Yellow Jersey wrote:
Now talking technical stuff Will you still post something related to rider's form, fatigue, etc? Can you give an idea of how that will work, or won't there be a differenciation?
Form isn't a thing. If an athlete has good stats he'll race well. The coming Previews will give an idea which athletes are the top tier and which are outsiders/talents/etc.
Fatigue is sort of a thing. Every athlete has a Recovery stat. When races come close together recovery matters. High recovery means an athlete will be as good in the second/third race as the first, low recovery means they will be less good in the second/third race. The bigger more important factor are the other skills Swim, Bike, Run, Transition, Stamina.
(So Valkinnen's recovery is Medium. He'll take a small performance loss in a second race)
But if an athlete races every single event from Cape Town to Gold Coast they won't be worse because of it, only a loss from racing Wanaka right before Gold Coast.
Injuries and Illness can also happen. They'll be passed on to you via PM if they happen (all randomly generated in my spreadsheets, the chances are unlikely though) and are separate from any of the stats.
The Contenders
The start of the new Triathlon Reborn season is approaching. Athletes will take to the start line in South Africa kicking off the World Tour. But who should we be expecting to fight for the World Tour title?
Raphael Candreva
The 27yo Italian starts the season in a very strong position. An avid cyclist, Raphael has been perfecting his all-round triathlon skills for years. It's experience that shows! Tactically he's arguably the best, and through Transition he's hard to beat. Hard to shift in the water or in the run. All-round a top level competitor.
Leon Norwood
The 30yo comes from Bermuda, home of World Tour Round 2. Lucky for Leon that is the World Tour Double Distance race, as his best strength comes in his Stamina. Coming from an island nation you won't be surprised to know Leon is a strong swimmer as well. Although he is definitely let down by his bike riding, and his run isn't that great either. He has to get off to a good start, and if he does pulling Leon back won't be easy.
Haru Maki
31 years old, Haru comes from Japan. Haru is an excellent all-rounder, almost as good a cyclist as he is a swimmer, almost as good a swimmer as he is a runner. Unlikely to make a mistake in transition, and you won't tire him out over distance. That said compared to Norwood and Candreva, Haru doesn't handle multiple events that strongly so will probably focus in on the World Tour above all else.
Evan Lynch
Britain has a strong triathlon legacy, and the 30yo is out to continue that. Evan is arguably the best swimmer in the field. And he makes a claim for the best runner as well. And his bike is good. How do you stop him? Luckily for others Lynch is injury prone and could struggle to put together 7 strong rounds.
Raphael Chasse
Two Raphael's! Although this 34yo Canadian is different to our favorite Italian. Evenly balanced across his swim, bike and run, Chasse does struggle in transition and over distance. But he has great consistency and experience, meaning you can't count him out in tough conditions, on technical courses or over a whole season.
Looks like an interesting field with different strengths and weaknesses - looking forward to it
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [PT] Xero Racing
The Outsiders
We've seen who our main title challengers will be. Now we'll look at those athletes a step below, who could claim the odd victory on a strong day and who should look to focus on the Tri Cup and/or Special Events.
Carter Gilchrist
The Aussie is 32 years old, but is only just making the switch over to Triathlon following a career as a cyclist. As such his best skill is in the bike leg, and in his overall stamina and recovery. His swim isn't great, but it's not awful either. However his run and his transition are very poor.
Kahrunagi Taumata
The 21yo New Zealander could be a real surprise! The Maori is one of the best runners out there, a top level swimmer and his bike is pretty solid as well, a great all-round skill set! However his lack of experience shows in his poor transition, and his raw talent doesn't build Stamina or Recovery. On his day he's as good as the best, but too often mistakes can be made or he'll burn out early.
Yannic Faucheux
The Frenchman is 25years old. Another of many athletes transitioning over from cycling, his bike skill is amongst the top end. He can swim pretty well, and whilst his run is not strong it won't be too bad either. However Yannic also lacks transition experience and his recovery could be improved as well.
Hunter Alberts
The Bahamian athlete is 28 years old. In many ways he's similar to Leon Norwood, with a strong run and a strong swim and good stamina. His cycling is not good though, and his transition also is a weakness. But good enough in other areas he can still factor on the easier cycling routes.
Fred Larsson
27 years old and from Sweden, Fred had been racing triathlong for a few years. His speed through transition is almost unmatched and a real asset! He's also a strong runner and will finish any race strong. But his swim and bike will leave him with ground to make up on other athletes.
