I stand corrected. In forgot about her.
She did have an incredible race.
i think hunter’s just ITU-focused, and so whatever the race, that’s what he’s going to ride. while i understand this, i don’t agree with the reasoning. even pure bike racers are adept at moving to a TT bike and position for one day out of many, and their mass start positions, equipment, technique, and performances do not suffer.
therefore, i think what we see is a limitation in his sophistication as a triathlete.
this isn’t to take anything away from his abilities as an ITU athlete, or his professionalism in any other aspect of or approach to his job. it’s just a limitation, no different than a really good bike racer who just hasn’t yet gotten his arms around timed racing.
furthermore, i think greg bennett, as fast as he is during timed race events, still leaves a lot on the table because he’s not listening to the best people. there are still too many pros who’re out there taking less-than-optimal advice, or taking only their own counsel.
Every time I see Greg Bennett’s position I cringe. Not to mention he’s on one of the least aerodynamic TT bikes on the market (along with Craig Alexander). He’s leaving a lot of time on the table, especially for someone who’s such a talented athlete.
i don’t think his frame is a liability. starykowicz rode the same frame and did fine, as he did against a world class field in abu dhabi. the differences in peripherals (wheels, aerobars) will more than make up for anything that frame loses to other frames. but what trumps everything is the position.
it’s my guess greg is easily riding with a needless extra pound of drag at 40k speed, that is to say, he could probably ride with more power, more comfort, and still get rid of an extra 500 grams of drag at race speed.
First out of the water and a super fast runner, he conceded that race on the bike.
Maybe, but I’m not so sure. Chrabot ran nearly 2 minutes faster than Kemper on the 10k. And, as we all know, “you can’t win the race in the swim, but you can lose it”. Chrabot’s swim time was only a few seconds slower than Kemper’s. So, they were essentially even starting out on the bike. And, I would surmise from watching some ITU racing, Chrabot is a stronger cyclist than Kemper as I’ve seen him try many times to break away from the pack in ITU races. Kemper… not so much.
Sure, we could say that Kemper didn’t run as hard as he could have since he knew he had lost the race, but Chicago pays out to the top 10 pro’s. So, I would think he would continue to run hard to try to get as much of a chunk of the prize purse as he can… unless Wheaties is writing him big checks and he doesn’t need the prize money.
No doubt that Kemper would have had a better chance at the win in a more aero position, but if you look at the results, I just don’t think it was his day. But heck, he STILL averaged 26.9 mph on that bike for the 40k TT, which is just ridiculous.
First out of the water and a super fast runner, he conceded that race on the bike.
Maybe, but I’m not so sure. Chrabot ran nearly 2 minutes faster than Kemper on the 10k. And, as we all know, “you can’t win the race in the swim, but you can lose it”. Chrabot’s swim time was only a few seconds slower than Kemper’s. So, they were essentially even starting out on the bike. And, I would surmise from watching some ITU racing, Chrabot is a stronger cyclist than Kemper as I’ve seen him try many times to break away from the pack in ITU races. Kemper… not so much.
Sure, we could say that Kemper didn’t run as hard as he could have since he knew he had lost the race, but Chicago pays out to the top 10 pro’s. So, I would think he would continue to run hard to try to get as much of a chunk of the prize purse as he can… unless Wheaties is writing him big checks and he doesn’t need the prize money.
No doubt that Kemper would have had a better chance at the win in a more aero position, but if you look at the results, I just don’t think it was his day. But heck, he STILL averaged 26.9 mph on that bike for the 40k TT, which is just ridiculous.
Or he didn’t run as hard as he could have cause this weeks payout is significantly higher than last weeks and running extra hard to move up a couple spots in chicago could have him loosing a lot more money this weekend.
You do understand that the whole TT bike thing is mostly marketing, right? Depending on course and rider comfort, a ITU setup can easily be faster for a pro or AGer. TT bikes look cool, but in reality, even in the conditions most meant for them, only save seconds or maybe a minute or so in a long distance race. You slap on some nice race wheels and an aero helmet on an ITU setup and really, there is extremely little difference.
You do understand that the whole TT bike thing is mostly marketing, right? Depending on course and rider comfort, a ITU setup can easily be faster for a pro or AGer. TT bikes look cool, but in reality, even in the conditions most meant for them, only save seconds or maybe a minute or so in a long distance race. You slap on some nice race wheels and an aero helmet on an ITU setup and really, there is extremely little difference.
Wrong.
You do understand that the whole TT bike thing is mostly marketing, right? Depending on course and rider comfort, a ITU setup can easily be faster for a pro or AGer. TT bikes look cool, but in reality, even in the conditions most meant for them, only save seconds or maybe a minute or so in a long distance race. You slap on some nice race wheels and an aero helmet on an ITU setup and really, there is extremely little difference.
Um no and the math and data prove that. There are very few courses where a tri bike is not faster, hy-vee this year may and i do mean may be one of the few.
Someone may have mentioned it already, but Hunter believes that bike choice matters from a preparation standpoint (I disagree, and I’ve told him as much and why - if joint angles are roughly the same, it doesn’t matter, because pedaling a bike is the same biomechanically in the TT position or road position). In the past, when Hunter has chosen to ride his road bike at non-drafting races, it’s because he has a draft-legal race coming up that he feels is more important (in this case, Beijing WCS), and he wants to race on the bike that he will race there. I think it’s a poor decision, but that’s his logic, and I do understand - conceptually - why he does it. I just disagree.
And here she is at Wildflower a few months later…road bike must not have been that great…
Jodie seems to be the go to argument about how riding a road bike is “just as good” or “good enough”. Just like Chrissie and Craig are the go to argument on how the best aero setup doesn’t always win…Or how you don’t “need” the best setup in order to win.
The bottom line is that if you want to give yourself the best chance to win, prior to the race, you should run the best setup you can. As you can see from the photo below, Jodie has a long way to go to achieve that…
Someone may have mentioned it already, but Hunter believes that bike choice matters from a preparation standpoint (I disagree, and I’ve told him as much and why - if joint angles are roughly the same, it doesn’t matter, because pedaling a bike is the same biomechanically in the TT position or road position). In the past, when Hunter has chosen to ride his road bike at non-drafting races, it’s because he has a draft-legal race coming up that he feels is more important (in this case, Beijing WCS), and he wants to race on the bike that he will race there. I think it’s a poor decision, but that’s his logic, and I do understand - conceptually - why he does it. I just disagree.
I was going to mention the Beijing WCS race but unless I missed it on the start list he’s not racing it.
Perhaps, since he is an ITU racer he rides / races a road bike most of the time and that is what he is most comfortable and fastest on. Just a thought.
Thats what they said. He was doing way better than the other tribikes out there.
Right before the race I said to Hunter, ridin’ the road bike huh. His response: “yea, I haven’t been on the TT bike all year” (as in, in training or racing). Sums it up. Do what your body is used to… it’s what is comfortable, and comfort for most people will allow them to ride the bike fastest. If you’re not comfortable on it nor handling it, it may not help.