Fwiw IM has a policy where pros can ask them to race in an AG only event. I think it’s there for pros who might want to get in a race close to home that isn’t a pro race but it’s Anne Haug. I’m sure IM would let her race wherever
The LCB penalty in the 2019 70.3 Worlds was for remaking a pass too quickly, not for drafting.
It’s interesting to note that the first 27.8 km split for both the full distance and 70.3 distance took place on the same course, up the steep climbs out of Nice before diverging before the Vence climb. LCB was nearly 2 minutes faster on this section compared to Anne. It appears LCB went hard early to create a gap she thought she could ride comfortably with, but she lost a fair amount of time on the final descent. Poor riding skills or deliberately cautious? It’s interesting that she lost nearly no time on the technical descent midway through the course.
The run appears to be 500-600m short based on what I’ve seen on Strava. However, considering she had a toilet stop and gave high fives all the way to the finish, it probably evens out.
Fwiw IM has a policy where pros can ask them to race in an AG only event. I think it’s there for pros who might want to get in a race close to home that isn’t a pro race but it’s Anne Haug. I’m sure IM would let her race wherever
They are allowed to race out of competition and they have to pay for it . I very much doubt haug paid for it
She should not be in the result and you should only be able to find her if you search for her.
70.3 Mont Tremblant tomorrow
ST ‘front page’ preview here:
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...ies_Update_8975.html
though seems not aware of Sodaro’s withdrawal.
Sodaro said in a comment several days ago on insta, that she would not be starting.
Q: “will you be coming to Mont Tremblant next weekend ?”
chelseasodaro’s profile picture: “@mikeosbornetri sadly not this time!”
and is no longer shown on the start list:https://files.constantcontact.com/...596-7e05e499bcc5.pdf
So Findlay, fresh from her threepeat success at Saint-Georges, looks difficult to beat, on form.
Who knows whether Wurf will appear: he’s on so many start lists around the world.
As far as the IM Pro Series is concerned, of the top 6 (men or women) I guess Marquardt may feature (and get a Taupo slot) and Laundry intends to race IMLP, IM Frankfurt and IMWC. If he races all three well he’ll be right up there. Mont Tremblant is presumably to keep him warmed up for Lake Placid next month. Contrast this with Foley pulling out to keep his powder dry for IMLP.
Thorsten: https://www.trirating.com/…-june-23rd-seedings/
Gonna be miserable on the bike, low 60’s and 100% chance of rain. At least it won’t be windy.
2024 IRONMAN 70.3 Les Sables d’Olonne
Starting list is out. Once again, the SOF is way higher than for the US races 87 vs 83 for Boulder after Foley pulling out . I even would go as far as thinking it is almost unfair because europeans have it way harder to get a WC qualification /points than N. Americans. There is no way that Hanson would have won a 70.3 race in Europe as his poor results from last year showed (19th at the Championship and 29th at Taupo WC).
Anthony Costes may have made a wise bet by investing in a trip that earned him a decent score at Chattanooga and a WC qualification which may enable him to better his average score at St George where Long made it hard for everyone to get points. And he scored two good results for his Pto ranking whereas he had a hard time last year on the european circuit with middling results.
Someone like Guilloux who has had good results at 70.3 in the past in B races will have a tough time getting points in Les Sables when he is racing against Bogen 1st in Taupo, Keulen 6th Teagle 7th, Madsen 9th, plus, Hoffman, 13th, Azavedo 15th and Loeschke 18th. Not to mention Mann who won in Mallorca against a great 90.11 SOF. And there is this Iden guy who is currently ranked 585th in the world.
In Europe there are just so many guy who have competed in short course often through their national youth teams that there may always be a dark horse whereas in N. Am there are only ‘known quantities’ and fewer of them.
I do acknowledge that Long, Sander are world level athtletes and that Marquard is a great up and coming athlete who may have been able to factor in races in Europe. Hanson and Lieferman, not so much.
I guess next year, some contenders may cross the pond just for one 70.3 race which is quite a financial/organizational nightmare if everything does not go to plan.