Temo Koenig
The most experienced athlete out there at 40 years old. Temo has been there and done it all! Through transition he won't make mistakes. He knows how to pace himself over long races. He'll swim with the absolute best, and bike with them as well. His weakness comes in the run, those old legs don't pick-up as well as the younger athletes. And he may well struggle over a season long competition.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [PT] Xero Racing
The Talents
The favorites have been covered, the outsiders looked at, now it's time for a run down of those younger athletes. Those out to make their marks and who we can expect to see competing in future seasons.
Jannie Swanepoel
The 20yo South African lacks in experience, but makes up for it with enthusiasm and dedication. Jannie is already a pretty acomplished runner, that's his strength. He's been practicing Transition, unlikely to make mistakes, and his bike leg is not bad either. Work needs to be done on his swim and overall stamina though.
Ryan Bender
The 23yo American is giving it a go, although how long he sticks it out is unknown seemingly lacking in motivation or passion for the sport. Primarily a runner as well, his transition and bike skills are comparable to Swanepoels. Whilst Ryans swim is awful, really awful, he's got good overall stamina and will fight back in late stages of a race.
Damien Van Sibaer
The 23yo Belgian will never stop. His stamina is excellent, and he'll suffer harsh weather long beyond others throw in the towel. Although lacking in swim speed, and experience for transition, he will rely on his cycling and running but could be surprised by the level of others in competition.
Bob Bobson
The 19yo American likes to cycle, and not much else. His transition could serve him well but the weaknesses in swimming, running and stamina will hold him back from major results. That said Bob definitely has talent and in a season or two will surely be at the sharp end of things.
Lars Handers Valkinnen
The 21yo Finn is yet another of the young crop who is good on the bike, has good stamina but lacks experience. His swim and run will improve with practice, as will his transition but he won't make many mistakes there. Long and cold races would suit him, although the calendar doesn't offer many of those.
Knut Weydahl
The 19yo Norwegian breaks the pattern! He's a good swimmer and pretty solid in transition. His bike is passable, but the run lets him down along with his lack of stamina. He's also rather naiive, making tactical mistakes and burning out early in races. Get a few seasons under his belt to take away those msitakes and that fast start could be a real assett!
Jak Thompson
The 21yo Aussie comes classed as a talent, but could be competing for wins in just a year or two! He's an established runner, one of the best in the series! His stamina is good and he can ride a bike and swim decently. Transition does through mistakes here and there. Smart and passionate, Jak could become a real force and fast!
Fernando Mola
The 22yo Spaniard has pedigree, being related to the great Mario. His starting swim is one of the best in the world! He can run well enough, get through transition decently and won't tire out that badly. However his bike is pretty damn terrible. An early pace setter for sure, but unlikely to hold on for big results yet.
Hugo Pol
The 18yo Spaniard is very similar to Fernando. A good swimmer with decent stamina, but his other skills are weak. Perhaps he can develop himself, but he could be better off focusing on open water swimming.
Timo Ritter
The 22yo Austrian will go well through transition, it's his best aspect. He's not awful at anything, being evenly balanced across all skills, but he's not that strong in any of them either.
Scott North
The 26yo New Zealander is older than most on this list, but he joins the sport late. A decent swimmer and runner he's got two out of three legs sorted. Can improve his bike and transition of course. Has potential to be an ok all-rounder.
Mathias Verboom
The 19yo Dutchman will suffer in long races and on the bike. But he can run well, and hold his own in the water. Although there are questions on his commitment limiting his potential.
Marcel Lyon
The 20yo Swiss stands out most on the bike, and as a former Biathlete he can run strongly as well. Experience will help him improve in transtition and stamina, but he has to put real time into the swim or he will have too much ground to make up.
Preview Part Four coming this evening (hopefully, could well be tomorrow evening depending how GBBO goes ). Cape Town specific preview to come then on Thursday/Friday with our opening race at the weekend!
So, if you want to get an athlete signed-up for the opening race, you have until Friday! Sign-ups will remain open permanently but after Friday you'll miss Cape Town.
For existing athletes, if you want to skip Cape Town for some reason the deadline for letting me know is also Friday.
Friday will also be the deadline for Miami! And from then on we'll be on the one-race before system for letting me know about skips etc.
Reminder you can find the full calendar in this post and all the events are listed in my opening posts on the first page
With the brand new Triathlon season fast approaching, the first few big entries to the Cape Town race are starting to flow in! The first of these include two youngsters, Jak Thompson of Australia and Fernando Mola of Spain. Both wanting to have impressive starts to the new season and with Mola in the race, we can be sure to see a Spainish Triathlete first out of the water!
Here's a quick rundown of the key points and players for the upcoming season! Note, these are not ranked in direct order of ability.
