Sorry if this has been mentioned before but it looks as though just retired English pro cyclist Alex Dowsett is going to have a go at Ironman? He is a grand tour stage winner (ITT and road stage), has several top 10 World ITT finishes to his name and has previously ridden for Sky, Movistar, Katusha and most recently ISUN. He has been posting on YouTube about his running and swimming and was clearly a swimmer as a youngster. Judging by one of his recent videos, where he was clocking 1.35’s for 100m on his return to the pool, he’s going to be pretty decent. Not sure if it will be a serious attempt to do well or a ‘get me around’ type effort. In addition he is one of the few elite sports people who suffers from haemophilia, making his sporting achievements thus far even more impressive.
I’m always curious about these pro-cyclists who try to move over - usually they don’t make it. Though if he swam as a kid, he’d likely have a better shot than most.
The obvious exception though is Cam Wurf
That’s pretty impressive to be swimming 1:35/100 meters at altitude upon his return to the pool. He should be able to beat Lionel and Sam Long out of the water in no time.
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Pretty sure his wife does triathlons.
My hunch is that he is doing this to spend more time with her.
If he is going to be competitive he has a lot of work to do.
Judging by one of his recent videos, where he was clocking 1.35’s for 100m on his return to the pool, he’s going to be pretty decent.
There are 6 year olds who can do that. As in children who were born in 2016 that are not yet 4 feet tall.
Jeez there is always one clever sod on this forum. My point is it was his first swim back. Go watch the video and look at his technique. Ask yourself if with training he’ll still be swimming 1.35’s in a few months. It’s way, way better than some ST faves😉.
Jeez there is always one clever sod on this forum. My point is it was his first swim back. Go watch the video and look at his technique. Ask yourself if with training he’ll still be swimming 1.35’s in a few months. It’s way, way better than some ST faves😉.
I watched the video. I have no idea if he will be a passable swimmer or not. He was really slow. Too slow to have any idea of what he will be able to do. If you are saying he looked comfortable I’d agree. But I’m just not going to read anything into someone going 1:35s.
I’ll say this: it would be awesome if he becomes a passable swimmer because Geez can he ride.
The standard of s/b/r is pretty high at pro level in triathlon. An elite runner or cyclist isn’t going to come in and dominate based on their strength in one discipline. The “slower” marathon runners at the Olympics are running 2.15/2.20 and you’ve got the likes of KB, Iden and Lange running 2.3x… after swimming 3.9km hard and riding 180km hard, in the heat and wind. At best a pro cyclist might be able to put 5 mins on the top Ironman cyclists, maybe a little bit more, but unless he can swim and run, then it’s irrelevant.
Do you guys think he is going to compete to win an Ironman? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. If you watch his videos he’s doing this for fun. With the proper training and his engine he can do a 9 to 10 hour ironman. Steve Larson and Cam Wurf were/are the exception because they did/do triathlon still in their prime. Jalabert, Vinokourov, Bolts…etc all tried after their prime. It will be interesting to see what Richie Port does. He has the talent/background to compete if father time has not already passed him by.
The standard of s/b/r is pretty high at pro level in triathlon. An elite runner or cyclist isn’t going to come in and dominate based on their strength in one discipline. The “slower” marathon runners at the Olympics are running 2.15/2.20 and you’ve got the likes of KB, Iden and Lange running 2.3x… after swimming 3.9km hard and riding 180km hard, in the heat and wind. At best a pro cyclist might be able to put 5 mins on the top Ironman cyclists, maybe a little bit more, but unless he can swim and run, then it’s irrelevant.
This guy, given his TT background, might have a better chance than most of really scorching the bike. But honestly it doesn’t matter, he’s obviously not going to run in the ballpark of the best guys.
I just assumed he is doing this as an age grouper, like Jalabert or Udo Bolts or Rolf Aldag. Not trying to go pro like Larsen, Wurf, Lance and Chann McRae (last one did not really do much)
Lol, this.
Don’t forget Andrew Talansky that ditched a top 10 TdF career for Triathlon and couldn’t cut it.