Yes weird.
He's been on quite a few start lists this year and then not. But his instagram shows him doing track.
Thought he would do the arena games.i suppose he could have picked up an injury in the last week?
He's on the waitlist for Yokohama.

I would 100 out of 100 want to have CB’s “tactic” in Paris than Knibb’s. //

Hate to break it to you guys, but sitting in and just hanging on is not a tactic, it is a survival strategy. You think the top riders in that lead group are just going to pull those ladies around and wait for the run? I have watched Potter race, and she is like GTB, a real gamer if the pace is on, and she takes her pulls along with everyone else. I think she also knows like everyone else, that Cassandra suffers when the power is on, and it almost always takes away from her run. And often she can be dropped too, so even better..

I will have to disagree with you on the pick you made, I would much rather be Knibb right now that Cassandra. First she has to be there into T2, and if she is, then she has to beat Potter, who has routinely beaten her. Knibb at least has the weapon of possibly getting a small gap to T2, which might be all she needs. At this point CB is just a bit ahead of Gwen in the overall scheme of things, but she is better where it matters, in the swim positioning, and that early bike power to just barley latch onto those leaders. But from there they are similar, will struggle to hold onto any type of super hard and surgey bike....

CB is miles ahead of GJ, don't even go there with that comparison. She's already getting to T2 with the leaders in big events now adays, this aint 2 years ago where she was getting dropped. Lol she just finished 2nd and 3rd at the test event and GF, where she rode in the front group (that dropped people during the ride). No duh everyone wants to put her in a spot of bother, and in Paris the US better go all in on the Knibb train to put that pressure. But if your telling me who's winning a medal, yeah give me the world class runner on that paris course. Again course profile and race roster matter a ton. Paris is 100% built to support the top runners over everyone else. It's not even a technical flat course, it has what 8 turns over 5.7km and some of those aren't even sharp turns, they are some slight veers that are "turns". You couldn't have asked for a worse course for a Knibb type of athlete and as good of a course for a runner like CB. Again if you tell me this is Rio, I'm 100% going w/ Knibb over CB. But this course? This course sucks, it's got great views of Paris, that's about it. Nothing else is even good in terms of racing? And the "cobbles", meh this is urban Paris, this aint Paris Roubaix.


monty- that might be one of the worst statements you've ever made.. She's more than fine to run well off a hard bike. She aint going to put her head down and do equal work, but guess what that's racing, and the advantage of being a world class runner on a "meh" course (both bike and run). You don't need to exaggerate to validate your point. I don't think anyone is saying she's going to work on equal with everyone in the front group. But it's pretty evident she can bike at that level and still run well. And again that's the only strategy Knibb can do to give herself a chance. Ride so hard the run legs is chopped off and/or she has a gap. But come on man, don't disrespect an athlete of her caliber by saying she's near equal to GJ. That's bullshit. GJ likely ain't even going to make the fucking team, lol.

---

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

I think CB bike will have improved, but last year the bike wasn't as on as it usually was with no Duffy, GTB, KZ and Learmonth in full form.

The quality in this thread is going down to Lionel sanders level ...
There is more speculation than info now ...
Not very impressed.

And FRA will have 2 athletes in addition to CB in the front group to work for her. So it's not as if CB is racing all 11 others who are in the front group.

---

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

France aren't going to use Lombardi and Periault as domestiques, Lombardi probably has just as much chance of a medal as CB!

Now who is being delusional, no way in hell is Lombardi ever working for CB. Just saying..(-;

If you think it's going to turn into 11 vs 1 (CB), we'll just agree to disagree. On a course like this, there are going to be FRA ally's as well as other ally's in the group that athlete's can take advantage of. That goes for Knibb (say Duffy or Lindermann), and that goes for CB as well. Everyone absolutely wants to ride as hard as they can, but again this course sucks for that type of "damage" that can be done.

---

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

You don't have to be 100% domestique to help others in the group. FFS not everyone has Knibb or Duffy's ability to just ride off the front. You can be in the front group and help pull attacks back or simply be in the roation and that helps a bunch of others. So if you think it's the entire group vs CB we'll just agree to disagree.

