Lange said 2024: he was told laidlow was attempting to break 4 and he shouldn’t chase.
Likely from canyon .
We saw in Roth what he can do if he holds back on the bike , there it was by accident as he thought he was in first ??? Although I don’t by that I think he was trying to see if he can back off on the bike and run faster.
I think he planned that after seeing Frankfurt and the run speed.
Also blu was set to beat laidlow Sunday not the others as they both knew the situation. Why blu chased and paid but got sam. And Sam had too go once those guys were there at the top.
How does that make me wrong?? Everything I said can be true, and also him going to break 4 hours. It is his abilities that allow him to go that fast, and his race tactics dictate that he should go for a very fast bike ride in full fields of the top guys..
I think the record occupies very little of his mindset during the race
You said this and Lange had inside info that said the exact opposite.
So therefore wrong. I agree with you it’s the only way he can race too win but maybe not , kona 2024 he gives up 5 minutes on bike and maybe is 1-4 at least ??? Like nice.
It looks like not one guy in the top 5 from last year could stay in the top 5 this year after possibly such destructive race efforts .
The whole world knew he would go for sub 4 hours if the conditions were right, how is that “inside” information? Sub 4 hours is his target in any race where the course is not mountainous, its his pace…
You claim Lange said he had heard Sam was to try to go under 4. That happens to break the record, yes, but says nothing about going for the record for the sake of the record. As @monty says, it can be a natural effect of the way Sam feels he can improve his chances of winning (might be right, might be wrong). But not necessarily to go for breaking the record, that is just a consequence of going that fast.
I wonder if @Jurgen_Zack has the tech of today, if that would be the standard Wednesday long ride pace. I think he used to say the Wednesday Cologne long ride was 5 hrs 200km…now it would be 5 hrs 225km !!!
I think Sam rode like that because that’s what he needed to do to win, at least going into the race. He has in his mind Patrick and more critically Kristian were prepping to run sub 2:35. You have Magnus who could’ve potentially bridge up to him and had outran him previously. So his only choice to win was to go nuclear off the front, get a massive gap, and hold on. If he runs 2:45, he’s neck and neck with Patrick. Instead, he blew, either from overriding, nutritional issues, or both. Yes a bonus is nice, But I firmly believe for Sam (and KB and Patrick) it’s win or nothing.
Of course Sam has to risk riding harder then the better runners and playing his cards racing his strength.
Stay with me here “ I said when I said it looked like his goal was to go sub 4 , taking a big risk “ people said no way he wouldn’t risk that he wasn’t riding for a sub 4 .
And now in the kona video we have someone say with inside info from the source say “ yes we was going for sub 4”
Hence why we endangered his body on the run which might have lead to his off season issues because had to finish the race to get the record can’t drop out or it doesn’t count.
Think he is being a bit humble there.
2 mins slower swims than normal + 1min extra transition time. Then biking extra hard while also bringing the Norwegians back to the front of the race by the end of the bike.
It was clear while Sam was working the gap was closing, but when Sam relaxed it ballooned back out.
So without the bad swim, he either comes off the bike with a big gap or works less hard and runs a good bit faster (the first more likely than the later).
Very hard to know how different it plays out, but in my mind he would have been on the podium. That would have been so good to watch.
I was there in February for over 2 weeks, both on the big island and Maui. I’d say Oahu is a dump compared to the big island where there is some amazing stuff like the Kilauea. I agree the towns itself are not amazing, but the island and the nature is absolutely stunning all year long.
I agree with this. [would’ve could’ve warning]
He’d have been with Riddle, MvR and Schomburg and that would’ve added firepower to that group.
The Norges would’ve had to work themselves (subbing one of them for all the Laidlow leading time). He and MvR would’ve had a decent gap at T2, both motivated to work: 5 minutes? Whether enough: who knows but imagine that last lap (with Blummenfelt suffering as he did). Thompson the unremembered man. And without the cramps, Marquardt who was with Thompson would’ve been a player.
8th place and Top American at Ironman World Champs after cramps and a crash
Race recap:
While I made it through T1 without cramping, unfortunately it was a fake out as my left quad seized up about 1 mile into the bike. Thankfully within 20 minutes we were back to normal and I went to work. Around mile 105, I had made my way from 35th to 10th when my wheels slipped out from under me, and I hit the pavement hard with my right hip. After a quick self-physical exam determined that nothing was broken (although I could barely move my fingers and my right hip hurt badly) I was on my way again.
Because of the crash, every step was excruciating at the start of the run. Thanks to the wonders of exercise-induced analgesia with time the pain subsided enough that my limp went away for the most part.
Crazy to think that 2 years ago, my time of 8:11 would have been 3rd and today it was 8th. It is awesome how much the level in this sport is going up!
thats a fair thing to say
but lets put it this way had he been in the swim where would notmaly be the pack of 3 would have been a pack of 4. and the norwegians would have lost their domestique ( laidllow)
ie somebody of the norwegians would have had to push more power on the bike
