Catching up with BwB, I like David McNamee. He slips under the radar a lot, I’d actually forgotten he was there!
Might have to revise my top 5.
3 Likes
I think the Lion will be OK - seems like they’ve been doing loads of testing in the heat out there to gauge what’s possible, and we know Mikael Iden is good at that stuff so if Lionel sticks to it he should be OK. Seems that’s where his head is at so I expect he’ll still be running well come the back end of the marathon.
However given the bike firepower in the race I suspect he’ll have more people ahead of him than StG - so it might just scrape him top 5, all depends on race dynamics and if he tries to roll the dice on the bike. If everyone else keeps their heads he prob won’t podium.
Men’s race is really tough to call. Anywhere else than Kona and I reckon Joe is top 3 - but he’s not pulled a decent Kona mara out yet compared to what he can do in other races. Need to mull my mens top five a bit longer!
1 Like
Yeah same, i keep changing my mind.
1 Like
I’m kind of hoping Blu and Iden have meltdowns in the marathon.
I sort of like the ‘mystique’ of the race - ergo it destroys people. You earn your stripes, and learn from being destroyed to make top 10, then shoot for top 5, then podium before you’ve really learnt the race sufficient to shoot for the W.
If Blu and Iden’s ‘science the shit out of it’ approach gets them a 1-2, then really it looks as if science has cracked it. All of a sudden everyone will get on board with the same approach, and it loses that unpredictability…
11 Likes
Lionel’s Kona record does include 2nd place in 2017 
1 Like
Would you say everyone mentioned in the last 30 posts is clean?
Off the bat I am not making any allegations about anyone male/ female at all.
I’m not a hater and have seen first hand bow fast people are, it’s mind blowing.
This stems from a boxing “discussion “with about 500+ posts, were many normal knowledgable posters concluded that “ masking agents” were rife, and a high % of all boxers were taking peds when not in camp…
Certainly less drug scandals in cycling these days, it couldn’t have got any worse at one stage, and I can’t remember the last tri pos.
But we can see on you tube/ Facebook / everywere the lengths the pros ( and some unpaid) go to in the pursuit of speed, EPO and blood doping makes a mockery of titanium chain ring bolts, tyres, wheels, Maurten and carbon shoes.
If we know this so do they.
3 Likes
Exactly what I said at the time, I think ITU/WT should have gone further and giving a 15s stop-go penalty to anyone who didn’t dunk him. I bet there’s a ‘Rusty’ Chip Beaver III out there glad he wasn’t racing.
3 Likes
I have a friend in amatuer boxing - he says the same, absolutely rife, every pro is doing it.
1 Like
Yeah it would be better to see the Norwegians humbled a little than smash it out of the park first go, IMHO
1 Like
Human nature innit - can’t imagine everyone is clean. That being said if you look at the bike positions compared to even a few years back, that mostly I think explains the bike time increases. I think @Jorgan has said a few times, look at Ironwar, the only real gain has been on the bike.
1 Like
Shame Skipper wasn’t fully fit at Sub7 - with his current fitness I think he’d have taken Blu there.
Agree - as much as they’re likeable, and have a nice mix of arrogance, steel and good humour, it’d be great if they didn’t smash it out the park first go.
2 Likes
I had no idea about Benn /Eubank when I posted this….
2 Likes
There’s a story of an old pad man who took a young Gennady Golovkin ( I’ve actually got a ggg t shirt on today) for a move around.
He clearly stated that the Kazakhs power was completely unnatural for his weight and he must … be on something ?!
Don’t think he was asked back…
I’m a huge Golovkin fan but there are so many stories around boxing similar to this it’s ridiculous.
Froch ran a 33 min 10 k at twelve stone i the middle of a training camp… allegedly!
I think with cycling it certainly looks cleaner but I am not convinced it is necessarily any cleaner. By that I mean that obviously when tests for EPO didn’t exist they, and other sports could use it knowing they would be fine. When the test was developed, they didn’t stop doping or even stop using EPO. They just changed how they used it to help with blood doping, knowing they would only get caught if an error was made. While no one should be guilty by association there were coaches and doctors whose real USP was their effective doping programmes, like Fuentes, Ferrari, Del Moral etc. The latter also working for FC Barcelona and footballers who were done for nandralone but then cleared on a technicality include St Pep of Passing Football. A piece in the Guadrian a few years back had a guy go to train with elites in Ethiopia or Kenya. One of the tracks they use had a pharmacy near by that he was put on to. Go there, pay cash and buy what you want, he bought EPO IIRC.
The lack of testing in LD triathlon makes it unlikely you would get caught unless you’re stupid and/or unlucky. You also need someone who knows what their doing and they’re usually expensive, I reckon many LD traithletes could be priced out of effective doping. But if an athlete had the right connections it could make it easier. Maybe be in a highly funded cycling team or your coach is.
I have known a couple clean pro boxers and one who maybe wasn’t but this was 25+ years ago when I was at this gym. I have known jockeys who definitely were doping too. Angel Heredia has travelled the boxing and athletics circuit and interesting to read about. He claims he has worked with a sprint squad that no one wants to believe is true 
1 Like
The only person to win Kona first time (in his first Iron dist!) was LvL…and there are question marks over him.
Also, Lothar Leder, first sub 8. Tested positive, but got off on a procedural technicality iirc.
3 Likes
With bigger paydays on the way for tri the money side of it becomes less of an issue.
EPO for instance isn’t that expensive and the knowledge of how to take it “ effectively “ is pretty much common knowledge now, less is more etc.
Someone like Clenelo Alvarez after DAZN paid him ? 378 million or some crazy amount could probably buy the lot!
If the top ten are all clean if any of those even dabbled then there looking at the top step on Saturday, micro dosing is a thing apparently.
It’s sad but money and sport will always do this in any sport
Erm … might want to go check that fact pally wal
2 Likes
Serious question because I don’t follow pro triathlon that closely.
The PTO was obviously set up to improve the financial position of long distance pros. Is it opening up the benefits to any pro that wants to be a part of it, or is it creating a closed shop for the benefit of an existing group of pro athletes?
Does it look like it’s going to be commercially viable in the long term, or is it reliant on a rich benefactor?
Was it Scott in 1980? 
That said, the race was very much in it’s infancy back then.
Think more inclusive 
2 Likes