Thanks for the preview. I really want a fairy tale Gustav win but I don’t think I’ll get it.
Iden will have his Taupo qualification and his Kona qualification as well since Les Sables will be his 2nd 70.3 after Warsaw. I think a lot of people are rooting for him as he will make the race better.
Another focus on the race will be Svenningson who has been one of the greatest rider for years. His win in S. Africa put him back in contention.
He will be part of a good pack of riders along with Wurf, Guilloux, Schuste plus Iden and Mignon a bit further in the field.
They will try to catch the pack of good swimmers : Bogen, Quenet,(his placing should make it easier to compare fields with N. Am races) Cecarelli , Thomas Mann
and there a few good full IM racers such as Petersen or Schuster to make it even trickier…
Fwiw:
Mallorca- 80.44 women/90.11 men
Hamburg- 80.81
Cairns- 78.73 women/82.82 men
Mont Tremblant- 88.35 women/84.81 men
St. George- 84.43 women/83.88 men
Oceanside- 89.21 women/85.32 men
It’s been talked, in depth, about how there are some flaws to SOF. It’s not a perfect metric. 87 doesn’t seem way ahead of Tremblant/Oceanside. Boulder/Chattanooga were, for sure, weaker. The women’s races in the US have certainly stacked up.
I think Hanson has the ability to surprise some people this year. Wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss him. The Pro Series isn’t just about 70.3 racing. He’ll turn in 3 quality 140.6’s.
I think that the numbers of races ‘raced’ need to be taken into account.
Hanson has already two very good 70.3 results whereas most contenders for the Pro Series only have one and can also benefit from the extra 500 points allocated at the WC (more points yet stronger field).
I do not quite agree that Hanson can have 3 good result as he only scored 4174 at Texas a favorite race of his, and has never had a good result at WC
If you only take into account the 1st IM and 1 70.3 here are the rankings
1 - Marquardt 2359+ 4608 = 6 997
2- Currie = 6 852
3- Barnaby = 6 691 But not KQ yet
4 - Hanson = 6 674
5- Lange = 6621 Lange - EDIT rectified after Ajax Bay post
6 - Schuster= 6 615
7 - Lieferman = 6 212
8- Skipper = 6 124
Les Sables will tell if Mignon and Guilloux can factor
Vitoria should have Laidlow, who has the potential to ‘do a Knibb’ and downgrade chances of scoring many points.
Trying to keep post to 1 theme
Regarding Start lists, here are those racing in the weeks to come according to their IG/ media. Please do chime in to include names i’ve forgotten/ do not know about
Vitoria: 3 slots - Laidlow (only needs validation), Bradley Weiss , Mc Namee , Petersen, Hogenhaug (?), Costes, Wurf ?
Placid: 4 slots - Sanders, Currie, Skipper, Hanson, Riele, Guilloux, Leiferman, Barnaby?
Frankfurt : 6 slots -Blum, Lange, Mignon, Rodriguez (?) Schuster, Wilkowiecki
No idea when/if Phillips and Burton will be racing a 2nd IM before Kona
Crazy that with those good fields, Roth will manage to have the greatest field close to Kona with many top contenders: Ditlev, Lange, Kyle Smith, Baekkegard, RVB, Chevalier, Mignon, Rodriguez, Heemeryck, Stratmann
9 of those in the top 20 in the TPO rankings! At the start of the year, many thought that Challenge would have a tough time. True the Challenge bonus does not have many famous names but Roth did make up for it and then some !
I don’t think it’s wrong to consider where everyone is at with 1 70.3/1 140.6. IM has been including # of 70.3/140.6 races in their recent standings graphics, which I think they should continue to do. The coming 140.6 & World Championship events will really mix things up/help decide things. But I do think people like Hanson who score at 3 full 140.6 races will be harder to catch if you score at 2 140.6 races & 3 70.3 races, even if the latter includes the 2 World Champs. Guess it just depends how well people like that fare at the World Champs. Would like to see Hanson do well. I’m just trying to say someone like Lionel will have a hard time winning the series with 2 140.6 results. & some big names will come over from T100 for the World Champs who will not have enough scores to finish high up in the standings. If those athletes win those events, they will start the points clock & make things interesting if there are some big gaps to current series leaders.
