Sorry to see that no one has yet commented on yesterday’s ITU Stockholm race which was one of the most exciting I can remember. It highlighted how the sport is evolving and the days when the bike section was a stately pack ride are now a thing of the past. The Brownlees and Gomez exited top 10 and set off with such violence that Richard Murray, despite being out of the water about 10 secs behind the Brownlees, was 40 seconds behind after the first lap. Then with two laps to go, Alistair Brownlee decided to make a solo break and reached T2 twenty seconds ahead (apparently, he has only got two weeks of running in his legs and so thought he should give himself a better chance with a head start). Gomez eventually dropped Jonathan but Brownlee, despite looking like he might fade, still managed the 2nd best run of the day to win from Gomez by about 12 seconds.
Hugely exciting to watch and shows how the sport has matured. Or so it seems to me!
AB’s last lap and a half on the bike were amazing. He decided it was time to put some time into the lead pack and just rode away from them. An awesome display of biking strength. And then he backed it with a 2nd fastest run split.
The more I watch ITU racing, the more I’m drawn to it…
It’s amazing to me–the Brownlee beast are some of the greatest male triathletes of all time and they still don’t get the same attention in the US.
Personally, I wonder when we can start talking about Ali displacing Mark Allen et al for the greatest male.
Use ST for simple but realistic view on ITU acceptance (I’m talking fan pov) in the US. No one cares, people don’t accept/want to care (or understand) and it’s not IM. It’ll slowly change but in US, IM is sexy and sales. iTU doesn’t here.
ETA: this is not a slam on ST, just a pretty good analysis of why ITU hasn’t set in. This site along with most American triathletes are IM focused, because that’s simply all we have known/feed.
not to mention a Gwen Jorgensen win that puts her in the lead overall heading to the grand final…congrats Gwen. must have been a HUGE ironman weekend for ST, lol,
not to mention a Gwen Jorgensen win that puts her in the lead overall heading to the grand final…congrats Gwen. must have been a HUGE ironman weekend for ST, lol,
Gwen just destroyed the run. She looked like she was ready to go out for dinner at the end. Did a quick interview and fixed her hair before Anne Haug finished.
It’s amazing to me–the Brownlee beast are some of the greatest male triathletes of all time and they still don’t get the same attention in the US.
Personally, I wonder when we can start talking about Ali displacing Mark Allen et al for the greatest male.
Use ST for simple but realistic view on ITU acceptance (I’m talking fan pov) in the US. No one cares, people don’t accept/want to care (or understand) and it’s not IM. It’ll slowly change but in US, IM is sexy and sales. iTU doesn’t here.
ETA: this is not a slam on ST, just a pretty good analysis of why ITU hasn’t set in. This site along with most American triathletes are IM focused, because that’s simply all we have known/feed.
I think it’s changing. ST is really making an effort to cover it, too, and that’s awesome.
The possibility of getting draft legal into collegiate sports, which was kind of the “alpha” test at this years Collegiate Nats would definitely boost USA’s perception of Draft Legal racing.
Coming from an individual who has done only one draft legal race, and loved it more than any other race I’ve done before “minus cross racing…which is draft legal” I will say that I hope that there is a paradigm shift, and both draft legal and ironman races inhabit the U.S
Use ST for simple but realistic view on ITU acceptance (I’m talking fan pov) in the US. No one cares, people don’t accept/want to care (or understand) and it’s not IM. It’ll slowly change but in US, IM is sexy and sales. iTU doesn’t here.
ETA: this is not a slam on ST, just a pretty good analysis of why ITU hasn’t set in. This site along with most American triathletes are IM focused, because that’s simply all we have known/feed.
I was in that camp of not really caring. This year I have watched all the series races and have become a fan. I think the ITU fan base will continue to grow in the US. They put up some amazing performances and the races are exciting to watch.
This isn’t a rare race situation, either. At most of the WTS races this year the Brownlees/Gomez come out of the water and hitting it hard. The only difference is they were able to stay away - in previous races most of the other guys were just hanging on and didn’t (couldn’t?) contribute to pacemaking.
Use ST for simple but realistic view on ITU acceptance (I’m talking fan pov) in the US. No one cares, people don’t accept/want to care (or understand) and it’s not IM. It’ll slowly change but in US, IM is sexy and sales. iTU doesn’t here.
ETA: this is not a slam on ST, just a pretty good analysis of why ITU hasn’t set in. This site along with most American triathletes are IM focused, because that’s simply all we have known/feed.
This is true. I used to not like ITU, mostly because it wasn’t ironman and I didn’t know anything about it. Then I started watching highlights of the races and am in love. I wish that ITU had more exposure in the U.S. I think for most americans it would be more digestable because of the time involved. As well as more exciting.
It was 2 great days of racing, but the men’s race on Sunday was superb.
AB really dished out the pain; a true racer.
Roll on London in 3 weeks time!
