranked triathlete in the world. As the saying goes....On any given Sunday...

Cheers

Quinner

The silver canyon looked great, but this green one even better. Very nice!

Jan races off the front all day on his own, or "racing his shadow" as he calls it, so no big difference to any big solo training day for him.

The question is if swimming and biking through others is usually a boost or blocker for Lionel?

Jans pb is 7,35 in Roth, very hilly and he had a crash or flat tyre, and the course is a few km short. Coming back and breaking 7,30 in front of the Roth crowds would have been insane atmosphere. But this event format is covid proof. The main threat is the wind Sunday, it's been nearly stormy this week

Basically a high paid training day for him? I can see that. Just enough to say "yup, I won" and didn't have to dig deep but also showed that he "took it easy" and is THAT great.

Or he just buries him and makes the "I am the F---ing best. No one is close. I buried this guy who wanted a piece of this greatness. Everyone else take note." But i'm with you, I think he just does enough that everyone sees he didn't dig that deep and still was in complete control.

1. I noticed Lionel wearing a long sleeve shirt under the jersey, so he won't sweat much there. He will finish the race no matter what and give everything he got as usual. He's just that kind of guy.

2. He's a small town guy just traveled to overseas. Lots of people have experienced that at some point in their lives. He travelled there to race head to head with GOAT, so you can tell he's nervous and under pressure. Most of all, he was not over with jet lag yet.

3. I'm not sure if Canyon will keep the silver one and he will take the green one home, but that's very nice gesture from Canyon. Headquarter is there, so giving him a new bike makes perfect sense. I liked the silver one but definitely green one looks better on him since he used to ride several green LG bikes back in the day.

4. I've noticed Lionel is kinda quiet lately. He talked a lot before the race, but he couldn't deliver, so maybe he's trying to keep his mouth shut and deliver this time? I don't know what's going through his mind, but I felt he's bit different in the latest video.

5. Looks like the whole little town is in it for this race. Jan will go for the record and LS will try his ass off to chase him, so I'm pretty sure it's going to be entertaining. I don't know about other people, but just watching fast pros racing is very entertaining for me.

I am new to spectating triathlon in general (especially IM distance) and find the competition pretty novel. Maybe not the race by itself, but the whole event is kind of neat to me. Kind of like the Collins Cup as far as it being something different (though I certainly expect that to be more competitive than this).

Jan vs Lionel is an exhibition. If there is a market for it and the athletes want to do it, then maybe it's an event that can be done again.

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80/20 Endurance Ambassador

If he really counted on help for the record, he would have enlisted a strong swim/biker from the American Continent.
Sanders is the biggest PR magnet right now for the Americas, when you look at it from a media/advertisement perspective.

So when Sanders challenged, Frodeno and his Managers probably considered the trade-off:
Hire a less-prominent rabbit or get better advertising/marketing exposure with Sanders. Frodeno was likely sure he got this without a rabbit.
OK then, Sanders it is!
In the end it‘s just a big marketing event.

Will be interesting to see if it turns out as planned.

I think the biggest benefit of this event is the Zwift component. I truly believe that if done well, the ability for people to ride and run alongside pros in events could benefit the sport and pros.

In my ideal scenario, Zwift has commercials integrated into the platform and live video coverage of the event in addition to the avatars. Further, Zwift would benefit from recognizing the 'double legitimacy' issue that will either allow this format to succeed or possibly sink it:

• people using Zwift to ride and run along with the pro's need to abide by Zwift's existing calibration and validation protocol, otherwise no-names on Zwift are beating the pros, and the draw and novelty to 'race alongside the pro's is lost, and this is a motivating factor above and beyond the normal Zwift experience.
• Zwift needs to profit off of advertising in addition to subscriptions and publicly promote the dollar amount pro's are earning, because this bring further legitimacy needed to motivate and entice people to 'race alongside the pro's'. The moment the public is seeing no-names beating the pro's or sense the pro's are not valued within the sport and held on a ridiculous pedestal as signaled by huge paychecks, the motivation to show up and race them on Zwift diminishes.

Last, in my ideal scenario, this Zwift interaction with live pro events becomes commonplace in triathlon, pro cycling, and running races.

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

Ride alongside the Pros?
You mean like ride/run hours behind them?
Unless these Zwifters are using their power drills, almost nobody is going to be even in the same city-code as these two.

I mean they could probably keep up for a segment or two of the multi-lap course....or a relay?
But agree, if those riding along are not validated or calibrated, it would be just a gong-show.
Maybe Zwift could come up with some sort of handicap system?