Best Swimmers: Fernando Mola, Leon Norwood, Haru Maki, Kahrunagi Taumata, Evan Lynch, Temo Koenig Worst Swimmers: Marcel Lyon, Ryan Bender, Damien Van Sibaer, Bob Bobson, Jannie Swanepoel
Best Cyclists: Raphael Candreva, Carter Gilchrist, Yannic Faucheux, Temo Koenig Worst Cyclists: Fernando Mola, Hugo Pol, Scott North, Mathias Verboom
Best Runners: Raphael Candreva, Jak Thompson, Kahrunagi Taumata, Evan Lynch, Fred Larsson, Hunter Alberts Worst Runners: Carter Gilchrist, Hugo Pol, Temo Koenig, Knut Weydahl, Bob Bobson
Best Transition: Raphael Candreva, Evan Lynch, Fred Larsson, Temo Koenig Worst Transition: Damien Van Sibaer, Carter Gilchrist, Kahrunagi Taumata, Yannic Faucheux, Hugo Pol, Scott North
Best Stamina: Raphael Candreva, Leon Norwood, Haru Maki, Temo Koenig Worst Stamina: Jannie Swanepoel, Bob Bobson, Knut Weydahl, Timo Ritter, Mathias Verboom
Best Recovery: Raphael Candreva, Leon Norwood, Raphael Chasse Worst Recovery: Temo Koenig, Marcel Lyon, Mathias Verboom, Evan Lynch
Top Favorites: Raphael Candreva, Leon Norwood, Haru Maki, Evan Lynch Top Talents: Jannie Swanepoel, Damien Van Sibaer, Bob Bobson, Lars Handers Valkinen, Jak Thompson
Welcome to Cape Town! The World Tour begins tomorrow in a stunning location. Athletes will line up in front of the Cape Town International Convention Center, kicking things off with two laps of a 750m swim. The bike leg takes them inland to run a lap that will take in the climb of Signal Hill. Topping out at 350m this is a lot tougher of a climb than most triathletes will normally face and being good on the bike is a must to win this race. 5 laps and 40km later the athletes go through transition for the final time, before heading on their 10km run. The run takes them along the waterfront from the Convention center, through the V&A Waterfront, and on to the shadow of Cape Town Stadium.
Raphael Candreva is the clear facourite heading into the race. He's a very strong cyclist, used to climbing.
Yannic Faucheux is another strong cyclist, a regular climber at home in France.
Temo Koenig will also be in the mix early and on the bike, looking to gap the others if he's to hang on and win.
Keep eyes on Jannie Swanepoel on home soil. Carter Gilchrist is another strong cyclist.
Lars Handers Valkinnen and Damien Van Sibaer will both suffer in the heat, whilst Fernando Mola and Hugo Pol will hate the climbing on the bike.
Swim
Twenty-Four athletes line up for the season opener in Cape Town. The gun fires and it's a mess of legs and arms diving into the water! Knut Weydahl has launched himself off the pontoon into an early lead. Over the first 300meters or so things shake out and we see who's making moves in the water. Fernando Mola leads the way, with Weydahl, Evan Lynch and Temo Koenig. Pre-race favoruites Candreva and Faucheux are not far behind in the main pack.
End of Lap 1 it's a quick climb up the ramp and dash back into the water. Mola leads from Lynch, Weydahl, Koenig, Alberts, Chasse and Taumata. About 6" behind them we see Candreva and Faucheux with the main pack. Home hero Swanepoel is off the pace, already over 30" behind with Carter Gilchrist. If those two can get together on the bike they could turn it around.
Through Lap 2 there's not much change in position. The leading seven stretching their advantage towards 15". Candreva leads a second group of Faucheux, Norwood, Maki and North before another 15-20" gap to the rest.
Transition 1
Out of the water and into transition to get on the bike. Not surprisingly Lynch and Koenig get through tranisition quickest, experience paying off. Mola and Weydahl are just behind. Taumata, Chasse and Alberts all drop a few seconds back. Candreva was fast in the second group, he's about 5" behind the trio of Taumata, Chasse and Alberts. Norwood and Maki are next, followed by Faucheux and North. Swanepoel is way off the pace, over 1'00 behind the leaders! He's still with Gilchrist, Marcel Lyon and Valkinnen who should all pull back time on the bike.
Cycle Lynch and Koenig don't wait around, pushing ahead as a duo trying to gain time on the first climb of Signal Hill. Taumata, Chasse, Candreva, Norwood, Maki and Faucheux make up the chase group roughly 10" behind the leaders. Mola has already slipped away, as has Weydahl, Alberts and North. They are trying to keep an advantage over Gilchrist, Lyon, Valkinnen and Swanepoel who arn't holding back on this opening lap.
