His agent needs some cash to pay for the cycling races he organizes now 
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We’re giving out a free entry to Roth in 2027 for one lucky winner selected by playing podium picks this week.
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Is the prize for holding the news about Lucy? 
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I was thinking that this Roth field might be the best chance to beat KB and expose his “weaknesses” all year. You have Shomberg, Laidlow, and Bogen who will want to hammer the swim and gap KB out of the water, which I think is very well doable since KB’s missed a few front packs the last 2 years. Then on the bike, presumably Laidlow and Bogen will work together to ride insnanely hard and put as much time into KB as possible. Meanwhile KB has no Norwegians to work with (unless either suddenly show up), and no one else apart from Magnus in his swim pack to really help keep the pace high and minimize time gaps (and after Magnus got dropped in Frankfurt, I’m not confident he’ll be much help). So it’s easy to see a world where Laidlow and Bogen enter T2 with 10 mins or more on KB- meaning he’d have to run potentially well into the 2:20s to have a shot. Which he should be able to do, but will he have his full run legs if he pretty much has to push hard by himself the whole time on the bike trying to mime time gap?
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I am starting to think so too. But it is Kristian Blummenfelt. He cares about the fastest time record, the first thing he ssaid to me in Texas after the win was at least I am faster than the Roth time that magnus did now!
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Oh I don’t doubt that the winner will beat the Iron distance record this weekend! If the conditions hold I expect both KB and Laidlow to go under that the record.
I think the main question have is how fit (especially run fit) KB is. Because if he’s Geelong/Oceanside fit, I honestly think he could run 2:25 off the bike in which case Laidlow is pretty much cooked. But his main goal is Kona, and from Strava it doesn’t look like the Norwegians had the same intensity in this recent training block as pre-season. Laidlow I feel confident is going in quite fit, and a little weakness from KB in fitness or tactics could definitely allow him to win.
Rico Bogen is super interesting as well- I just don’t think from what we’ve seen in 70.3s and T100s that he’ll hold on the run to win (my guess is low-mid 2:40s marathon for him). But he changes the game because it’s basically Sam Laidlow x2 on the swim/bike!
and Bogen 
Yeah, it’ll be like when Macca organized a bike group in Kona to drop Crowie and put enough time into him so he couldn’t run them down.
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that is certainly a possibility, for sunday. and personally while I think it will be tight, blu is not going to win. and if its anon wetsuit what it looks like that might be the final straw against 3 really good swimmer.
unless laidlow swims like in nice and plays domestique for blu.
Certain to be a non wetsuit swim for the Pros. From FW’s updates the water may drop below the amateur optional threshold.
It was 12oC at dawn today, forecast cool tonight (<15oC) and down to 11oC on Friday night and there’s water traffic.
Update Friday am - Felix is dumping ice in the canal!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DaUWA1AsLA_/
6:30am messrs Schomburg, Laidlow, Koolhaas and Bogen will create and elite FP and three (maybe not Koolhaas) will hit the bike as if their race depended on it. Laidlow ran 2:37 here last year. We’ll see what the gap is after the first lap (of two).
Will Blummenfelt feel he can give them 5 minutes, to make a race of it? Will Lange still be in touch?
Seven minutes later LCB will spear off with Langridge, Davies and Siffert together (or not), before Matthews hoves into view maybe with Hofmann.
LCB will want to get at least a 6 minute gap, and all the swimming she did (when she could not run before Easter) suggests she will on fire. She swam 49 in 2019 here, two minutes slower than her sub-47 in 2018. A key indicator in the first hour of how the race will progress is how much time LCB puts into Matthews on the bike by Obermässing (48km).
I note Keinle is commentating: he won here in 2018.
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For North American viewers, Broadcast is on the Youtube?
is he not commentating on german tv as usual?
Bob is rattling through his interviews. Take your pick.
Slowtwitch interviews will, I assume, follow on insta.
Copying this. I assume correct.
Catch every second live & free!
Sun July 5, 2026 | 
From 06:15 CEST (starts at 6:30 and 6:37)
Worldwide English livestream on YouTube (no geo-blocking) from 6:15 CEST (0415 GMT/UTC)
Hosted by Belinda Granger and Sebastian Kienle
Live TV coverage on BR Fernsehen from 06:15–11:00 and 12:00–15:30 CEST
With Dirk Froberg, Timo_Bracht & Tobias Barnerssoi
Live coverage on Das Erste from 13:20-14:00 and 14:15–14:45 CEST
German livestream on sportschau & br24sport
Available in 180+ countries via DAZN, Olympic Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Prime Video, Plex and others
Download the DATEV Challenge Roth App for live tracking, results and race updates.
Find all live features: Live - DATEV Challenge Roth - We are triathlon
Bike course (note elevation).
https://www.challenge-roth.com/files/downloads/Streckeninfo/challenge_roth_radstrecke_A4.pdf
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@Ironmandad has published a chat with Thorsten Radde - trirating.
Agree 100%. Keep in mind that, while Roth is important, the big dance is in October. Whatever the gap there, if it’s more than 10 minutes, LCB will have to consciously decide what pace she sets in the first 15km, and with no competitive IM finishes since her win in 2023 (running 2:57 injured, being chased down by Haug). Sunday will offer data to help her determine that. She has more to gain from this race than Matthews who already knows off an easyish bike she can run 2:47 in Kona.
The disruptors in Kona to these two, of course, will be Knibb and Loevseth. LCB buried herself last year after a hard bike, catching up to Knibb far quicker than necessary (by top Palani at 10km) and cooked herself as a result. Or maybe she realised that the actual challenge was behind her: Loevseth only 4 minutes down, who (she knew) had two x 2:46s, including the slow IMLP run course. (Less clear if Philipp and Derron wil be up there.)
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timo bracht is always the commentator for roth on German tv
and sebi has commentated with Belinda in roth .
The coverage starts at 6:15 for a 6:30 start. At the same time, across the pond:
There is a very important person who has promised to give an extra long speech, so much longer than any previous President so >75 minutes, to ‘show he can’, in Washington DC late on Saturday evening at the unbelievably successful USA 250 ‘Fair’. EST is 6 hours behind CEST.
So the July 4th fireworks, which will not start until the huge audience has completed their long applause, will be set off almost simultaneously with the Challenge Roth starting pistol.
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Can you preface that with “IMO”
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There is no IMO. Roth is a fun to do, but it is not Kona, and you know this.
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kona is just the championship for the most humid ironman.
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Clearly I Could, but would you consider that ‘added value’?
I am also reflecting what both LCB and Matthews have said, explicitly.
I share your implied opinion that a world champs should not be raced in adverse environmental conditions (or at least only occasionally), but triathlon has this baked in ‘suffering in the heat is good sport’ fetish.
PTN pod/live ‘show’ with Keinle, Granger, Haug and Smith: