@gtn they listened to Mark's advice from last video and got a coach! 😂 seriously though with so many apps you can get right now it's much easier I presume to have a proper training 😉
Yes, they are. It's in all amateurs/endurance sports that everyone is getting faster. Better equipment, better training plans, better nutrition. In a short course tri, the difference is not visible as speed can be improved to a certain extent, meanwhile the longer you go, the easier is to get relatively faster.
By the way, it would be really interesting to do a profile on Lars Wichert, just to see how he trains around a full-time job as a triathlon journalist and family commitments.
I participated! I was so fast, because we had a strong tail wind while we were in a pretty open area. Then when we turned into the headwind on the way back, it was mostly blocked by trees and houses. It felt like 130km tailwinds and 50km (blocked) headwinds. Daniela Bleymehl took 20 minutes! off of Laura Philipps bike course record!
Also there and that’s 100%! Run course wasn’t quick though. Lots of turns. Perhaps short by 800m but easily ran that in transitions! Also I thought swim was long.
Cant comment on Europe, but the drafting packs at the front of the age group races here in North America have been RIDICULOUS. Basically a peloton. That could contribute.
I raced on Sunday and I have to say there were 'some' drafting, but in general people kept distance. Many rather kept 12 m and used legal advantages. Top age groupers are riding more like pros in that sense nowadays.
The bike course in Hamburg was over 178k, there is a tunnel with around 500m that you have to go through 4 times. My gps didn’t count the distance everytime I went through it
I raced in Hamburg this year and the no-overtaking zone was crazy. They said it was 900m long but after the bridge, the cones just stopped so I overtook there. Suddenly, the cones came back and and the no overtaking zone went for another 300 meters.
I did Hamburg on Sunday under 10 hours. What I was surprised was that so many people in the Athlete Garden (that's where you can eat and pick up a finisher T-shirt) already. A few hours later there was almost no one in the course. I felt very sorry for people who were closer to the time limit because their run was super lonely. Because it got colder in the evening there was almost no one cheering them.
This is not a free community event. Everyone decides how much training they will put in and what their goals are, do you want to finish and enjoy the day or compete for an AG win. How will you decide "semi-pro" criteria?
@@julianavanniekerk9970 Lars was talking exactly on that topic on their podcast (in German). I don't get into details because it's just so much, but it's an interesting topic.
I do think there are a lot of “AG’rs” that are just not taking the pro licenses so they can win WC as a AG.. looked at a lot of stats and then Strava + social media.. you’ll see them have sponsors / train full time yet still race as AG.. makes it hard to quantify for WC if your working / family / etc
Even if doping is an issue it's not going to turn a couch potato into Jan Frodeno. As an AG athlete with a full time job (6 days per week) I still have my eye on qualifying for WC 70.3 and putting in 15-20h / week. It's about dedication and discipline, these AGs are putting in the hard work so why not applaud them rather than hating on them. It's about your own goals at the end of the day.
I raced and to summarise: swim was tough and I measured longer than IM distance. Transitions were massive - definitely had to run further than a marathon in total! Bike course was very quick. Pan flat but some pot hole/paved sections. I measured 177km but longer than Nice and Portugal. Run - quite a few turns and some elevations. Definitely not quick. Around 800m short, longer than Portugal and Nice.
The guy on the cover picture is Dr.Andreas Kröner from Vienna-Austria, he's medical doctor and 50 years old. He did 4h00 at iM 70.3 Jesolo 2024 and beat up the young "pro's". He also became European Champion at iM Hamburg 2023 with 8h47min. How is that possible??
At this rate, it makes more sense to create a new catetory for these people . Age group is supposed to be about amateur athletes , not ex pros/professional athlete's.
Being an elite oarsman doesn’t automatically translate to success at triathlon 😂. I wish! I used to row for my country too, but my fastest Ironman is 11:03. Hoping to break 5 hrs for the 70.3 this year. Some people have a special gift for swimming, running and cycling over the IM distance and the discipline to exploit it. I don’t and that’s fine! Let’s just enjoy what’s possible and not envy their amazing performances.
@michaelbauer8778 so are a lot of pros who compete internally as a pros, but for Ironman, they choose to participate as Age groupers. It's just not that fair but again IM is also about the €€€ take a look at the amount of people taking spots to go to 70.3 worls in New Zealand when they finish 20th-30th in their age group simply because all the other ones either qualified or don't want to waste 6k + on a race
Nutrition and feuling have improved considerably in reasant years. Also, I am pretty sure the weather conditions were optimal compared to the heat and winds of Kona.
I raced on Sunday. The air and water temperature was spot on, but it was windy. A friend of mine competed this year and last year. He was actually slower on the bike course compared to the last year. Last year there was a D-tour at that accident, so even considering that.
I think the sport is becoming mainstream with all the media coverage. Now that people can see others doing amazing things, like sub 8 hour full distance races. This causes the population of triathletes as a whole to step their game up. The same thing happened in the United States when basketball started airing on television.
