Those are totally amazing paces for a brick in training!!!
Heart: Sandwrs or Ditlev
Mind: Blu or Laidlow
Last two that has a chance: lange/iden
I dont see anyone outside that bunch have a chance to win
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This is nuts even if you consider the passive breaks he took (half an hour total on the bike, 10 minutes on the run). The breaks are probably why he did the workout. Otherwise it would be just silly. And the run portion reminds me that a 2:46 marathon is not close to race pace for Blu 
The hard āifā in that is that Sanders will be in T1 5 minutes after Ditlev, and then Ditlev will outbike him with letĀ“s say 8-10 minuesā¦ 
He is from Albacete, a place in which is normal 35-40Ā°C in summer
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Yes - and close to 0% humidity. Nothing to do with the conditions in Big Island ā¦ trust me
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Actually several weaker swimmers are also good riders: guys like Chevalier, Foley, Burton, Lieferman, Laundry, Horseau; Svenningsson if/when healthy has to be regarded as one of the top riders in any race.
Yet, as good as they may be, Laidlow and Ditlev are just as good if not better!
That is also how i see the race unfold in the swim. Koolhaas may be the best swimmer in the field and is likely to push the pace
On the other end, Ditlev has shown in T100 races that he has really improved and should be in the front pack too with Blum and Iden.
The front pack seems to be growing with guys like Kanute, Stepniak, Currie, Appleton, Chevrot, Benito and Petersen likely to be in the group.
Then there are several guys who may or may not make the group ; Rudy, Lindars, Mc Namee. Kallin, Hogenhaug and Mignon being the strongest riders in this group
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Yeah Blu did that ride on Lake Mary Road in Flagstaff. Itās very fast, pretty flat, and at 7200 feet. You do ride noticeably quicker at that elevation due to less wind resistance.
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Eneko was 2nd in 2008. Virginia Berasategi was 3rd in 2009, then in 2013 she tested positive.
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Yes I do 
At sea level, the air density ārhoā is approximately 1.225 kg/mĀ³.
At 7,200 feet (2,195 meters), the air density drops to about 0.9 kg/mĀ³.
This represents a reduction of about 26.5% in air density.
Since drag force is directly proportional to air density, a 26.5% reduction in air density leads to approximately the same reduction in wind resistance. Therefore, at 7,200 feet, you would experience about 26.5% less wind resistance compared to sea level.
Using the air density ratio, if you are pedaling at 300 watts to maintain 40 km/h at sea level, you would go approximately 43.5 km/h at 7,200 feet, based on the relationship between air density, power, and speed.
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Aaaaand ā¦ Laidlow trolling
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It seems that Idenās 56/16 would be more productive at this stage. Blu already did a full ādistance training day in Frankfurtā!!! Even if he is jogging around at 2:46 pace for a marathon in training that stil adds up !!! The guy is amazing. I do hope he can win this to add to his St. George 2022 140.6 worlds win.
How hily was the 117 mile ride. It was at Flagstaff, so although at elevation and faster the place is not flat!!!
Does anyone know when they come down from elevation down to Kona humidity. I remember years ago Pauli Kiuru was training in Flagstaff before Kona and his coach said they left coming down to sea level to ātoo lateā for all the blood plasma adaptation effects at humidity in the heat.
But at 7200 ft you are getting consid less oxygen that at sea level, which counteracts the lower air density. IIRC, in the '68 Oly in Mexico City which is at about 7350 ft, the big WR was Bob Beamonās 29ā2" long jump, which is obviously a very fast-twitch event. There were also longstanding WRs set in the 100, 200, and 400 m running events but still, these are fast-twitch events. I donāt think anyone in the endurance events set any WRs.
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Yes there is the less O2 factor to consider. But with Blu he was staying aerobic and not in a racing zone for this, so not as much as if it were an actual race. And of course when you have a 105 VO2 max, well that altitude is Childs playā¦ (-;
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Isnāt there also a factor that you have less O2 when itās humid? So in Kona for example less O2 than in Nice.
Yeah as @monty said staying at a comfortable effort at altitude is pretty similar to sea level as far as RPE. I train a lot during the summer at 6200 feet and feel fine on bike run, itās the swim where you notice the altitude.
Ya, I have SBRād a good bit at 5000-6000 ft and def the swim is where I feel it. My times are pretty similar to sea level but I just feel a bit more short of breath, prob b/c you can only breath when your stroke allows it. I canāt recall doing any backstroke though which would be kind of a ācontrolā since you can breath as often as you like.
