Gotta be Lionel's biggest W since St. George 2021. Great for the sport.

Super encouraging for sure. Swim is finally coming around.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

7.3mi run marker is the 1st time that anyone "gained" time on Knibb. Only 11:01 up on 2nd now.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Lionel got some of the swagger back

Hey Monty everyone is talking about Lionel's swim today, but this is wetsuit with salt water. My Oceanside swim time the year I did it was 2 min faster than fresh water wetsuit. I think this rewards someone with less good body position with a big engine, It was awesome that Lionel won, but not sure this is the gap we will see in other swims (fresh water no wetsuit being th extreme other end). Regardless though, an awesome day

A 70.3 in April in 50 degrees vs an Ironman in a sauna in October…

Lionel has always been a great 70.3 racer especially in cooler conditions

Masterclass bike-run today off a fantastic swim. But no wetsuits in Kona. I want to see Lionel kick ass in Kona. Was Sam a bit empty from Miami or biked really hard in first 20 miles to close up gaps?

As a Lionel STAN, how much ammo does this provide Lionel STANs? Hahaha.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

'Mo and confidence are a dangerous combination for an athlete. This will certainly give him a boost when he's chasing that black line each week.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

If this gap stays the same, 2nd place women will gain the same points as roughly 10th place Skipper today......

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Knibb would be about #33 in an 'all gender field - with a mile to go.

I know Emma P-B crashed last week but what happened to her in the race? The commentary is terrible, mentioned her race adversities about 6 times and not said what they are.

She apparently took wrong turn, but I'm not understanding how she may have gained time because of that on the bike early in the race?

Lange took wrong turn as well.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Neither athlete will be competing in the IM Pro Series so 'points' is not an issue for either. Langridge is the loser here, by racing a 70.3 with Knibb racing it.
Think Langridge will get a Taupo slot (TK validation, Thek and EPB already have slots) - and there are 3 WPRO on the table.

Knibb racing these 1 off IM Series events will in actuality basically create outlier points for everyone else in a bad way. Again 2nd place is getting 1846, that's roughly same as 10th on the men today. That wont be anywhere close to the norm for other events, so it's actually kinda kick in the teeth type of finish for these podium athletes when the end of year points start getting added up and these *poor* scores are yet podium places..

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Man, such a great race by the Lion today. I have to imagine his race unfolded exactly how he would have scripted it other than the helmet snafu in T1. He was so beaten down after Augusta 70.3 last year and has completely turned it around in 6 months. One can only wish that he’d have done this swim focus block 8 or 9 years ago. Yes the wetsuit and salt water helped, but his gap to the front was very impressive, plus he doesn’t like cold water.

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Let food be thy medicine...

Very true, she is a must avoid for the very few targeting the IM pro series? Dis any of the women in top 5 actually do that, dont think so?

Favorite? Lol. Lionel still can’t handle the heat. But it seems perfectly reasonable to say that he showed today he could swim second pack in Kona and bike well enough to bridge with a Gustav/Magnus type move to catch the front pack and actually be in contention starting the run in Hawaii.

What happened to the women’s field on the bike? Taylor crushed today but her time would have been 3rd last year. Were the conditions brutal? Crazy to have that gap and the time not be a course record by a mile.

I ran 630-730 am near here..temp 46*

Remember when Lucy did her 50km swim weeks leading up to Kona on account of injury. Everyone underestimates the aerobic crossover to the bike from the swim. You just can't do the same intensity workload on the bike as in the swim day in and day out. That's gotta have helped Lionel access his bike fitness too. Just less close to his redline on the swim (having lifted it) could equate to less lactate to clear on bike and a generally more relaxed entry to T2

How come EPB result deleted?

Did she get DQ?

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Advocating for research & treatment for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).
http://www.meaction.net/about/what-is-me/

"Suck it up, Buttercup"
(me, to myself, every day)

I figured she would by missing the course by getting lost; I think someone even mentioned she "gained"(?) time from that move? At this point in the game, when you don't do the course in pro triathlon, it's going to be a DQ almost 99.99% of the time these days. Espeically if you aren't led off the course by race personal, etc.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Knibb is such an off-the-charts outlier at this distance, it’s almost not believable. If I saw this in a cycling race, or a running race… it would trigger my BS meter.

How should I reconcile this? Weak field? Lead moto drafting? Lack of depth in women’s 70.3 generally? Knibb is the greatest swim biker of all time?

That is pretty cold when riding wet. I think Knibb dressed up and the others did not?