Again you know who's going to be a "domestique" for CB? Potter. She's going to be one of the likely workers if./when USA or a Duffy/Knibb attack goes off the front. Potter and others will end up doing work to get the gap manageable. So again it's not as if CB is goign to be riding in the front group solo having to do all the work. Other athletes have to ride smart as well for them to do well. Maybe she gets dropped in that instance, maybe she doesn't. But this idea that CB is going to be having to do all the work on her own....that's not how it's going to go down. Obviously when attacks occur, she's going to need to be ready and jump on wheels, but she's going to have others around her to that also will be doing work. It's not as if the group is going to look to her to pull the attacks back. GB will be doing that for CB.

---

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Ok but you said France would have two ladies in front to work "for" CB. What they will be doing is working for themselves. Yes of course if a group works together it benefits them all, bike racing 101. But when you are a domestic working for someone, that means that you sacrifice yourself and your aspirations for someone else, and that is not what is going to happen on that team...

You think too often this is checkers when this is a game of chess. Potter is going to be a huge ally for CB when the attacks start happening from Knibb. So yes when I said the other 2 FRA athletes will be working for her, they will be; it's irrelevant if it's 100% "for" her or not.

With that boys and girls, I'm bowing out. It's been a hell of a ride, enjoyed the banter with all of yall. Paris is going to be a fun ass tri, I hpe to god Matt McElroy AQ's next month (I know he wont). His progrssion in ITU I think is really old school, and I hope he gets an olympic appearance for all his work.

---

Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Promise?

I think there is precedent for what Brooks is trying to say about others working “for” CB. Think back to Rio. Everyone in that race knew that Jorgensen had the race won if she came off the bike in the front group. The only way to beat her was to get away on the bike. When Duffy goes off the front, Stanford pulls the group back. When Spirig ups the pace, Holland pulls the group back and won’t pull through. Duffy even lets a little gap open before saying fuck it and closing back up herself. She goes again and Spirig closes it up. All these women were working in their own best interest at the moment, but the cumulative effect ends up helping Jorgensen.
Even so, I think this race (Olympic women’s individual triathlon) is the most open it’s been since London, but it still could turn out to be a snoozer. We will see.

The third FRA woman is Leonie Perriault, and no she won't be in the race to protect Cassandre. She'll be busting her butt off to put herself in a place to contend by the time the run starts. Which she couldn't do at the test event, but she seems to swim a bit better this year so far.

Yes, as 13th after the next 5 roll on tomorrow, then also as the exceeds NF quota athlete. Unless GB have applied for a special start and been accepted(not likely, they arent easy to get) he probably won't get on. They will need to sub him in for Cagliari or he will not likely get a start there either, his ranking is taking a pounding.

i agree with you that it much more preferable to have a tactic where you control your own destiny versus one that is entirely dependent on others but thinking that CB only is "just a bit of ahead of Gwen" is downright ridiculous. CB was 2nd at the most competitive race last year -- the Test Event -- and Gwen got destroyed in every big girl race. CB might not be a top cyclist but she no longer is a guarantee to get dropped by the lead group.

CBs bike weakness is her handling as opposed to her ability to produce power. In Super League zwift events she has crushed the bike.

Think they still have until Friday (tomorrow) to sub him in to Yokahoma

And Periault won’t be in the front pack either.

Normally actually says next to name on wait list substituting for..

JB has just posted on his Insta that he has had flu all week, hence why not racing the E World Champs

From what I remember of Rio, it was mostly Spirig trying to break and it was Gwen covering, I've always been meaning to go back and watch that race.

Been thinking a lot about Rio cos I think we've got similarities with the dynamics of Paris (obviously the course being a lot different) Gwen doesn't get enough credit for bringing her bike up to a standard where she was able to cover Spirigs breaks (sure I'm not imagining it)

That's how I remember it playing out too. I do believe there's a good bit more bike firepower in the field now than there was for Rio.

---

Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Glad it's not an injury.