Was St George not really a WC?

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

I'd say that there are a lot of pros that actually welcome this change.. I don't think you're going to get the reaction from them you're looking for.

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Strava

I think Pros want to and need to make money. Sure, I believe some want to win in Kona, but if there was another race on the same day that paid more, I don't think it would matter where they are racing.

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USAT Level II- Ironman U Certified Coach

For sure. How many of them struggle in the Kona conditions? Even those that do well, probably hate the heat?

Many euro pros don’t go to Kona because there is little money in the sport except the very top. That will allow them to race as it’s far more accessible. Iden is likely loving the idea of racing Nice. Wurf probably thinks he has a solid shot at a podium on that course given his riding skills. Skipper too has a good shot. Pretty sure that in general pro men will welcome it.

I talked to at least 15 - 20 pros in SG, and 100% said they much preferred rotating venues. They are humans, just like us AG’s, and as such have different strengths and weaknesses. Kona has a very narrow sweat spot for optimum performance.
How many other outdoor sports hold World Championships in the same location every year? Zero???

Make qualification harder, rotate locations, and then you have a true world championships!
Consider swimming- I will bet than less than .5% of NCAA division 1 swimmers qualify for the world championship. Monty, what do you think?

Yeah, great opportunity for PTO if they ever want to try to take away Ironman's stranglehold on long course pros. In the past, they could have probably put up twice the prize purse and twice as deep as the Ironman world championship in Kona and they still wouldn't draw the best field because it's Kona.

Well now for next year there is no men's Kona so I think there is a much more level playing field for long course pro attention. If they play it right, they could host the marquee championship race every other year now. Play Ironman's game and place a race on the same weekend.

Lol.. what a dumb take

They will follow the money.

Pretty sure performing at Kona results in an enormous sweat spot.

Bob was asking Kristian to agree that his StG win had an asterisk by it "because it wasnt Kona" , but for the nors the title and purse seemed to be sufficient.

People used to say they won/placed/finished kona, but that'll become won/placed/finished at the worlds.

Its just hard to imagine the gender divided event....(wo)mens only prize givings, underpants run , athlete banquets/ expos, nbc special...

I hardly imagine many people paying 1600 EUR for racing in a WC located outside Hawaii.

I hardly imagine that a Ironman WC in Nice would be even similar than Challenge Roth.

People will to expend out of the logical price for racing HAWAII (iconic course, history of triathlon, it is f*king KONA!, the side events, etc...), I cannot imagine Ironman giving a similar experience outside Hawaii, and even worse organizing 2 events in 2 locations same year.

I would like to see if they are able to fill in the alternative WC slots.

I would suggest Ironman an alternate solution:


Ironman Hawaii as a Legacy event, even for "only for finishers at least once in an Ironman event", no pros, or normal race for pros. Without "the WC costs", and for 1000-1500 athletes, it should be fine.
WC located outside Hawaii, rotating locations (but for 2-3 years same place like st.george).

I can imagine MANY people paying 1600 Euro for racing outside of Hawaii.........I think Ironman won't have a problem filling World Champ slots for Nice, or wherever the alternative race will be held.

In my old life, when I talked with co-workers and said that I run, their 1st question is: Do you run a marathon?. The second question is: And you have already done New York?
For triathlon it's the same: Have you ever done an Ironman?
The 2nd question: And you have already done Hawaii?
Kona's appeal is huge in people's hearts.

None of my coworkers know what an Ironman is, or a triathlon for that matter. They surely don't give a crap about Kona, lol.

Pro men will race where ever the WC is and the winner will get the title of World Champion next to their name forever. Regardless of where it is.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

IMO its a WC with an asterisk. Its the "oh yeah, that was in St George" Its not the same.

This is likely going to have an impact of Paris 2024.
Will we see KB dedicate time to turning up for a world champs outside of Kona during this Olympic cycle? I feel like no.

It will have a stacked field and I bet the majority will prefer Nice.

The 70.3 WC rotates and it always gets a stacked field. St George had all the best (that weren't injured or ill) pros racing. There will be a minority that prefer Kona but I can only think of two (one of them has been very public with his dissent on insta!!)

Personally, I think Nice is a great move. The course is technical and fun. Let's be real, Kona is not technical in the least bit.

The other part is that there is far more housing available in Nice than Kona IMO. In 2019 with the two day, 70.3 event, there was plenty of viable housing options.

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IG: NCGregory8778

If i was an pto investor and really belive i could change the sport and are in for the longhaul, i would talk to the pros ask them when and where they want to race see what location would want to host the race, and then try to put on a mega race, with a price money no pro can refuse and make it effectively the world champs and put the pressure on ironman.
...

we had the monumental race in Nice 1988 that forced ironman to have price money at the kona world champs , it will be interesting to see what will happen in Nice 25 years later

The pro’s will race because their sponsors want them to race and they want a chance of being WC.

I can see Jan signing up for Roth and going out with a bang in his own country. Retiring without going back to Kona or wherever 2023 is.

This is a brilliant opportunity for PTO to capitalise on the uncertainty. Will they do it - probably not.

Sending a message isn't going to happen. Most of the top pro men live in Europe. It's cheaper for them to race there. The prize money will be the same no matter location. Pro's live by a simple rule. If you don't kill it you don't eat. They will race in some back water location for the right money.

Following the money also includes sponsor obligations and the chance of getting better/higher paying sponsors. You might get more prize money now chasing a win in a small race on the same date, but if you have a good performance at a WC, you're likely to upgrade the cash your sponsors will give you next time you renegotiate.

Only responding to the part I have bolded and put in red. When the FIFA World Cup moves around the world, the size of the pitch is still the same. The length and width do not change based on where the game is held, quite the opposite of how a swim/bike/run course change based on the local topography of the event location. Weather changes everywhere every day, so while Kona is consistently hot and humid, you can reasonably assume those conditions will prevail on the day, maybe with some slight variation (less wind for the Pro men this year than even a few days before for the women).

Just my $.02

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