Build up to LA 2028 and World Triathlon ITU Thread

[pk]

I would be suprised if she comes top 10, its a pretty solid female field, and her skills which are her weakness likely will cause some issues, as does run speed.

[Ajax_Bay]

Off/on topic (‘hybrid’ athlete like Knibb):
Sophie Evans (Coldwell) who as a new mum is on the GBR top squad for at least this year, is racing her first draft-illegal race since a #7 on debut in T100 London 2024. She swam with LCB and rode most of the laps with her.
She was #5 in Lanza WTC sprint in March. Run looks a bit weak but probably better than Meißner.
70.3 Valencia. Up against Kleiser and Pierre as well.

[BDoughtie]

Listening to Knibb pre TX say this time she feels like she had a “real IM prep” is interesting. It wouldn’t even shock me if Knibb misses the front swim group in Yoko, as she has randomly missed it even in peak itu form. I think she’ll just need to use Yoko as sorta a feeling out race and know just how hard (or easy) this juggling act is going to be with how each fitness/training demands will affect other race distances. I guess if she continues to race TX and KQ’s she can go back to itu may-June-July each year as the focus and then 3 month Kona build. It’s all there for her to do Knibb things, so now it’s going to be up to her and her team to nail it. She seemed to suggest she needs a bit of chaos to stay mentally engaged- she’s going to get it. What will happen in itu *if she “struggles” will be my big question (and something USAT will have to figure out as well).

[Jackets]

I had a look at that list and didn’t notice her on there, have to get used to this new name of hers!

[pk]

valencia looks like a Swiss battle for the win ( Simmonds and Schear) pretty solid start list. some interesting guys for the males as well.

[Ajax_Bay]

@pk

valencia looks like a Swiss battle for the win ( Simmonds and Schear)

Off topic (except still hybrids)
You right: Cathia Schär will be right up there ftw in Valencia.
Simmonds? Edit: is racing Gran Canaria. Second edit: Wrong again!

7be6642d-40c7-490e-95d5-2a83bc092ecb.pdf

Note missing F4
Withdrew a few days ago.

[pk]

https://www.instagram.com/p/DWpJ3_oE41V/?img_index=1
oh I see tripollathlete had Simmonds on the start list.

[Ajax_Bay]

@pk

valencia

Just putting this to bed before attention switches to Samarkand.
Three SC women raced well.
https://www.tri247.com/triathlon-news/elite/ironman-70-3-valencia-results-report-2026

[Jackets]

[pk]

meissner does not race short course anymore.

[Ajax_Bay]

Back to short course:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DXSZ6zVieOg/
Hopes to roll on to start list for WTCS Yokohama (which is, we are informed between crisps, in 27 days’ time).

[pk]

she is already on it and so is Lindemann.

[BDoughtie]

The question I have- if she struggles on the run to be competitive, is there a point of coming back to itu? For both her and as a federation? I mean I know she wants to race LA for 2 olympic sports, but like if she struggles to handle the training to get faster, what then?

[pk]

the very least it draws eyes on short course, and why should usat close a door when they do not have a clear alternative yet ?

[BDoughtie]

I’m not suggesting closing the door now. I’m asking if she comes to itu and runs “slow”, and isn’t competitive, what’s going to change over the next 2 years from Knibb’s pov with her racing schedule to make the changes to then be competitive. She’s not going to change her schedule the next few years; it’s going to be Kona, whatever IM to KQ (likely spring race to clear up summer races) and then a mix of ITU / T100 / whatever she wants. Where’s the training to get faster in the run going to come from?

[Ajax_Bay]

Knibb is just getting a few SC races in so she can get onto startlists more easily: needed for a hybrid campaign to race in her home Olympics.
Knibb is still, even if some speed work needed over 26 months, the clear choice for Leg 3 of the MTR. I’m sure she recognised she’s not going to be top 20 competitive in sprints and T50s. Spivey just has to soldier on for two more years and she can nail Leg1. Knibb’s USP is to breakaway from her peers in a small MTR field, already whittled down, or to close the gap if a team or even pair have got away. She’ll not lose many seconds on a 2km run (though I guess she might lose a few in T2).
USAT can whine all they like but Knibb holds the key to an Olympic medal, handing over to Pearson. I can’t see the road TT coming off again.

