Sanders
Appleton
Sebi (mostly because I don't believe he is 100%)

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blog

Is Appleton healthy. I know he had a injury there for a bit. Regardless, I'll go:

Sanders
Reed
Kienle

Seymour (with a big win)
Wurtele
True

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I agree on Reed having a good race, hope he can mix it up with Sanders.

At the pro panel, the MC went down the line of athletes asking, “which athlete not up here on the stage is a threat?” Not one athlete had looked at the start list....except Sanders.

Kessler, H. Wurtele, Reed, Kienle, Appleton, True, Seymour — all hadn’t checked their competition.

Sanders ranked all the racers based on where he thought they’d swim, then he predicted how the bike will play out based on where he thinks he can come out of the water.

Talansky, Weiss, Hanson (is he really racing?) will all put up solid bike splits and Sanders admitted if they are front group swimmers, he’ll have to work very hard to bridge the gap to them early.

The race is going to be very exciting — wish I could follow along! Hope there’s a good recap/video of it unfolding.

I asked Sanders where he thinks he’ll swim and his answer was “I put no limit on my swim split—I’ve put in the work and I’m going to do what I can to come out with the swim leaders.”

Good stuff! Thanks for that Matt!

Interesting. I wonder why Sanders was the only one (at least the only one to admit it). If my income relied on how well I placed at each race I’d certainly want to know what I was up against so I could have some strategies and perhaps a mental edge.

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Matt

It absolutely boggles my mind too. To not look at the start list is Fools Errand unless some also comments something to the effect ~"Why bother, it isn't representative of who is at the race, I'll scout out the pro meeting instead". By at least glancing at you get an idea about how the race will shape up tactically. Diving down further helps you familiarize with your competition, some of which you may not be familiar with and you want to know their capabilities.

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For many people, it psychs them out. It's easy to become intimidated and lose confidence reading through a star-studded start list, even as a top performer yourself. I would not be surprised if this is why they didn't look at the list—focus on your own race, do what you can to have a good race. Just a different approach, not necessarily better or worse; works for some, others not, like Lionel, who nerds out on everyone else.

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There was a good quote from Sebi on the Kona coverage last year...he said it doesn't make any sense to bother making too much of a plan based on who is there vs. not there. You just have to race in the moment...it could be that most pros accept that...or perhaps they were all just playing "too cool"!

If anyone wants to get in on Fantasy Triathlon starting with St. George...feel free to make picks HERE. It's just for fun, but it's free! Looking for the top 5 men and top 3 women.