She stopped at least twice if I recall from the video. Seemed like a flat then a wheel change. Maybe her rim was damaged
Haug must have the worst mechanical luck of any triathlete ever!
In my experience itâs usually is not bad luck. Some people are not very good with materialsâŚ
Youâre American arenât you?
It shows every time you accuse everyone else of getting moto escorts but not your favourite.
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The challenge in San Francisco was the 6am start time⌠that was a tough ask to get volunteers out there so early on a cold and chilly morning⌠obviously the crowds built as the morning wore on and it was a very solid crowd by the time athletes were on the run course.
Thatâs a bizarre connection, and from an ethnocentric mindâŚ?
But there is one truth to be had. Where I noticed the moto escort was literally the flashing red (white) and blue sirens of a moto up front. Iâm not sure if it was there all the time, but the reason why I pointed it out is my mind was drawn right to the flashing lights that I didnât notice with Knibb. Maybe they were there? I did see a huge van that pulled in front of her at one point, so that could explain why they might have asked for an escort that wasnât there earlier. Or maybe I just missed it.
Itâs certainly not that I was worried that Knibb was somehow cheated out of a moto and the front group biking away from Long did have one. Although⌠now that -you- bring up nationality⌠my typing this reply recalls the number of times Jack (I think) brought up the fact that the Europeans were dominating the podium and there were no Americans up top. That seems a little bizarre and frankly stupid although I do suppose there are those in the T100 who have literally spent millions in an attempt to build an entire narrative around nationalism.
I watched the PTO Las Vegas (with no sound) while cycling today. It looked like San Long was having a panic attack early in the swim, or heâs got an upper body injury and canât really pull with any power
Has he commented on his swim?
Some random observations on the T100:
- Did anyone watch on Youtube and again see the constant trolling by a few people, one in particular âZviâ. I know you can block people in the live chat but the amount of hate and stuff being spewed towards American athletes, Lionel and Talbot was once again way way over the top with about every 10th comment being from that person.
- Field size: with the number of DNSâs and DNFâs the field size seems ridiculously small. I feel sorry for those proâs outside of the top 5 or so, it would be a pretty lonely race.
- Sam Long: it seems insane that he continues to be spat out the back of the swim so much and doesnât seem to be making any headway into being able to not suck as much (yes, he would smash most of us age groupers with his swim times in the pool etc but there is a gulf between him and the (mid) packs in the swim. Does he need an interventional aka like Chelsea had with her swim by Paul Newsome??
Zvi is a common Israeli name, yet this dude had the Palestinian flag as his avatar. The level of hate and trolling right now is insane and the social platforms are either incapable of controlling it or outright encourage it to incite people and get more advertising clicks.
I didnât read what this idiot had to say, turned off the comments after 10 seconds.
He just wrote (on Instagram) that it was super choppy and windy, so once he lost the group, he was bleeding more time than usual. Nothing about a panic attack.
He (assuming itâs a he), Zvi, comes up on every major tri race YouTube broadcast in the chat, trolling and full of hate speech. I have been tempted to block him but I also want to see what crap he is saying, just to see how ridiculous it is. I cannot understand why those responsible for the stream (and the commentators clearly must be reading the comments) do not block that user, rather than we the individual viewers needing to do the blocking.
Every comment counts as engagement. In the recent PTN podcast the PTO CEO talked about their engagement numbers being better than Ironman.
Not saying they want that âengagementâ, but hater/spammer enthusiasm is what contributes to at least a part of Twitters value, for instanceâŚ
A comment on your observation #2
Might I ask what you think the optimum field size is?
The final start list had 20 + 20 and Lee dropped out in the morning, so 19 women started. The PTO have said that 20 + 20 fields are here to stay. Each extra contracted athlete costs > $100k per year (extra marginal cost). Each wildcard athlete costs circa $5k per race. That additional expense would effectively reduce the money in the race and tour prize pot.
WPRO: 17 finished (2 x DNFs)
MPRO: 16 finished after 4 DNFs (3 of which wildcards)
- If the race start lists had been increased (by 5 say), those added would be bringing up the rear (or if men statistically DNFing). I guess that would make the back end of the field a little less âlonelyâ, though it might just extend the tail (and weâd see them being lapped on the run (10 minute laps): is that what you recommend?)
- More athletes on the start list would therefore not have a beneficial effect on the <<insert your chosen antonym of âlonelinessâ here>> of the long distance triathlete.
- For both athletes and spectators it would be better to have closer competition not just up the front but also in the middle of the field. But âjustâ increasing the field size (^quantity) would not achieve this. What will make the difference is quality.
- I expect that the Grand Final in Dubai will attract the very best (as proven in 2024 among those who wish to race 100km) middle distance athletes: the âlonelinessâ level will be lower and the competition fiercer.
2024 Lake Las Vegas T100 Pro Triathlon Race Results | PTO
Good points; and I think the biggest issue with âloneliness in Vegasâ (good film title btw) was about the broadcast, not the race itself. I wish we had been shown more of the the mid field battles, which did take place, and less of the leaders or of people finishing.
Another issue is the 20 meter draft zone. Itâs good for some things and bad for others, one of the âothersâ being the broadcast. Just canât fit people into a frame when theyâre so spaced out.
For next season there will be loads of itu guys moving to longer races whom, as the podium on the weekend showed, most will be pretty competitive. No reason if they are given chances at wildcards they will back of field or lapped athletes.
The LLV podium certainly showed that ex top SC athletes can be competitive. Worth noting that (bar Spivey) all 8 of those have successfully raced several times, in MD and draft illegal races already, showing their capability.
I hope those SC athletes who do âmove upâ get to demonstrate the required standard in 70.3s and Challenge races. Having done so, Iâve no doubt theyâll get T100 wildcard opportunities. A field limit of 20 with 20 contracted (but a requirement to compete in (say) 75% of the regular season races will mean there are (?4+4 average) wildcards on offer (by competition) for every race.
My back of field / possibility of lapping comment was really looking at the here and now, with very few SC athletes asking their names to be added to the wait list (and I guess Torremolinas had a significant bearing on that. The protocol for filling the start lists and the wait list system will be a familiar one to SC athletes.
Iâve been looking at the SC women who might choose to give up the âblow-dryâ style of SBR.
Betto, Bravo, Michel, Van Coervorden, Klamer, Kasper, GTB, Vermeylen, Kingma
Which of those are often seen pushing the bike (in order, Iâd have thought GTB as #1)?
Add to that Coldwell who will I assume do well.
So Haug was interviewed and, according to her account, she changed to her ânormal tyresâ for Las Vegas and still flatted on some cactus bristles - so these werenât the delicate prototypes this time around that we all believe had fâed her up in Nice. She was running these normal tyres with tubes inside and has now decided to switch to tubeless for Dubai, which in her opinion wouldâve sealed in Vegas. Starts at 1:12.
Seems like a no brainer for a pro athlete of her caliber to always run tubeless at least on raceday. Given Iâm heavy and have had fairly good success, at the pressures she probably runs nearly anything will seal.