[BDoughtie]

Knibb is the clear favorite because she won US a medal. So by default everyone including her wants to replicate that. But Knibb has transitioned beyond itu and good for her to be a “hybrid” athlete, so whether she can replicate that strength remains to be seen. Knibb only holds the power if she comebacks to itu and replicates her former self and results. An athlete who races itu and then struggles has no power over the federation at that point.

[pk]

gentle reminder samerkant wtcs is on this sunday
will vasco villaca get his first world series win?
females, oly champ beaugrand vs world champ tertch.
and will tilda mansson get her first wtcs podium?

[Ajax_Bay]

@pk

gentle reminder samerkant wtcs is on this sunday

Dragging several of the comments on GBR men over here from the Samakand thread - they will die there.

@monty

@Ajax_Bay

Yes, I wonder what Milner thought about that!? Assume they both worked ‘same effort’ in the chase pack to keep the gap down to the 48 seconds (to leader out of T2).

I have a different guess, figure Ollie worked much harder in that chase and then was motivated to run all out to the finish. I think Milner can kiss any thoughts of olympic dreams good bye now. Ollie will learn to swim more towards the front, just like Yee and Wilde did, and then it is a runners race once again between the fastest guys.

And I believe that Yee and Wilde still have the edge on the young lad, but not for long. He has shown that his is a great triathlon strength runner(like Blu and Ali), and eventually with added pure speed and youth, is going to be hard to beat…

@Ajax_Bay

GBR need an athlete who can stay with the pack on Leg 2 of the MTR - which means ‘someone’ really needs to step up their swim: will that be Conway? I guess that risk is mitigated by expectation that a top Brit on Leg 1 will be first into the handover to him.
Non Stanford on the PTN pod did talk about Olympic medallist Dickinson being still ‘in’ the GBR Squad picture.

@pk

again the uk will get 3 slots this time and millner is very much in the running for that
to add its like his 5 th year in tri hardly a veteran.
or in other words his chance to get there are a lot higher than Gwens at this stage who really is running out of bike road improvement.
and a bit like mansson and also Beaugrand ( it took her a long time to get really good at oly distance) he might just need a bit to time to transfer his run into the oly distance after the bike.

@pk

I would say both Germany and France will be very much in the run for first slot as well after the first female, interestingly germany has a very coherent team right now with very little relay weakness.
with yee uk has to be favourite but with grafs swim and bike I would not say its a forgone conclusion. and the french will get lucky in a relay as well.
and not to forget Hungary that should be pretty good for 2028 and the usa cant be ruled out either

@sidelined

I would bet Yee, Milner and Conway.

Milner has actually improved his bike from a year or two ago. He did pull some on the Conway pack. A year or two ago and he would have been dropped. He and Conway roomed together on a brit tri camp (?) they seem to get on well together. So maybe some learning there for Milner ie you have to be able to bike well to run well off the bike

Thinking Sam was an insurance policy and likely won’t be needed. There is Connor Bentley,(is he injured ?) and Michael Garr is still young.

@Benjik

I agree, and to add, he seemed to be doing a lot of the work on the bike. We didn’t get many shots of that chase pack but when we did, Milner was a lot of times in front pushing the pace. From what I remember, that was definitely not the case in 2024 and 2025. I think there is still a lot of potential there. But of course Conway is showing much more potential.

I was actually more surprised Conway was so far down in the swim. I thought he was a better swimmer than that.

Incredible that in 2024 GB men seemed a little off apart from Yee whereas now they seem strong as ever. And the women, that’s insane. Would be interested that they try to race more as a team ( for example attacking one after the other on the bike while Potter sits in)

[BDoughtie]

Knibb didn’t make 1st Alghero start list (duh she has no points) so either she gets subbed in or potentially no point in subbing her in to finish ~P2x in what may turn into a fight for 3 spots (knibb likely won’t race enough w results like that to help secure 3rd spot).

The current 5 US athletes who made it are:

EA

Kasper

Spivey

GS

Orie