Larsen rules.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

i will bet that he doesn´t finish the race ;-)

Sergio Marques

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S�rgio Marques
When it hurts is when it feels good ;-)
Sergio-Marques.com

Will he break to bike course record?

By how much?

Will there be any sub 3hr runners there to beat him if he's waaay off the front?

I have no idea who else will be there.

the bike record is officially 4h31'. However,imho, the real record is 4h36' (spencer). the 4h31' was done by sindballe in 2000 I think, but he dnfed and so this record should not hold (even though it is listed as the bike record).

I think Larsen will break the record (both). if the water is rough, he may not have such a big lead off the bike. There will definitely be some sub-3h runners...

best runner in the field is Stefan Riesen. he can bike very well too. but his swim is a bit weak(er than steve)...

should be a fun race.

my money is on Raynard Tissink, Steve Larsen, Stefan Riesen and Jonas Colting (in no particular order)

I think Larsen will smoke the bike record if it is 4:31. If the course is as flat and fast as they say (everyone I know rides 10-15 minutes faster there than at IM Canada) and the winds aren't too strong he is definitely capable of being well under 4:30. As for sub 3 hours there should be a few, does anyone know if any age-groupers have ever broken 3 hours at IMF?

Wow, that turns it into a real interesting race. I heard Steve had intended to put the watt meter at 300 for the entire IMH race course and he dropped out when they started a dropping and there was nothing he could do about it. Don't know what 300 watts (with his aerodynamic shape) means for a flat course like Florida but would have to translate to a 4:15-20 or so.

There will be some really good guys there, many of whom have already been mentioned. My money will be on Larson or Tissink but, also, don't forget Tom Evans, who almost beat Tissink at Canada. Should be a great race.

Frank

Frank

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

I expected him to be there, they're letting in all former IM winners, and he should have a lot of un-used Hawaii fitness.

The bike record is soft, even I rode 4:41 there in 2000, and as we all have learned on this forum, I'm not much of an athlete. I expect he could be at or below 4:20, though he won't have any hills to bring out his true climbing strength. Garrett should also be in the low 4:20's if he's bike-fit.

I can't say I'll be pulling for Steve, but I wish him well, as I do the other 1900+ athletes. Evans, Bonney and the other faster swimmers/good cyclists will make sure the first half of the bike is blazing. Rough water would favor all those guys (Jonas, Raynard, etc.) and hurt Steve and Garrett. I think it'll be a very interesting race.

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"What's good for me ain't necessarily good for the weak-minded."

Chann McRae's racing too... should be a fast bike with him and Larsen in the field.

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http://irondad06.blogspot.com/

http://irondad.blogspot.com/

riesen is a great all-rounder and could be the next really top ironman (win at zofingen was a real shocker). colting is equal to deboom and reid as a runner.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I didn't realize Bonney was there also. Another PC'er with HUGE potential. He should have a good lead out of the water (over the cyclists, anyhow) and, if he does what he is capable of, even Steve may not catch him on the bike. This is turning into a VERY interesting race for me.

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Frank,
An original Ironman and the Inventor of PowerCranks

I'm pulling for Joe Bonness, hero of the common man. After back-to-back 9:40's in Hawaii and GFT, I'm betting he goes ~9:30 in Panama City.

"Colting is equal to Deboom and Reid as a runner"

Based on what? How often have they competed against each other? What major races has Colting won?

"Based on what?"

based on the fact that i wrote it. i don't think anything else is required for me to express an opinion, but, with ashcroft and all, maybe my view of the 1st amendment is out of date.

"How often have they competed against each other?"

i doubt if any. colting races mainly in europe, and not often in ironman races. mostly non-IM ironmans like fredericia, maybe almere.

"What major races has Colting won?"

i don't remember. maybe none. maybe IM florida upcoming. what some of you guys don't realize is that colting, henning, and these northern euros are the equal (at least as runners and in most cases swimmers) of the guys who've made a career of ironman racing. you just haven't seen them yet. when torbjorn sinballe came over last year he beat some very good guys, and he's not normally the kind of runner colting and rasmus henning are. some of your favorite athletes are going to find out there are some new guys to watch when these guys start coming over. you already saw how one of the young swedes can do, notwithstanding the ribbing he took over his bike position. and he's not the ultradistance athlete colting is.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

2h52' off the bike in NZ, 2' slower than Brown on home turf...think this classifies someone as a very good runner.
heck, if I had said in 96, LVL is a better runner than anyone over an IM, before Hawaii, I would have read the same comment...but he ran a 1h44' in Nice.
Actually I remember a journalist asking Rainer Muller who was his favorite for Kona...he said LVL...answer was who??

there are MANY very talented long distance dudes in europe who race there only (money issues) that could surprise many...Chabaud was an example in Kona 2002...the guy has been fast for years.. :-)
Same in Germany, Sweden, Dk.

Yes, Colting is a good runner. Of course Europe has a ton of awesome athletes that don't compete in the U.S.

I was pretty familiar with Colting and his past performances. I was shocked like most when LVL won in 1996. Although, I knew of his performance in Nice as well as his 2nd behind Lessing in Cleveland.

I was just looking for an explanation as to why Slowman thought he was as good a runner as Reid and Deboom. Thanks Slowman. In my opinion he is not...yet. And needs to do a ton before he is.

If Larsen drops down to 6:00 range, he better watch his ass, as I'll be puttin a whuppin on it and sending him home crying to mama. That ought to scare him into the 4:30 range...