That was pretty exciting watching the final few miles of Schildnecht’s sub 8. Pretty well a solo race for the sub 8, without any questionable course lengths and “favourable Tzones”. Nice job!!! Compared to watching Crowie and Ralaert in Kona, who look like they were sprinting in Kona, Schildnecht, just looks like he is jogging while doing is 2:43 run
…he just said that he was doing 300-320W for the first three hours and then stopped looking at wattage and went on feel for the rest! Aparently he did not realize he was on sub 8 pace until he came into the final chute. Very nice!
That’s fast. Kind of surprised. Although, unless he can back that up with a solid showing in Kona, it will be a footnote in triathlon history, much like DNF Marino this year
Ohh you are so right, JRenfro, and just to add to your comment we all know that Schildknecht had the biggest tailwind of all times all the way on the bike and he only rode half the course, not to mention the fact that he was in a major pack drafting all day long.
Typical European approach. Will they never learn?
My only Q is: Who ran the marathon for him? Certainly a European cannot run a 2.43 marathon… and not on US ground - there’s a law against that,!
I trained with Ronnie a few times while he was here, and found him in great shape and more importantly, very relaxed. Even got him to enjoy quite a few Shiner Bocks, which may have been the secret to his sub 8 A class act and super friendly guy, who is very generous (told me after a ride that I put him is real difficulty on one of the climbs, riiiiiiiigggghhhhht!)
Better to be a footnote in triathlon history than simply talking about triathlon on a forum. Only on ST are the performances judged by what happens on a rock in the Pacific. It may suprise you, but in Europe all triathlon performances are taken seriously, which could explain why they are so good at it.
Didn’t say he didn’t do the work or deserved to be as fast as he was. Clearly a talented athlete. However, like most sports unless one can back performances in the championship, other wins don’t matter to the masses and sponsors as much.
Agree. Nice to see it done on a course known to be accurate.
I’m wondering about this. Looks like pro run times were way faster across the board than ever before on a run course that’s never been particularly fast, despite being flat (perhaps because it was indeed accurate. Just looked at the race website and see the course has changed. So no doubt some great efforts today, but I do question the accuracy of the course. Unfortunate part of this sport.
Sponsor dollars talk. Look at the athletes getting the sponsorship money. Kona winners. Maybe we should ask Rappstar. He is a multi time IM winner. Compare his sponsorship Dollar profile to IM Kona winners.
If I be wrong then so be it. Just show me where the money goes.
So you think it is all about money? Success is not judged by what a bunch of marketing men, who have probably never done an IM in their lives, think athletes are worth. Winning Kona may make you more marketable to non-triathletes, but is not the best judgement of an athletes performances.
As stated in previous threads, Kona suits a particular type of athlete and so should not be the be all in judging performances. A good reason for moving the World Championships around the world.
I am saying in this day and age, it is all about Kona. Unless an athlete backs up performances in Kona, then in the annals of sports history it just isn’t as impressive.
Just like other sports. Unless, people are going up against the best, i.e., in the championship, their performance isn’t considered as notable.
Look at those decathletes in some olympic. they were the us favorites, one of the guys has the world record, but he could qualify for the olympics. Footnote in history.
Same happens in other sports. Was the performance impressive, yes. In historical context, may not mean as much unless backed up in Kona.
actually I think you’re brutally wrong on that count. I would bet Rapp pulls in better dollars than many athletes with more kona success because of factors having nothing to do with swimming biking and running.
Only in the USA is it all about Kona! This is obviously the view that the WTC want to perpetuate. It will be interesting to see what happens if the likes of Challenge attempt to put on a credible alternative.
A class act and super friendly guy, who is very generous (told me after a ride that I put him is real difficulty on one of the climbs, riiiiiiiigggghhhhht!)