https://www.instagram.com/p/C9w7HQzNSOM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.
New coach, new bike, lots of changes recently. Hopefully she can regain her 2022 Kona form. Wonder if Canyon was just a cash grab after the Kona win, and not the best bike for her.
Pretty strange mid-season
.
I think the difficulties of all the media and pressure to always perform one way or another for the camera really screw some athletes up.
Even if they avoid the media that becomes the story (Max Neumann).
Chelsea probably feels like her life was under a microscope, even that’s not entirely true, but the pressure to perform, be authentic, while feeling all eyes on you is pretty tough if you factor in the reality of the difficulties of life and relationships, family etc into the mix.
I’m assuming there were lots of things Canyon wasn’t happy with. It’s interesting if there’s something Chelsea wasn’t happy with her Canyon though. She had a pretty crappy bike and complained, was it knee or calf issues(?) in Kona. Then ran great.
Then had some other issues on the bike in Singapore where she just looked very uncomfortable that led to her dropping out mid bike.
Any bike fitters with Canyon experience care to chime in if they see some issues with certain athletes and Canyon?
I believe it’s a problem with shorter women and the tri bike. It was designed around Jan as an xl so it can’t be shrunk down to an xs without having to run 650b wheels. Its crazy that someone like Imogen symmonds who is close to 6 feet tall rides the same size frame as someone like Chelsea who is under 5’6â€.
Given the mid-season timing in I’m guessing she asked to be released from her contract early and Canyon agreed? She won Kona on a BMC (well, she won Kona on the run, but you know what I mean) and hasn’t had any really great results since signing with Canyon. She looked really uncomfortable on the bike in Singapore. It would make sense that however great a bike it might be for someone else, she just couldn’t make it work for her for whatever reason and needed to make a change.
Kat Matthews (also ex BMC now Canyon) and her husband Mark both posted a pro-Canyon story on Instagram shortly after Chelsea’s post so who knows what is going on behind the scenes though.
That’s not great.
Immogen and Chelsea are not the same size humans.
I’m zero percent surprised that a TT bike fails to fit anyone under 5’9" or those with long legs/short torso.
I believe it’s a problem with shorter women and the tri bike. It was designed around Jan as an xl so it can’t be shrunk down to an xs without having to run 650b wheels. Its crazy that someone like Imogen symmonds who is close to 6 feet tall rides the same size frame as someone like Chelsea who is under 5’6â€.
Doesn’t Kat Matthews also ride a Canyon? She doesn’t seem to be all that tall. This is a bizarre situation midseason (Last I can remember is Crowie and Orbea). Did Chelsea not know her fit coordinates before signing the Canyon contract? Or could she not fulfill the obligations of the contract? Will she continue to ride an unbranded Canyon, switch back to her old BMC or ride something new? Interesting to see what she will be riding in London. I wish her the best as she’s had a tough year.
I believe it’s a problem with shorter women and the tri bike. It was designed around Jan as an xl so it can’t be shrunk down to an xs without having to run 650b wheels. Its crazy that someone like Imogen symmonds who is close to 6 feet tall rides the same size frame as someone like Chelsea who is under 5’6â€.Doesn’t Kat Matthews also ride a Canyon? She doesn’t seem to be all that tall. This is a bizarre situation midseason (Last I can remember is Crowie and Orbea). Did Chelsea not know her fit coordinates before signing the Canyon contract? Or could she not fulfill the obligations of the contract? Will she continue to ride an unbranded Canyon, switch back to her old BMC or ride something new? Interesting to see what she will be riding in London. I wish her the best as she’s had a tough year.Sodaro is 2" taller than Matthews so the ‘Canyon can’t make a small enough frame’ is questionable to the point of fake news.
Matthews’ Canyon seems to be working OK for her. Both were on the BMCProTri team in October 2022 and obv riding BMC bikes: Sodaro to victory, Matthews one was well broken by a SMIDSY pensioner in Texas ten days before.
I just want to see Sodaro (riding whatever) finish a regular season race well after her early antipodean start to 2024.
