Wilde skipping this “fun” course is a little surprising . SF is probably the best course/venue on the t100 circuit?
I say surprising, Wilde from afar looks like he just wants to race events and that course seems like the most fun / his style.
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Plus SF to AKL is a 13hr non stop flight. Or is he not based in NZ anymore?
He lives in Andorra
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Based on the start list on worlld tri it is the other way around. Might change within 24hrs though.Smith has shared pto post so assuming that means he is in.
Yes, the four start lists (M&W on World Tri and T100 site) are so out of sync it’s a mess. How difficult is it to ensure that these are the same?
At least the W list hasn’t got EPB on and not Simmonds either, yet.
Bergere and Wilde are racing Yokohama (well they’re on the start list (17th May)).
So is Waugh, but she’s on the T100 SF start list too.
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Looking at the wait list whuch is now up, the new contenders ranking system almost screws those that could really be contenders, those newer to 70.3 whom havent raced 5 races yet but have raced teally well. The top 6 9n wait list of contenders have a few who havent raced much more thsn lesser contended challenge series races or thise who raced t100 last year but weren’t competitive there so slipped outside the top 16. I see athletes thst have been beating them in events this season on wait list below them.
Maybe they didn’t want to promote Knibb because she stiffed them at Singapore.
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WPro - T100 San Francisco
In principle I don’t much like the idea of parachuting in the odd SC athlete who does a MD race in the absurd hiatus in the WTCS Race Schedule unless they are top drawer. For me only Lehair meets that criterion. Maybe VanCoevorden.
In the same way as athletes have to earn a start in a WTCS race by having a good enough ranking, I suggest the maturing T100 Tour is moving on from the ‘Wild West’ of ‘athlete of the moment’ picks.
“I see athletes that have been beating them in events this season” Who (WPro)? In which case have these athletes said they want to race? (see below)
As I read it, and assuming there are 7 wildcards:
First 3 offers go to non-contracted athletes in the top 10 of the T100-RtQ Standings: Perterer, Watkinson, DeBoer, McDonald
If first 3 say ‘yes’ McDonald doesn’t get a slot (depending on how the spiel is interpreted)
Remaining 4 offers go to athletes not already on the start list in Contender List ranked order (numbered if I think ‘will accept’ invite):
- Hering (at IM Hamburg so ‘no’),
- Lewis (doubt it but possibly, home race),
- 1 Siffert (just won Taiwan),
- 2 Curran (likely),
- Pierre (unhappy T100s last year so doubt it, ?IM Hamburg to KQ?),
- 3 Kivioja (probably),
- Bergsten (DNF in IMSA means IM Pro Series wobbly so maybe)
- 4 Kleiser (just won Valencia; brick swimmer, wonder runner)
However athletes have to get themselves on the list (ie say they wish to race) via NatFeds (this trumps my commentary above) and the Waiting List shows who has:
(29th April) Waiting List (as you said):
| Name | Nation |
|---|---|
| Perterer | AUT |
| McDonald | GBR |
| Kivioja | EST |
| Kleiser | GER |
| De_Vet | BEL |
| Perez | MEX |
| Diederiks | NED |
| Gillespie-Jones | AUS |
| Becharas | USA |
| Stimpson | GBR |
| Krüger | GER |
Social Media seems to suggest Waugh is racing SF and hyping up the Knibb/Waugh confrontation but that could be hype.
I fully expect Waugh to jump/dive off the ferry.
I was just pointing out that all three are on the start list (and expect racing) Yokohama two weeks earlier.
Given what an iconic venue Alcatraz/SF Bay is, confess surprise those two men are giving it a miss. But maybe they’ll be bouncing to WTCS Alghero (same w/e as T100 SF, but start list appears not yet published, should have been yesterday).
