I agree. I enjoyed watching this and I enjoy watching Kona every year. But Super League has a WAY better chance at getting people interested in watching than a longer event like this. Much more action and fast paced with lead changes and close finishes. Can’t wait until it’s back again

I like this distance 2k/80k/18k Nice even 100k total. Challenge should make this a world wide series.

You will probably come up again with an entitled teenage girl snarky response to anyone criticizing race organization blunders: but this is not a new idea, it has been done at Superleauge for years with success. Would have been nice how everyone was doing on the water.

To no one in particular: it was a great race. The race course was designed to give the LC folks a needed advantage vs the SC athletes but Schoeman, Iden, Luis, et al represented well given the conditions. Schoeman looked really dialed in on the TT bike, I wonder how much time he spent preparing for this, Luis only trained for a few weeks on the TT bike and he did not look as smooth. Does anyone knows what happened to J Brownlee?

That does feel like a potential future for the PTO. A world series format of 4-5 races of roughly this difference, though there is no real need to make them all the same and some variety would actually be great. Have athletes commit to a few or all of the races and then have the championship race be an invite based on performances from the series. Pick only awesome venues and people would watch.

Hey I definitely agree with you on Schoeman. I was actually surprised by how strong he biked for a tiny guy on a flat course like that. Plus he did all the work on the swim. I believe with all the work on the swim and bike his tank was emptier than it should be for the run, so he tailed off at the back end of the run. Luis was in contention for the win. If we say his 2 min penalty results in a 1:40 delta, it would be neck and neck with Iden potentially catching Luis with one lap to go?

Totally agree on Luis, although in all probability I think Gustav would have took it. But man you wouldnt want Luis there with a 1km to go.

I was surprised at Schoeman, but having rewatched the highlights of the Beijing International Tri from a few years ago I shouldn't be. Super smooth and dialled in on the TT bike. Clearly his w/kg are superb and is aero as hell. I think like you say the swim, bike probably caused the fade, but possibly also the fact he probably hasn't done many of the specific longer key workouts for 3+ hours racing. That and he was still recovering from Long Covid a month ago. Got a bright future when he moves up properly.

Totally agree on Luis, although in all probability I think Gustav would have took it. But man you wouldnt want Luis there with a 1km to go.

I was surprised at Schoeman, but having rewatched the highlights of the Beijing International Tri from a few years ago I shouldn't be. Super smooth and dialled in on the TT bike. Clearly his w/kg are superb and is aero as hell. I think like you say the swim, bike probably caused the fade, but possibly also the fact he probably hasn't done many of the specific longer key workouts for 3+ hours racing. That and he was still recovering from Long Covid a month ago. Got a bright future when he moves up properly.

Here are the men's top 10 and whether you characterize them SC or LC

1 - Iden SC ( I would argue he is truly a LC guy, that is his strength and MUCH more success than ITU)
2 - Hanson (LC)
3 - Goodwin (SC)
4 - Sanders (LC)
5 - Von Berg (LC)
6 - Appleton (LC)
7 - Schoeman (SC)
8 - Luis (SC)
9 - Long (LC)
10 - Dreitz (LC)

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Here are the men's top 10 and whether you characterize them SC or LC

1 - Iden SC ( I would argue he is truly a LC guy, that is his strength and MUCH more success than ITU)
2 - Hanson (LC)
3 - Goodwin (SC)
4 - Sanders (LC)
5 - Von Berg (LC)
6 - Appleton (LC)
7 - Schoeman (SC)
8 - Luis (SC)
9 - Long (LC)
10 - Dreitz (LC)

- SO if you put Iden in the LC group, which I personally would (he will most likely disagree when he sees this, sorry Gustav), we have 7 LC and 3 SC. I would say the LC guys really held their own and did not get "Wiped UP" by the SC guys, as was the pre-race banter.
- I think the 20m draft rule really was the equalizer here, and what made this race so interesting. To suggest this race change to a Draft Legal format would just destroy the race, and everything that just happened. A lot of momentum swings in the race throughout the entire day were because the bike MATTERED!!
- Sanders haters, I would say he put out a gutsy performance given how far back he was on the swim, almost got a podium spot, wasn't he supposed to finish outside top 10?
- The coverage was "OFF THE HOOK". For those complaining:
1 - The video quality was perfect.
2 - Numerous camera angles.
3 - Top notch production crew switching from camera to camera.
4 - The head cams on the mottos were brilliant.
5 - Real time splits, we have been asking about this for YEARS!!! Bravo Sporstats team!!!
6 - Overhead views of the racers on the track with bubble overlays of the athletes positioning ALA NASCAR.
7 - If you are trying to go after a new audience, then you need "RELATABLE" announcers. I thought they had a good balance, NASCAR announcer, Rowdy Gaines, and Belinda Granger.
- The PTO cares about the PROS!!! Hence they were trying to showcase the pros all week:
1 - Unbreakable series
2 - Game day with Bob, Barry and Talbot
3 - The intro to triathlon with John and Judy Collins was priceless!!
4 - Biggest prize purse and EVERY athlete got paid, that is how it should be done!!!
- This was being broadcast on 100 stations around the world, so I would say they were really trying to get MAXIMUM exposure. It will take time to grow this brand, I just hope they have the patience to see that through.

- I had tears in my eyes when Paula won, I clearly remember her crossing the finish line in dead last during the Olympics. I'm from Canada and they should it numerous times on TV here, it must have taken IMMENSE courage for her to FINISH that race. To see her win yesterday, WOW!!!!

Bravo PTO!!!!!