I don’t see it. She looks just as dialed in on the Canyon as she was on the BMC when she won Kona. 5’6" is short but not that short. Quick scan of the bike geometry indicates it is not way out of range for someone her size.
I suspect this is a $$ issue. Perhaps a Kona champion kind of contract, after almost two years of plenty of DNFs and zero wins (someone correct me if I am wrong), it might not be a good deal for Canyon anymore. Social media wise, I am of the opinion that she doesn’t have the most charismatic personality to easily attract a lot of fans.
Despite not being my favorite athlete, but being a fan of the sport, I do hope she manages to turn things around once she gets a bit more sugar in.
As someone who knows most of the details of the situation I can assure you it was not a money issue but a bike fit issue.
Zero wins? She won 70.3 Tasmania this year and won IM New Zealand this year while setting a course record. Maybe do some research?
And yes maybe she doesn’t attract the same fans as some but she has a whole horde of women that come up to her each race wanting to take photos while almost crying so I think she has a decent base.
As someone who knows most of the details of the situation I can assure you it was not a money issue but a bike fit issue.
^^^^ this
As someone who knows most of the details of the situation I can assure you it was not a money issue but a bike fit issue.
Zero wins? She won 70.3 Tasmania this year and won IM New Zealand this year while setting a course record. Maybe do some research?
And yes maybe she doesn’t attract the same fans as some but she has a whole horde of women that come up to her each race wanting to take photos while almost crying so I think she has a decent base.
Unlike plenty of ST folks that beat flawed arguments to death, I am happy to stand corrected, yes I did just did a quick scan of results but only got some North American results.
Really curious to see her new bike position.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C9w7HQzNSOM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Who is her new bike sponsor? Wonder what she is riding in London. Who is her new coach?
As someone who knows most of the details of the situation I can assure you it was not a money issue but a bike fit issue.
Zero wins? She won 70.3 Tasmania this year and won IM New Zealand this year while setting a course record. Maybe do some research?
And yes maybe she doesn’t attract the same fans as some but she has a whole horde of women that come up to her each race wanting to take photos while almost crying so I think she has a decent base.
Are you able to elaborate on the bike fit issues? I don’t see any glaring issues with her position on the canyon… it actually looks pretty good aesthetically. Curious to know what the underlying issues are. We know that bike lacks pad x. Hence why almost every canyon athlete has to run custom bars to get that extra pad x.
I think it’s the terse statement on instagram that raises more questions than answers and suggest some kind of falling out. Seems like that could have been avoided with a little more finessing - “this was the bike that propelled me to the course record at IM NZ, provided several beautiful bespoke paint jobs†etc etc etc
Really curious to see her new bike position.
She works with Ivan O’Gorman out of Boulder.
**As someone who knows most of the details of the situation I can assure you it was not a money issue but a bike fit issue. **
Zero wins? She won 70.3 Tasmania this year and won IM New Zealand this year while setting a course record. Maybe do some research?
And yes maybe she doesn’t attract the same fans as some but she has a whole horde of women that come up to her each race wanting to take photos while almost crying so I think she has a decent base.
out of interest why a mid season change.
**As someone who knows most of the details of the situation I can assure you it was not a money issue but a bike fit issue. **
Zero wins? She won 70.3 Tasmania this year and won IM New Zealand this year while setting a course record. Maybe do some research?
And yes maybe she doesn’t attract the same fans as some but she has a whole horde of women that come up to her each race wanting to take photos while almost crying so I think she has a decent base.
out of interest why a mid season change.
If she’s that uncomfortable on it, she’s trying to salvage the season.
**As someone who knows most of the details of the situation I can assure you it was not a money issue but a bike fit issue. **
Zero wins? She won 70.3 Tasmania this year and won IM New Zealand this year while setting a course record. Maybe do some research?
And yes maybe she doesn’t attract the same fans as some but she has a whole horde of women that come up to her each race wanting to take photos while almost crying so I think she has a decent base.
out of interest why a mid season change.
If she’s that uncomfortable on it, she’s trying to salvage the season.
When it doesn’t work, it just doesn’t work. I’m very curious to see what bike is going to be her pick.