The bottom line is the winner is whoever completes the entire course first. Period.

However, because I'm into bikes and my running sucks, the bike portion is always the most interesting for me to watch.

I agree with the bike being more interesting to watch... I don't knwo if you caught it but I thought that the longer footage made the Ironman show much more interesting.

I agree, the criticism is BS. Mark Allen used to race the Ironman like Macca did and he always lost, until he got smart and learned how to race an Ironman. He raced IM Hawaii 6 or 7 times, often blowing up spectacularly, before he finally won. He eventually learned how by shadowing Dave Scott.

One of these days Tim, Peter and Cameron are going to let the cyclists go and they'll get whalloped, because those boys 'learned to run'. Peter is, IMHO, the only one of the three with a chance of keeping up with the cyclists.

The Mark Allen argument is interesting, because he and Dave Scott in their old form would probably dust just about everybody out there right now. How do the splits compare?

Yeah, I bet DeBoom is laughing about the criticism all the way to the bank...

Maybe it is the angle they were shooting the footage but the bikers seemed awfully close to each other... then again I am not sure what 10 bike lengths (or whatever it is) exactly looks like...

oh and as much as everyone has been talking about larry parker's fit on his bike I really like the graphics on the cannondale... smokin!

Oh and as bad ass as tim deboom is that shirt was kinda ugly... Maybe that was his secret... he was thinking, the sooner I finish this race the sooner I can take this freakin shirt off.

Actually, maybe he is overtrained, but Hellriegel ran a
2h46' in Kona when he was second to LVL...
if they let him go again next year and his run comes
back, they will not see him again.
though reading a comment of Peter Reid, he was saying that they looked like they were struggling at the turn around in Hawi and Pr and TDB were confident they would be fried for the run...

anyway, I prefer LVL...when (if) he gets back to Kona healthy and all ok, then TDB and PR will have to go hard on the bike...

I can't wait for a healthy LVL and Steve Larson to show up and shake things up. Tim DeBoom raced very intelligently this year, considering how the race played out, and doesn't deserve the criticism that has been directed is way. The lead riders were never that far out in front of him and he was able to ride within himself and nail them all on the run. That said, for a year with good conditions, the wining time was, relatively speaking, not that fast and neither was DeBoom's run. I also think that Reid sat in because he was playing it conservatively this year. He has gone pretty hard on the bike in some of his previous races but after the year he had, why risk blowing up by trying to be a hero early on? From the interviews he gave on the telecast it seemed he would have been happy finishing in 9:30 to remove the memory of last year. I think that next year, Reid might factor in on the bike as well as the run and that will force DeBoom to bring his "A" game for the bike as well as the run. I would just like to see more people go for the win (or maybe go for the record and the win) and really fire things up.

I think you're forgetting what the criticisms were. I don't disagree w/ Tim's strategy. He won, what's to argue with? but, a lot of the old forum thread on this subject dealt w/ Natascha's bike split. Tim should be embarrassed to have won with a bike split so close to natascha's (7 min). I think this is what fuels the "sitting in" arguement. not that it wasn't a wise strategy, but that it's sad that it's come to that.

I agree with Marlin that Dave and Mark would smoke the current crop in Kona. True or not, I feel I can relate more to Mark and Dave than Tim. because for me, I show up to see what I'm capable of and learn about myself through the experience. I think this is the way it used to be. But now the pro's just do what it takes to win, and nothing more. (to make a gross over-generalization, and possibly view the past through rose colored glasses). Maybe I'd do the same thing if I were remotely capable of walking away w/ $100k.

Does not matter if you win by a hour or 1 tenth of a second--a win is a win in any language!

It's called racing smart. Why risk blowing to set a course record when you can do just enough to win. Everyone would in his shoes--remember he is the pro for a reason and that reason is why we are not.

I don't think that the natascha tim comparison is a really valid one.

Natascha is a cyclist first, runner second, and a swimmer third
Tim is a runner first, cyclist, swimmer

no one compares tim's run to natasha's run... why not compare thomas hellrigell's bike to natascha's bike

Besides Natascha's bike was amazing... just watching her biking is inspirational. Smoothness personified

Actually, Tim was a swimmer first, and his run was his weaker event for quite awhile. At some point a few years ago things just clicked with his run (and his confidence) and he became a runner. Interestingly enough, both Dave and Mark have similar backgrounds as Tim.

Haim

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"Sometimes you need to think INSIDE the box!" -- ME
"Why squirrel hate me?"

You know the Lakers will always be compared to the Bulls. Tiger Woods will always be compared to Jack Nicklaus. Tim DeBoom will always be compared to Dave Scott.

You can question strategy, ability, luck, whatever. But in the end the record book will show only the names of those who won. Nothing else.

Now, I wasn't there; but, from the photos in triathlete mag, and the TV footage, I makes me wonder how in the heck they gave Spencer 2 drafting penalties. Tim, Peter, Cameron, and others looked mighty close to me. I am big fans of theirs'. I admire their strategy just as I admire Larson, et al; But, I am having a hard time figuring out how a cyclist who is pushing the pace gets the DQ, when others appear to be so close with no penalties. I do know that TV and the photos can be deceiving so I am not passing any judgment. Just raising the question/issue.

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

Don't judge by a photograph. Photos can "lie" in several ways. First, the photographer has the advantage of sitting and waiting for just the right shot. If he's looking for a shot of two or three cyclists, he'll wait until they fit in his field of view. That means a lot of the best shots happen during passing evolutions. Additionally, the photographer is usually using lenses in the 150-400mm range when taking shots of multiple cyclists. Lenses in this focal length compress the image and make things look closer together. Its an effect similar to the "objects are closer than they appear" print on your side-view mirror.

Why did Spencer get caught? Three words:

BRIGHT - PINK- OUTFIT

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***

Tactics are the whole game. A tri is a time trial. You do what you need to do at the right time to do your best. What others are doing is irrelevant. My philosophy is that "discipline" is not going all out all the time, but doing the right thing at the right time. Big difference.

This reminds me, in an oblique way, how that australian guy, name escapes me right now (no doubt because he lost), who dragged the cycling pack through the olympic tri just out of principle that he was going to go as hard as possible on the bike and essentially protest the draft-legal race. Great for his principles, I guess, but lousy tactics. He lost by a long ways when if he had sat in, like everyone else, he might have be in a position to win. Few remember the how the race unfolds, just the outcome. Fewer still know who you beat or where they placed!

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"My strategy is to start out slow and then peter-out altogether" Walt Stack

McCormack is promoting a particular kind of racing and if he is successful then IMHO Ironman Hawaii will benefit with more interesting finishes.

Having said that, the reactions to DeBoom verge on the bizarre. I mean, he's a back to back winner of one of the world's most difficult events and he seems to draw little other than criticism and indifference. I thought his racing as the defending champion with no major sponsorship was a disgrace. It makes you wonder what a guy has to do.

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TonyG

What is Enoch Root?

Last time I checked Hawaii was considered the world championships of Ironman racing. Tim DeBoom has won that race twice. Therefore, I think its safe to say he is the best long course athlete in the world at this very moment. I can't believe people have the audacity to criticize his performances. Americans have complained that athletes from other countries have been winning and there havent been any good long course Americans since Mark Allen. We get a two time champion and this is how he gets treated. How many people out there can go 8:30 in Hawaii. If you cant, your opinion doesnt count.

wrong

he broke the rules right in front of Charlie Crawford
the head of all USAT Officials.

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"on your Left"

You are painting "Americans" with a pretty broad brush there Marty. I'm an American. I would have preferred to see someone else win beside DeBoom. It's nice that he won, but there is something very milk toast bland about him. Peter Reid's comeback was a much more interesting story TO ME. Personally, I would have loved to see Tomas H. win. In 2003, I hope Larsen rips it up.

As for you comment, " How many people out there can go 8:30 in Hawaii. If you cant, your opinion doesnt count." WHAT A CROCK OF S**T!!! Last time I looked, this was a free country and everyone is free to state his/her opinion.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

As I see it, there are two separate issues here:
1) who won; and
2) was the manner in which he did it interesting/exciting/media worthy.

As for the first, no one can argue. Tim won. He was the first to the line, the fastest, the best tactician, etc. There is no room for debate. You can say all you want about the way he went about it, but the end result is the same. Others tried to go out there and blow it open on the bike (exciting to watch and to hear all of the pre-race jawing), but it didn't work.

There's a reason why: you can't have a record-setting ride and still expect to run a great marathon. When I asked for IM advice on this board someone said "patience." IM is a race of patience. Tim demonstrated that.

As for the second issue, everyone has a right to their opinion. Personally, I believe that some coming from behind on the run makes an exciting race.

Just my thoughts. Feel free to rip me a new one.

Matt

Hey his Macca's tactics worked in Ironman Austrailia. Why wouldn't they work in Hawaii? He didn't go into Hawaii fresh plus he had nutritional problems. His so called "bad" tactics will get him a win, you can bet on it. As for Tim I think his win was a stroke of luck that macca blew or else he would have been in deep crap. Tim will have to change his race around a little or else he won't take another title. (Tim is still the man!)

sell said MTS (and ironclm). the rest of you will have to forgive me for not worshipping at the alter of deboom. he won, I'm not arguing that. Mark Allen won in 95 and reportedly (I wasn't there, but it has been widely reported) joked at the awards dinner about all the help he got drafting on the bike. While 2nd place Tom H. set the fastest bike split of the day going solo. There's more to the race than who won.

I'm not accusing Tim of cheating (though it isn't unusual to hear his name mentioned when the word drafting comes up), but just because he won doesn't mean I have to like him. Hellriegel was heroic in 95 and took 2nd. Natascha was heroic in 2002 and took 1st. Peter Reid was heroic in 2002 and took 2nd. It isn't that you have to tear it up on the bike, but at the pro level you're racing ought to say something. to me, Tim D's racing says "I want to win, but nothing more". I hope for more from my champions.

to be fair, I certainly imagine that if I knew Tim or knew of Tim, I'd feel differently. But as it stands I don't know Tim any better than Peter, Cam, Macca, Thomas, Jurgen, or Emelio. But since I don't, I pick who I like based on what I see, and out of that list, Tim's at the bottom.

For my money the most heroic momemt of 2002 would have to be Emelio De Soto at the Wildflower Oly. 38th overall, 3rd in his age group, running splits of 7'20, ON CRUTCHES!!!