Id wager you would probably get more Lionel and Lucy’s.
At this point in the game with money in triathlon, are athletes qualifying early and then foregoing races to solely focus on WC’s? I’m sure there are some out there but for the majority, their season long race schedule “builds” them to their A WC goal right? For the most part IMPS sorta by “default” is in most people’s wheel house cus the standard schedule these days for LC athletes can be filled by a *normal LC schedule. Not suggesting they are prioritizing the IMPS over the WC, but if they are going to race 5-6 times anyways they can sorta double dip with not much extra cost on them right?
Well Laidlow for one. Why else is he travelling half way around the world to Western Australia next month?
Right so your answer to my question is 1 athlete, but even his own schedule this year will now include 4 IM’s in 1 year (including the WC), in a year where the start of his year was very much in question with health issues?
Laidlow is one example, and probably a good one at that, someone who’s sole focus is winning another WC.
I’m sure there will be more. Let’s not forget that Lange actually gave away winning the pro series by not racing after Kona in 2024-shows how important it was to him. A simple race at Busso would have secured the win but nope, his objective was soley Kona.
This place is weird, you can say the most mundane obvious thing and people attack you like you have said water isn’t wet
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How am I attacking you? I don’t think many athletes are doing 1 and done races to save themselves for the WC that you said they are doing (again the sport now offers so much $$ possibility that it affords athletes to not just focus 100% on a roth or kona only like 10 years ago). Which to me makes the IMPS sorta almost a default thing to do to sorta “double dip” even if it’s less of a focus. Of course there are a few who value only a WC, but I don’t think that’s the norm. I think most pro’s 100% value a WC, but also understand they are professionals, and as such, they have to schedule a plan that allows them to get the most value. So I just disagree with your assessment that most will 1 and done qualify and then only focus on WC.
Oh yes! Whom have you in mind in recent years that has been successful? Or are you thinking of athletes who IMWCQ ‘early’ so the whole year can be focused on one thing (IMWC) and then fail to win? Examples?
Not Loevseth (IMPS), not Stornes (IMPS), not Philipp (T100s,Roth,London), not Lange (IMPS), not Charles-Barclay (T100s), not Laidlow (four T100s, last minute pseudo-validation), not Sodaro (loadsaraces), Iden maybe, but we’re getting into pandemic affected qualification periods. Not Ryf (many races every year), not Frodeno (never KQ/validated till midsummer). How long do you need people’s memories to be for this to be a thing.
Bc you speak in absolutes as if they aren’t just your opinion. Your opinions are valid but aren’t the only opinion
I’m saying that by getting the early qual they have the freedom to schedule their year with a focus towards a WC. If that allows the flexibility to maximise points then bonus.
As does everyone? What prefix are others adding to their comments that I’m missing, I’ll be sure to add it moving forward.
I say I think people think water is wet, other people disagree and say no people don’t think water is wet. That’s called a discussion.
Oh FFS…. Ask any pro what they would prefer, what their goal would be.
I never said they qualify and never race again…
I think the biggest names in the sport “focus on WC” regardless of when they actually qualify. For the most part the big names are going to qualify whether that’s early or middle or late. Now obviously this is a sport where anything can happen so a flat or a bike crash or a sickness that leads to DNF means you have to do another one. But I think at this point in the game, even a guy like Laidlow did 2 IM’s before Nice, and he likely would have raced earlier in the year if not for his “health issues”. I think it’s long gone are the “1 and done and wait for WC” only schedules in our sport. Which is also the whole discussion about if T100 goes away, what happens to the IMPS $$ that they are doing now. Does it go away by 20% to then cause some different race planning strategies, etc? Most think/assume if T100 goes away (and this is what few years away timeline at earliest right), IMPS is also going to *change to some degree.
Lots of cross posting. “This place is weird, you can say the most mundane obvious thing” and people will point out that they think that your assertion, albeit mundane, is NOT the “obvious thing”. Your assertion (“Athletes regularly forego races with a sole intent of winning a WC“) seems evidentially weak > confused.
After validating at Busso, that maybe Laidlow’s “intent” for next year; we may see - are you his manager and know this? He did not qualify for Marbella (though he was chilling out there) so well rested by December, no T100s, and WA is pretty and fast and competition light. Doing no races all 2026 ‘focusing on Kona’ doesn’t seem a good plan to me. Wasn’t his plan in any previous years, fitting in with moving house and stuff.
Lange won IMWC 2024. Once won he can’t “focus” on that any more so whether he travels to Busso where he ‘might’ get a good result (his two 70.3s were places #16 and #17) has zero to do with it. Getting enough points in Busso was unlikely: the reason he didn’t travel (I passed him a clear decision paper on this). In the event only Barnaby overhauled him: both Hoegenhaug and Marquardt failed.
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OK champ
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Haha typical ST ‘discussion’.
- state opinion as absolute fact
- Counter point made
- Offended post bc absolute fact challenged
- Additional retort
- Dismissive reply closing the ‘discussion’
- Angry stomp out bc my obvious truth isn’t being accepted as self-evident
Why do some people think ST can be toxic lol
Had to update bc I forgot the last step, glad I was reminded
What would you prefer me to do, continue arguing?
Athletes pick and chose races to maximise their chances of winning a WC, this isn’t a ground breaking opinion. Except on ST..only here could this take somehow be construed to be controversial.
I have better things to do with my life than argue this. So have at it..toxic indeed.
No your completely right. Athletes don’t chose races that could jeopardise or maximise their chances, they will race no matter what. Silly me, I’m glad I’ve been corrected. Hope you feel better.
ST… what a joke.
No - you’re absolutely right: this is a solid take. I doubt anyone will disagree. But that’s not what you asserted. Generally we can see that virtually no IMWC winners in the last 10 years “get the qual early and then don’t race much before IMWC.” Racing earns an athlete prizemoney and recognition: both key elements for a professional who has the potential to podium a WC.
Agree your last sentence, which I don’t think I or others have challenged.
A little bit of that, and also a lot of Knibb put in big surges on the climbs and Lucy effortlessly rolled up to her on the descents in many cases.
No, you are misquoting me, you even created some imaginary sentence in quotation marks that I never said! I never said they ‘don’t race much’. You along with the others get so worked up in a fever herd attack mentality instead of actually stepping back, taking a breath and reading what I said. I’ll repeat it again for those who are less emotional..
This isn’t saying they qualify and dont race again. Its saying by qualifying early they now have the flexibility to plan their year to focus on the single race, instead of chasing late qualification races which has happened to a number of athletes a number of times. By qualifying early they have the option to forego races that may not suit their schedule if they wish to maximise their potential.
and repeated again here for clarity
and again…
Lol so yeah…you tell me where the problem is in this place…
And for what its worth Im pretty sure Mark Allen said it wasn’t until he started focusing soley on Kona that he had the break through. Up until then he would be winning everything under the sun winning Nice 10 times, but came up short at Kona.