Going from the rankings 3 weeks ago which previously were used, athletes with the skillset to do well, but newer to long course were sitting up there as only needed 3 races to be ranked highish. The new system of contenders over 5 events has those newer athletes with 3 or 4 good results ranked behind more average results of athletes with 5 events. I am in agreeance that itu athletes shouldnt be super fast tracked without results, but 5 events now is time frame tougher.
the start list for alghero is out , one just cant read it and iam would say wilde and bergerer are in given that world ranked no 70 is the first place at waiting list so not too many people are missing and Luis, blummefeld , van riel , geens and Pearson are still top 65 in the ranking
To be out or not to be out? That is the question.
Bergere is getting married so that’s one of the reasons he gave me to remain in Europe to race Algero and skip SF T100
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Look at their socials. Shes hardly present when you go back months to even see anything.
You’d have to be living under a rock to not know/understand that Knibb was going to be adding IM racing to her schedule. Which would mean something would have to be cut out of the schedule. If you start to connect the dots, didn’t T100 originally have more minimum race requirements and then had to lower it to get people to sign up? They only did this after likely realizing how much push back they were getting from athletes, and you’d be a fool not to think Knibb and her team were going to use whatever bargaining they could to get the most for themselves (that’s SOP for any negioations).
So if your T100 and you have an athlete likely saying “yeah we want to race less T100 races”, do you think they are suddenly going to have her as the media darling for your series? Keep in mind, she’s not really a social butterfly like some other personalities in the sport, she’s almost the opposite. To me social media for her is a check off the box, and that’s it. But to be fair, she doesn’t need social media, she can kill it with her race results and resulting sponsorship and sorta only do media when required.
Which again I go back to, T100’s sorta turning politically into WTCS 2.0 with all the “requirements” they are putting on the athletes- show up several days before the race, all the behind the scenes media requirements. For an athlete like Knibb who’s been there done that, she’s probaly as much “meh” on T100 with the acknowledgement that she can go race a bunch of other non-draft events and beast mode that; all the while doing the bare min races and still be a big factor in T100.
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100%
I assume the rules were changed to get her to sign and they were understandably pissed that she didn’t want to prioritise and build their series. For this exact reason they are aware they have to find another big name and make them the public darling this season to really move forward with their series goals. It has always been obvious she is just in it for the $$ snd the ironman and 70.3 world champs are where her priorities lie. I don’t blame them for not working to build her profile for her.
Think you’re hating on Knibb too much. She’s signed a T100 contract; I expect her honour it (racing 4 +1); I assume she negotiated a non-attendance at Singapore or decided to take the contract penalty for DNSing; she has raced an IM to get a n IMWC slot; I don’t expect her to race a 70.3 (as Champ she has a slot without validation) so she can race Marbella a month after Kona; and then the T100 GF in December. Job jobbed.
West was one of the last to sign, and he will have known Singapore was about the time wife was due: so he said I’ll sign but won’t make Singapore. They are both racing San Francisco, unlike Wilde, Bergere, and half a dozen others (reasons various including pregnancy, injury, wedding, suspension, life).
So the T100 is acting as self destructive and self interested as the athletes who will (can be) assigned some blame when this whole series collapses under its own weight?
You’ve got the best female athlete in the world you are paying for the right to promote them, and you avoid promoting them because you are grumpy they race Ironman.
So back to my point – petty. Rather than be seen as making an issue of it, they should still be celebrating her and hyping her up to create the story. Just ignoring her undermines their own product.
I get what you guys are saying, but it shows how a short sighted partisan apparently is running their social media (or even worse if that’s coming from higher ups).
I think it’s less grumpy and more the reality of the situation. But you can see it differently and come up with an entirely different viewpoint. Shoulder shrug.
I was taught years ago by a coach I was mentoring:
-when an athlete shows you who they are believe them.
Knibb to me is begining the process of moving into full time LD triathlon. She’s going to do the absolute bare min to race T100, so for all intent purposes, what’s the point of promoting someone who’s going to behave in that manner. And good on her for doing it this way. She’s going to meet her contract standards and/or pay back if she doesn’t. Life in the fast lane as they say.
Hell you’d probaly be saying the media person is an idiot if they gave her all the attention and she skips as many races as she will this year…so shoulder shrug.
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