Oh now there's an interesting question, since he did say that he was all-in for Taupo...

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KJ
Swim and Triathlon Coach
AllTerrainEndurance.com
KJ@allterrainendurance.com

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Just have to wait two weeks and his plans will change yet again. It is all part of the show.

LOL fair enough! Is that two weeks from PTO US Open or two weeks from now, or two weeks from 70.3 WC in Lahti :)

I would also accept d) all of the above.

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KJ
Swim and Triathlon Coach
AllTerrainEndurance.com
KJ@allterrainendurance.com

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From now...We have to have 70.3 Lahti race week video next week and then the post race,life/training overhaul video the following week.

Just noticed this sticky. Bravo.

Lionel is gonna get a PTO invite.

Best. Thread. Ever.

That's all.

I think he should. They should have 18 spots for the top 18 in the rankings, then 1 for LS, then another 1 for someone else just to be fair.

Say what you will but LS brings in the viewers.

https://x.com/...180361927438376?s=46

The big dog needs a rear wheel like this one

starts getting on 1 of these marginal gains 'norweigan super bike' and hell be carving up the lava fields at kona - will be renamed the lionel fields

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Lionel will be retired and just a fond memory before he ever has a chance to race in Kona again....... in 2026.

Hopefully the good folks here at Slowtwitch find it in their hearts to provided you all with grief counselling when the inevitable happens.

Thanks. That Means a lot. But is it just me or is that wheel spinning of its own accord. I could spot a cross over kick a mile away but can’t spot shit on two wheels


I don’t see him retiring anytime soon while he can podium at 70.3 races. Publicity too good. Then may do “worst retirement ever” style cookie Phil videos. Cultural question. Do any Aussies here like Phil gaimons videos. What else is Lionel going to do. Exercise addict and blogger. Maybe race age group and make videos? Or into coaching?

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I like Phil's videos as he is a very quirky character.

As for Lionel,I'd love him to have a crack at Ultraman as that is one World Champ's he would most likely take home (although the standard has risen dramatically this year specifically). Then there is the gravel racing and Bikepacking circuit,both of which would suit his YouTube cool factor.

I actually hope he has a great day out in Lahti this week as it might set the tone for a positive start to his 2024 campaign.

I wonder if getting to a podium matters if he isn't beating the bigger names?

I think his appeal was the various glimmers of greatness. If those are gone, is he much more than one of the many 10-20th ranked athletes - few of whom have any social media following of note.

I've watched a few of his videos & there are some great parts. Quirky is fair. He seems to be a bit cheesy / overly cutesy in some of his videos for my liking but then you see his vlogs and he seems liek a very dry sense of humour so maybe I am just not watching enough of his content to see how he irons it out. I do like the lionel v cookie type kom competitions which they have done before. I am not the biggest fan of lionel as something about his swim sort of bugs me. well we all are fans of different people for differnt reasons I guess


Lionel could do quite well at ultra events - all of the pros could but how much money they can get out of it I don;t know. If they had decent prize purse african runners would shred the ultra running scene.

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There is no prize money for the Ultra-stuff but where it is finacially beneficial is in the sponsorship and coaching profile as a result of being,for example Ultraman World Champion. Kate Bevilaqua is a great example of that. She won four Ironman's but has always been considered a "b" Pro (don't get mad everyone,I know her personally). When she won the Ultra520K outright,beating all the boys,her profile went through the roof and she ended up being Meta Sport Singapore's main Pro face for it;s events and training groups (she was in Singapore with them again last week). Her coaching busuness went mad and she and her husband now do very well out of it. Adding the Ultraman World Champ's title and then the Ultraman Oz title more recently only cemented her profile.She is not the only one who has gone down that path and obviously IronCowboy is the most famous of all.

If Lionel won Ultraman in Hawaii the people who are "weekend warrior" triathlon fans of his would go off in their trousers and the legend would grow beyond any logic.

Hehehehe well put. The fan boys would grow another leg

Add to that list of ultra man profile building - gordo, rich roll. Both famous for different reasons but used ultra man as part of their branding. Didn’t really think of it like that thanks for sharing

If you think about it, a guy like Lionel could actually attract some prize money to something like Ultraman. He would be a huge get for the race and or series, and certainly he would have a great chance to crush all the existing records and be able to make some hay out of the whole deal. Maybe attract a few other pros just so there is some perspective on the performances, and off it goes!!!

I for one would watch it in that type of format. I remember when they brought in some pros for the RAAM and put up some $$$. I watched it everyday, but now that has gone by the wayside, dont give it hardly any notice at all. Didnt a woman win it overall this year??

Catch 22 as when pros do these events which are not necessarily main stream they bring the profile up and prestige (plus prize purse) but also take away from the grass roots feeling. From what I understand many races in the ultra scene are quite low key / low fi, much like what tri was back in the 80s perhaps. Now if you have people wearing glucose monitors, compression normatec boots pre and post race and $500 sun glasses on the start line it is not the same thing anymore. Something about swimming that I like is that it is very low tech

Kristian at the baggage claim and last shot of Lionel cracked me up. Good stuff!!!

Is this an A race for the big guy? He doesn’t seem tapered (again)

I don't know about his taper, but the lack of sleep is alarming. At this point he'd be better off knocking himself out with ambien or something for a few nights.

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He mentioned in previous videos that he doesn't expect to be a factor here. He said that he didn't really want to race in Finland and that it is a learning experience. He has been talking himself down for a while now which isn't good and I why I mentioned that I hope he has a good race to at least bring some positivity back.

PTO just posted ranking and he’s out of top 20 now. Where is our fearless Lionel?????? He needs his NoLimit spirit and mojo back.

Has anyone noticed that Lionel appears to be on the TT Speedmax this week?