Where is a Lance, I can't seem to find him on the athlete tracker? I figure he should be off the bike in about 10-15 mins.

There are 30 men in the lead pack.

Through 42 miles in the women's race, Julie Dibens remains in front, followed by:
Steffen at 5:55
Cave at 7:31
Joyce at 7:40
Zelenkova at 7:42
Carfrae at 11:20
Stevens at 11:22
Ellis at 11:24
Berasategui at 12:15
Warriner at 12:20
Wellington at 13:20

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http://vistica.wordpress.com

just got back from my run and checked in the race and this looks like a very good and interesting race, a couple of observations quickly

Wellington is most likely still recovering from her crash, not her self but doesn't seem to worried
Lieto looks frustrated and realizes he might not get the gap at T2 he wanted/expected
Alexander is really showing a new strategy and sticking in the lead group
Big group out of the water and everyone looked like they were in control, compared to last year (Henning)
Did anyone else notice they pulled the boards at the start line? Maybe from the problems caused last year
This race both men's and women's is really up for grabs

Is this Joe Thorne guy gonna break MA run record? Solid start so far through the first bike!

Wellington is really taking a conservative approach.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

MAybe he's decided to wait until later in the race to go hard on the bike, like maybe after the turnaround. His strategy of the last few years of hammering it from 80 miles has given him huge leads off the bike but then he runs a 3 1/2 marathon.

did the same. LOL


one gripe:
they keep saying "leaderboard". i wish they had one. it would be nice to have a streaming feed. it can't be that hard to generate.

other note: its good to see Luke McK up at the front. he's had a run of bad luck. i'm looking for a top ten out of him. good man.

is Chrissie really behind Marinda? how can that be?
where's Dibens?

I think the second half will be telling, she blitzes the second half a lot. IF she is ok and good to go. Should be interesting. She's probably going to catch Mirinda though, the two of them running together could be something not seen at Kona, like...forever. Or ever?

Brent

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DFRU - Detta Family Racing Unit...the kids like it and we all get out and after it...gotta keep the fam involved!

Luke McKenzie obviously read Macca's book. He's going hard into a headwind :-)

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There was an interview with Lieto this year in LAVA where he said "It was a big risk in 2009, but the flip side is that I haven't taken the risk of sitting in with the group and then trying to outrun them," he admits.

LAVA August/September 2011 : Issue 07 Pg 84 "The Kona Crisis"

I wonder if Carfrae can run with Wellington?

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Tom Demerly wrote:

I wonder if Carfrae can run with Wellington?

isn't it the other way around?

I thought she was a faster runner than CW.

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If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
If at first you DO succeed, try to hide your astonishment!

Good point.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Dumb question: Is there any relation between Julie Diebens (current women's leader) and the triathon icon Hans Diebens?

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Julie's last name is spelled Dibbens, dont know how the other guy is spelled

Julie Dibens, not Diebens.

Different spelling, so I don't think so.

Both the men's and women's races are looking really interesting.

I think Chrissie is still in it. Should make for a real race on the marathon. Definitely isn't in the bag.

Seems like Mary Beth is a bit tired from all her racing. I would have thought that she'd be further up the road. Wish she had been able to arrive at the race fresh.

Marino is off the front at the turn and Craig is marking him!

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
ZOOT, QR, Garmin, HED Wheels, Zealios, FormSwim, Precision Hydration, Rudy Project

Crowie's only 7 seconds off the lead at the turnaround. Watch out.

Alexander in 4th behind Lieto and in front of Raelert at the turnaround!

Chrissie is still losing time on Dibens but she's getting closer to Mirinda. I don't think she'll win it. The crash obviously affected her

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My money is on Vanhoenacker for the men.

Yeah, Lieto's statement shows what kind of bind he is in. Sure he might be able to run a much better marathon, but does anybody think he'll be able to run with Alexander, Raelert or the others if they set out on the run together? Those guys are going to run 2:45 +/- a few minutes. Has Lieto ever gone sub-3hrs?

I think he CAN win. He was 2 minutes away in 2009 and that included some walking. So perhaps he doesn't need to go into T2 20 minutes ahead, but he'll still need a >10 minute lead to have a shot. And he needs some margin for error. If it comes to a footrace in the end, he just lacks the top-end speed of guys like Alexander (see '10 Boise).

For an industry veteran you do say some crazy things at times....