But I do think people like Hanson who score at 3 full 140.6 races will be harder to catch if you score at 2 140.6 races & 3 70.3 races, even if the latter includes the 2 World Champs//
I sad this way back when the series was first announced and how it would be scored. Got a lot of pushback too, but now you can all see that it is imperative that to do well you will have to do 3 fulls and 2 halfs to factor in the end scoring. Not sure why many did not see this, I mean it is double points for a full, you just cannot make that up. Even by winning all your half’s, it is just too many points differential…
So in the end you will have many lower level pros taking some very high spots just because of this. Guys like Lionel and we thought Sam Long, wont stand a chance because of the 3 Ironman requirement to get max points…
Even though there’s an extra 2000 pts on offer between Taupo/ Kona and a ‘normal’ race, agree with you generally.
but Matt’s Texas score wasnt great. Matt enters with 4174 from Texas vs 2500 from Lionel Oceanside and a 1600 pt advantage from his Ironman vs Lionel’s 70.3.
Someone check my math, but i think Lionel needs to put 28 min into Hanson between IM placid, IM Kona, Taupo 70.3.
There’s a world here he could do that. He will grab 15 of that gap straight away at Taupo.
I think that the numbers of races ‘raced’ need to be taken into account.
Hanson has already two very good 70.3 results whereas most contenders for the Pro Series only have one and can also benefit from the extra 500 points allocated at the WC (more points yet stronger field).
I do not quite agree that Hanson can have 3 good result as he only scored 4174 at Texas a favorite race of his, and has never had a good result at WC
If you only take into account the 1st IM and 1 70.3 here are the rankings
1- Marquardt 2359+ 4608 = 6 997
2- Currie = 6 852
3- Barnaby = 6 691 But not KQ yet
4 - Hanson = 6 674
5 - Schuster= 6 615
6 - Lieferman = 6 212
7 Skipper = 6 124
Les Sables will tell if Mignon and Guilloux can factor
Vitoria should have Laidlow, who has the potential to ‘do a Knibb’ and downgrade chances of scoring many points.Lange 6621 is a miss (above). If he ‘just’ races an IM and the IMWC (and podiums both: entirely likely) already has a score of circa 18,800.
Hanson could be heading for 19,000.
An athlete who wins 3 70.3s and goes top 6 in an IM and the IMWC scores about 18,300 (who dat?).
https://proseries.ironman.com/standings#4257225834-447990823
Someone check my math, but i think Lionel needs to put 28 min into Hanson between IM placid, IM Kona, Taupo 70.3.//
And if that happens, someone else, actually several someone else’s will take over the top spots. Unless you think the entire Ironman fields are going to implode and leave it wide open for a 3 half 2 full guy…
And to those throwing out places, please get off of that for this series, makes not one iota of difference. PTO is all about place, but this series is all about time. You could literally get 10t place and lose only 20 points. Not likely, but that is my point, time is everything from winner. Will be funny when Knibb shows up to the WC in Taupo and could really be the spoiler for a lot of ladies hopes. Like she did easily in oceanside, she makes the race for 2nd more like a race for 20th in other venues…
You were right, i had forgotten Lange in my ranking so the ranking on the previous page is updated and Lange ranks 5th in the 1IM + 1 70.3 ranking.
