Seems like we won’t find out this year, but I believe if he improved his swim a little he could be close even right now. He can bike with the FOP contenders (e.g. Jordan rode faster than Lieto at last years IMAZ) and can now run faster than the top tier bikers. He’d have to hold off the runners much as Faris and Stadler did when they won, but I don’t think Rappstar is quite as fast as Stadler on the bike, though he could be now, and not as fast as Faris on the swim. But Rappstar would in my opinon close to bestibg Deboom and Lieto for top American.
Congratulations to Rappstar for his amazing display at IM Canada, but to answer your question, no, Crowie, Macca and all are yet another stratosphere above Rapp’s level.
They swim faster, they can choose to bike just as fast if they want, they run much faster still. That’s no knock on the Rapp, he improved in a big way recently, but he’s still not there yet (or will he?).
Congratulations to Rappstar for his amazing display at IM Canada, but to answer your question, no, Crowie, Macca and all are yet another stratosphere above Rapp’s level.
They swim faster, they can choose to bike just as fast if they want, they run much faster still. That’s no knock on the Rapp, he improved in a big way recently, but he’s still not there yet (or will he?).
8:25 for an IM, there’s not much stratosphere left.
8:25 is screamin’ fast, but the top handful of guys can go close to 8 flat, under 8 for fast courses like Roth. Granted, Canada is a tough course, but the course record is 8:09. Sixteen minutes is lot at that level of performance.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see Rappstar go head-to-head with the Maccas, Crowies and Stadlers of the world. I hope this victory gives him the mindset to try. It’s been awesome to see his career develop over the last few years, I hope he can get up one more rung on the ladder.
rappstar is tall
tall athletes are heavier, all else being equal
heavier athletes heat up more
kona is hot
I think it will be very hard.
Macca i think is the tallest winner ever at 5-11, it was hard for him
rappstar is only 5 lbs heavier at 6’3"
But that probably means less muscle to work with.
Seems like we won’t find out this year, but I believe if he improved his swim a little he could be close even right now. He can bike with the FOP contenders (e.g. Jordan rode faster than Lieto at last years IMAZ) and can now run faster than the top tier bikers. He’d have to hold off the runners much as Faris and Stadler did when they won, but I don’t think Rappstar is quite as fast as Stadler on the bike, though he could be now, and not as fast as Faris on the swim. But Rappstar would in my opinon close to bestibg Deboom and Lieto for top American.
Maybe, but I think you guys are too quick to put him as a Kona contender just yet. The guy won his first IM (albeit in a great fashion), so let’s wait a tad bit longer before annointing him possible Kona winner.
Yeah, Macca is the tallest winner ever aside from Peter Reid, Mark Allen, LVL and Crowie who are as tall, Dave Scott, Normann Stadler and Faris Al Sultan…aside from then, he is the tallest winner.
Actually Welch and Bustos are the outliers when it comes to Kona contenders. Most Kona contenders are not small guys in height, so Rapp seems like he has it covered on that front. He’d likely have to get his Half IM run split down in the 1:12-1:15 range to be a real contender for a win at Kona. The rest is pretty well there as he could likely catch the Hawi express on the bike working with a few reasonably strong bikers.
I think that everyone is overestimating the “top guys”. Crowie, Macca et al are great, but any male pro that can go sub 8:30 in an IM is in contention for the win at Kona.
From the other thread, Rappstar stated that he was a “planner” and his plan this yearis to race IMAZ, so that means no Kona. Seems like a smart decision given that he really is at the “start” of his IM career.
I would guess from the previous commenters on this thread that you all have a relatively narrow view of who will win Kona. It will probably be one of the guys that has not just won at other races, but dominated. I am curious as to other’s opinions on Tom Evans. I know he is older, but when is the last time that drtommy lost a race? I find it hard to fathom that there is any huge favourite for the men’s race this year. Is it too early to start wagering?
And someone else mentioned Jordan’s size. He might be tall, but he is very light (145 lbs IIRC).
Everyone forgetting about Rasmus Henning? I bet you Andy Potts recovers in time too. Dr. Tommy will need to run sub 2:50 to win. Very rare that the winner can come out of the main group and win without a sub 2:50. Is Dr. Tommy willing to ride in at Torbjorn pace and try and win from the front in Faris/Normann style…he did at IM Florida and he has had a full year with no IM to slow down his Kona prep…I guess that is why they have the race, vs just inserting finishes on an internet board
I guess it is just great that there is so many real contenders on the men’s side. Basically the women’s race (barring injury/flats) comes down to Macel and Wellington.
I think he can. This isn’t a play on his abilities, but Ironman is just as much about attrition as it is form. Most World Champions get a fair amount of luck involved with thier win; and I use that term loosely as they do deserve it. Last year, Crowe didn’t have to worry about Macca, and the year prior Stadler went out with a flat. That’s not even getting into nutrition or health issues competitors have. Seems every year at Kona 3-5 contenders have already lost the race before the gun even goes off.
Being on form he’s probably not on that level, and I think IMAZ is probably a better plan. He could be in the discussion in 2-3 years, but right now I think he’s in that tier right below Macca, Stadler, and Crowe.
