If the World Champion wanted to race 70.3 worlds you don’t think they’d let him? That’s a bit naive. DQ counts as a qualifier but no chance of letting the champion in? But that’s besides the point. He’ll only go if IM begs and pays him enough to.
Hayden Wilde biked a 1:56 and ran a 1:08 in Melbourne last year after a shortened swim. And he’s just one of the multiple people with a serious shot at the podium.
Different course, but in Mt Tremblant the swim was also shortened with Sanders and Riele riding in a fast group with Marquardt he biked nearly 2:03 and ran nearly 1:16.
It’s very likely the front of 70.3 worlds is going to be 15+ minutes in front of those guys you’ve mentioned.
The IM world champ doesn’t get a slot for following year’s 70.3 WC (with or without validation).
They get a slot for the next year’s IMWC, without validation.
Legacy slots for previous 70.3WC champions and IMWC champions are available with validation.
Detail: read the policies, both linked from this page: https://www.ironman.com/pro-athletes
Well here Ironman’s ?“hilariously incorrect”? start list:
Who do you think will not start?
Hoegenhaug and Barnaby?
So Lange chose not to make the trip.
Think it’s reasonable for athletes in with a shot at a top place in the Series to race there. With Lange not racing, if either of those two win or close they will overtake Lange, thus banking a top 3. And this is more assured than banking on a finish within 11 minutes of the winner in Taupo (on which Marquardt relies: he must finish within 16 to beat Lange’s score but then will be head to head to head with Barnaby and Hoegenhaug ftw).
Off topic (women):
Edit: have posted comments on them in the thread created by the News article published after IMWC (Nice).
Well looks like my bottle of tequila is becoming more assured against our overload here. Unless of course Lange has wiggled his way into Taupo and we are unaware, which I figured Ryan had inside info on, he seemed so assured of his pick in the face of oure math working against him… (-;
Lange (unless he gets a wildcard to Taupo) is leading at the bell (is that the same as @rrheisler’s ‘inside track’?) but the other three are lining up to pass him either on the back straight or off the top bend.
It would be great if Hoegenhaug could win and be >23 seconds ahead of Barnaby.
That would set up a final straight sprint between the three in Taupo.
Barnaby would have to beat Marquardt by 24 seconds ftw.
Hoegenhaug (with a Busso win) would have to beat Marquardt by 2 minutes and Barnaby by 93 seconds.
I wonder if Ironman have specified a tie-breaker ‘finish line camera’?
As an aside, the T100 tie break mechanism was due to be announced/confirmed (in the Pro briefing).