That pretty much sets the pattern for most of the cycle leg. Lynch and Koenig hold their advantage on the climb and extend a little on the turns in the city, whilst the chase can pull back on the wider avenues between sections.
Final lap of the cycle and Temo Koenig is pushing hard, he'll need as much time as possible ahead of the run. Lynch sticks with him. They lead by almost 30" over the chasing Candreva, Chasse, Taumata, Maki and Faucheux. Norwood has slipped back to Gilchrist and Lyon another 15" behind. Mola, Weydahl, Alberts, North, Valkinnen and Swanepoel follow just 10" behind them.
Transition 2
Hop off the bike, get on trainers and get out. No errors from Koenig or Lynch. Candreva, Chasse, Maki and Faucheux are clean, but it's a penalty for Taumata! Norwood and Lyon come out, but Gilchrist gets a penalty. Mola, Weydahl, Alberts, North, Valkinnen and Swanepoel are also clean.
The 30" advantage for Lynch is huge considering he's one of the top runners. But Candreva, Chasse and Maki will feel good about chasing down Keonig for the podium places!
Run Evan Lynch is a cut above the rest. He pulls away from Koenig after just a few hundred meters and won't ever look back. Unless he pulls a muscle or goes the wrong way he will win. Candreva, Chasse and Maki push hard. You can see the gap to Koenig coming down with every step. After 2.5km they catch the German and go past. Faucheux can't match them and has dropped away but still has eyes on a Top5 if he can reel in Koenig as well.
As the distance ticks by we see Taumata coming back strong with Alberts, The duo pulling away from Mola, Lyon and Norwood. Weydahl and Valkinnen can't match their pace at all are go backwards. Swanepoel looks smooth and fluid but he's clearly suffering from the distance and slips away as well.
With 1km to go Candreva accelerates! Maki digs deep to stick with the Italian, but Chasse can't follow and the Canadian will have to settle for fourth place. Candreva holds the higher pace, but Maki isn't shifting and is locked on his shoulder. A sprint finish will decide second and third.
But clear out front, hundreds of meteres down the road, Evan Lynch has time to walk and pass out the high-fives to the crowd. The Brit was unmatched today. Candreva and Maki come the final straight neck and neck. Both push hard for the line, with Raphael Candreva claiming second place by all of two footsteps! Haru Maki looks completely spent and can barely stand, he dug deep to almost claim it at the line. Raphael Chasse does come in Fourth not far behind. Fifth goes to Hunter Alberts, dropping Taumata in the final 200m. Temo Koenig holds Seventh ahead of Norwood, Mola and Lyon completing the Top10. Yannic Faucheux will be dissapointed outside the Top10, home man Swanepoel really suffered for fifteenth.
Results
1) Evan Lynch
2) Raphael Candreva
3) Haru Maki
4) Raphael Chasse
5) Hunter Alberts
6) Kahrunagi Taumata
7) Temo Koenig
8) Leon Norwood
9) Fernando Mola
10) Marcel Lyon
11) Yannic Faucheux
12) Scott North
13) Fred Larsson
14) Jak Thompson
15) Jannie Swanepoel
16) Lars Handers Valkinnen
17) Carter Gilchrist
18) Knut Weydahl
19) Ryan Bender
20) Timo Ritter
21) Bob Bobson
22) Hugo Pol
23) Mathias Verboom
24) Damien Van Sibaer
Please give me some feedback on the reports. They are a work-in-progress, trying to get a format that's easy to read but still gives enough detail on the race.
PCM.Daily NFL Fantasy Football Champion: 2012 PCM.Daily NHL Prediction Game Champion: 2013 PCM.Daily NFL Prediction Game Champion: 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2024
Not awful for Jannie but not the top 10 we may have dreamed of in the home race. Was hoping for the win from Rapha but Lynch was, to quote the report "a cut above". Second is a solid start though. I do feel for Koenig after a great race from him only getting 7th
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [PT] Xero Racing
It's a start. Course didn't favour Valkinnen much so I can understand his low result, I expect something better when the weather gets harsh and the bike miles pile in
Fernando did awesome holding onto a top 10. Thompson only managing a mid field finish but definitely both looking good for the rest of the season! Go boys!
Will you still post something related to rider's form, fatigue, etc? Can you give an idea of how that will work, or won't there be a differenciation?
). Cape Town specific preview to come then on Thursday/Friday with our opening race at the weekend!
World Tour - Round 1: Cape Town 