DT
I absolutely love watching ITU racing. It is exciting and always fun to watch. AB made a great move with just under 2 laps to go and he has shown he is not just a superb running, but an all around amazing athlete. To show that strength on the bike and still run the way he does is unheard of. Both Brownlee’s and Gomez did the lions share of the work on the bike and still had the legs to run as fast as they did. Really wish Richard Murray would work on his swim because he can bike and run with the 3 of them. The Women’s race was also very good! Gwen is going to be very hard to beat in London and is amazing to watch her run. Typically she negative splits her runs, but she attacked from the moment she got off the bike and didn’t look back. With an improved swim and bike, no one can out run her. It is predicted that London will be wetsuit legal, which will be a huge help for her and only hope for the other women is that they can create a breakaway and come into T2 45 seconds + up.
2 things that really interested me with this race at the weekend.
#1 Ali’s bike split for ~40k was 53 mins. On a road bike. Now, I know they ride in a group, but given that Brownlees x2 and Gomez did the lion’s share of the work that is still pretty astonishing on a fairly undulating multi lap course with turns.
#2 I was racing at the UK club relay championships (an excuse to drink beer and BBQ, then “race” the next day") and was passed on the bike by a guy on the winning team, it might have been Tom Bishop (regular on U23 ITU podium). Harry Wiltshire went first for that team and swam the 500m in about 14 seconds or something. Anyway, you were looking at a fairly standard ITU athlete having a bit of fun on his TT bike and the way the dude went past me, it was as if I was riding a penny farthing. I’m not a great cyclist but I do alright, and I was probably pushing 300-ish watts when I was left drinking the muck off his rear wheel. So I can only imagine what sort of a level AB must operate at. These guys are sooooo fast. Would love to see AB do a half IM race on a fast course in competitive shape (and not making any wrong turns).
Really enjoyed Stockholm, I think with Kitzbuhel aswell we are starting to get a glance at Ali’s potential in non draft racing.
Yeah these guys are pretty special. Do hope we get to see them go long at some point just to see what they can do. Surely records will start tumbling when they do.
I’m really glad that the BBC is giving the series some much needed attention. We have some pretty good Dutch athletes, but in the Dutch media you rarely ever hear about them. Yes, they show live football competitions with ever decreasing age groups (I think they’re at <14 now), but ask for some interesting sports like triathlon and no… Despite the fact that the ITU format is really exciting to watch (as nicely illustrated by the race in Stockholm). I for one will be glued to the tv for the London race as both the men’s and women’s competitions are fantastically exciting!
I loved the race, it was a great watch. This year has been fantastic, Madrid, Kitzb. were also really good.
AB’s solo break was unreal, what makes it so good is you see him smashing himself. His interview was great afterwards. ‘When I got off the bike I thought “Oh no I’ve had it here”’ was a classic line. He was wrecked at the end.
The performance level of the top three is astonishing. I find it much more impressive than the long distance stuff. And there’s something great about the no PM / no HRM / no Aerobars / no Compression Socks that makes it seems much better. They are about performance less than image. I find a lot (not all) of the IM Pros are more about how they look than how they do.
Plus you get to see the top guys in the series race each other several times a year, which makes it much better to follow.
The coverage is also really good - and it’s helped a lot by the multi lap format.
One last thing - the best watch this year, and last, was the sprint relay. I watched that with non tri friends, and they found it riveting. I hope they get it into the Olympics.
All that said, I’ll be glued to Kona. But as a year long series, this is the best.
Now I think of it, the Hamburg sprint event, when Jonny outsprinted Alistair for the win, was even more intense and exciting. But it is great seeing such uninhibited racing.
What is remarkable is that if the Brownlees rode conservatively and simply covered dangerous breaks, they would use up far less energy and almost certainly, there would be little different in the end result. So why do they race the way they do? It seems to me that Alistair has his own philosophy as to what his sport should be like: that triathlon should be about hammering it in all three phases! There aren’t many people who have shaped their own sport like this. And it is noticeable that the organisers are encouraging harder courses that make the Brownlee philosophy pay dividends, so indirectly, they are changing the face of ITU racing. Fascinating to watch.
As an after thought, I don’t think anyone outside the top 10 in the swim has made the decisive break in any race with a Brownlee competing this year. Basically, if you don’t exit the water within a few seconds of the Brownlees and Gomez, that is your race over. It will be interesting to see if someone like Verzbicas, should he recover from his injuries and compete at the Elite level, will be able to make as much use of his outstanding running ability. A few years back and you would think his run would make him a potential top 3 in every race, despite not being a sensational swimmer or biker (like Gwen Jorgensen is in the women’s competition). But the way the sport is shaping up, it seems that unless you are a top 10 swimmer and a top 10 cyclist, being a good runner may not be much use. Will be fascinating to see how the sport evolves over the next few years, whether the Brownlees and Gomez are just exceptions or if perhaps a whole generation of athletes will emerge who dominate in all disciplines.