To be clear all those included in this ranking are those who dare chasing the Pro Series and who have said that they would race 3 Full which indeed bolster their chances. A couple of names can be included, some (few) have raced 1 or 2 70.3 but no Full and may go up after Vitoria or Placid: Costes, Hogenhaug, Petersen (and they will need to race both Frankfurt and Kona and possibly Taupo)
Let’s say that Sanders wins Placid and Taupo (unlikely if H. Wilde races) that would give him 13 000 points before Kona (i do know that Taupo is after just playing with numbers for the sake of it)
Lange has 8 235 points with both (mediocre) 70.3 with a 5’ buffer at Frankfurt, that would give him 12 935 so it might be close but Sanders would need great races. Yet, if desperate Lange could race 70.3 W Australia in December but that would be a hell of a trip ‘just’ for a 70.3. The 2 remaining 70.3 in Europe are only 1 (Tallin) and 2 (Zell Am See) weeks after Frankfurt making it tough for those racing there to get a good result before Kona.
The rankings as it is flawed because only N. Am athletes have raced 2 or more 70.3
So far very few have raced 2 70.3 and a Full : Lopes, Leiferman, Lange (one of those whose pockets were deep enough to afford to race Oceanside)
and some even 3 70.3 and a Full : Hanson, Sczuch
one has raced 4 70.3 : Riele
and one 2 IM Aussie N. Thompson.
Actually a bold sneaky way to go for the Series would be for, say Mike Phillips, currently ranked 22th to score 2 good scores at a IM and Kona and then jump ahead of many by racing 70.3 West Australia and Taupo for which he is already qualified when few will be able to improve their scoring.
Just showing that the current ranking must be taken with a grain of salt.
To me Marquard who has no clear weakness is a much better contender than Hanson. Texas showed that he may hang with an Uberbiker like Kallin which is easier when you race from the front.
Those racing from the back, Sanders, Chevallier, Burton or Svenningson will have it tougher in a field with great swimbikers like Laidlow at the front who is able to ride as fast as them.
Just replying to the last post in the thread. Looking through the results, and its crazy that Findlay and Pallant-Browne are both behind Salthouse by a decent margin at the current state of the series.
Findlay has 2x 1st places and a 3rd place at Oceanside
Pallant-Browne has 2x 1st places and a 2nd at Oceanside
Salthouse has 1x 1st Place, a 2nd, and a 3rd.
All else equal, you’d expect Findlay and Pallant-Browne to have more points, as they’re both maxed out 2x races vs 1x race for Salthouse.
The difference is entirely due to Taylor Knibb completely dominating Oceanside. Usually 2nd place gets around 2,200 or so points, give or take, but with Knibb at Oceanside it was 1,848. I guess the lesson here is to race against Knibb at your own peril if you want any kind of standing in the pro series.
Feel like whole numbers are easiest to deal with:
Athlete A (Hanson type, 3x 140.6, 2x 70.3): 4100, 4100, 5100, 2500, 2800 (18.6k)
Athlete B (Sanders type, 2x 140.6, 3x 70.3): 5000, 6000, 2500, 2500, 3000 (19k)
Athlete B scores higher but Athlete A’s results are much more realistic. I gave Athlete B full points at 70.3/140.6 Worlds & I gave Athlete A reasonable results at the same races. I think a Sanders type will come close but I think whoever turns in 3 consistent 140.6 results will place quite well. & I don’t really have an issue with that. IM set the rules. Personally, I think 3 140.6s is a lot in a season but everyone knows there are more points available if you do well at that distance.
Feel like whole numbers are easiest to deal with:
Athlete A (Hanson type, 3x 140.6, 2x 70.3): 4100, 4100, 5100, 2500, 2800 (18.6k)
Athlete B (Sanders type, 2x 140.6, 3x 70.3): 5000, 6000, 2500, 2500, 3000 (19k)
Athlete B scores higher but Athlete A’s results are much more realistic. I gave Athlete B full points at 70.3/140.6 Worlds & I gave Athlete A reasonable results at the same races. I think a Sanders type will come close but I think whoever turns in 3 consistent 140.6 results will place quite well. & I don’t really have an issue with that. IM set the rules. Personally, I think 3 140.6s is a lot in a season but everyone knows there are more points available if you do well at that distance.
You can almost hear Frodeno whispering in Sanders’ ear: “Do you want to win the Pro Series, or do you want to win Kona?”