I'd like to use the opening segment where you talked about Ms. Matthews as a means to bring back up something I commented a few videos ago: When are we going to have a meta conversation around excessive gear use and excessive rules in sport? Not just tri, but all sports. She had to stop her flow to fix a piece of hardware. That's not sport. That's mechanics and engineering. She got disqualified because of a rule that she accidentally broke... Because she was worried about breaking ANOTHER rule which is built upon yet another rule. Personally, I see beauty in simplicity. Running is one of the purest ways we can use our bodies in my opinion. The only gear you "need" are shoes, and the only rules are... Idk.. stay in your lane, basically. Dont bring a knife on the course and stab fellow runners. Really basic stuff. But with all of these tri rules and gear and .... Nah it feels dirty and nearly pointless
They need to start doing drug tests on anyone qualifying for Kona if they want the spot and the result to stand. If its too good to be true, it probably is.
sorry but not each age grouper is for me an real age grouper. espacilly lars wichert was an olympic athlet. is that Amateure level? He works at and triatlon magazine and im pretty sure he got here some got condictions to combine training and job a littel bit better than other. further on such athelthtes are more and more sponsored got ne bikes and suits each year. Sound more like an pro condictions for an age grouper than something else?
Hamburg also has looooong transitions. The difference between pro and age grouper in triathlon is just a "few" bucks for the pro license and most of the time not having to work a full-time job. The winner here has 3 kids and works a normal day job. That remains impressive.
Fair to say, as a sports & triathlon journalist, working in a sports & triathlon News Magazin, he has an advantage - talking about understanding and sympathy of his manager to sometimes priories training session for meeting. But in the end he has a job and an income, generates from a different source and crunches all training hours besides that!
he posts all of his training on strava and he didnt train more than 12 hours a week during his preperation so still quite a lot less than full time athletes
Those ag really were in an own level. I compete in ag 10 years. And when I started it was enough to be a good runner to beat the other in the group. (I’m not the one) Nowadays ag are really triathletes, they are good in all three parts and training all of them consistently. So I think the ag triathletes are better now than 10 years ago.
I was at Hamburg on Sunday and i can testify there are people there that were freakishly strong on the bike and even though it was flat there was a hell of a headwind on the way back to hamburg and some of the roads surface was terrible so not like it is now a silky smooth tarmac like Switzerland so to still smash sub 8 hours is amazing. It was also pretty cold and some were suffering. At 112kg I certainy wasnt one of them and called it quits at half way after not training - I'll be back thrid time lucky but fully trained next time. I ended up chatting to a guy who had done the first lap in 2.15 then started suffering migraine and was struggling to see on the bike and decided not to do the run. he put it down to the cold after the swim causing stiffness in his neck muscles - the only positive of being 112kg is i had no such issue. we agreed I'd give him 10kg of my body weight for 10% of his bike talent in return
I’m sorry, but is Lars really an AG athlete? His time is better than the PRO finishing time who won Challenge Korea. He should be automatically pushed into the pro category
Raced Hamburg at the weekend... super disappointed for Kat, but her classy reaction just speaks to the athlete she is. Will be rooting for her for rest of season. The new section of the course was really poor road quality... had fix bottle cage/pick up bottles numerous times... and was lucky to avoid a puncture. No idea how the pros managed blast through some of the sections!!
I’ll be at the San Francisco T100 Saturday, and was wondering where are the most exciting places to spectate - T1, T2, along the course, at the finish? I’ll be fairly mobile, either running or cycling, so I’m planning to watch in 2-3 places.
@@triathlontimmy I’ll probably watch the bike segment at the top of Lincoln Blvd, head over to T2, and watch the run on Crissy Field. Might also go to T1 to see how they cope with the cold SF Bay waters!
As soon as he is finishing his 120 days of Ironman, I will start mine, will do 121 day....lol Just imagine, what could you do in 120 day? Sorry, but this type of races are silly! PS, Dazn has a subscription of $19.99... NOTHING IS FREE!
There no doubt was some strong entries at Hamburg. Swim conditions were pretty much perfect, i started nearly an hour after the first age groupers and there still wasn't any waves. The early starters had it easier on the bike as the wind got up later and was headwind on the open sections especially the 2nd loop. The run was also well supported most of the way round so that no doubt helps. Kudos to them though.
1) they are ex-pros and train like pros 2) no one is ever testing them for doping 3) they draft A LOT - it often reminded me more of a group ride than a race magical mix :)
Hamburg safer? Fenella and Julie had a head on confrontation with a van on the course and another rider and moto turned left to find another head on situation. Shocking.
I raced Hamburg. Swim was choppy on the far end (my Strava does claim it was short with just over 4,000 yds, but that could just be me). Hamburg has long transitions with each about half a mile. According to the race briefing, the bike course was 178k, technical, and not on beautiful tarmac. Plenty of bottles and bike bits on the road from the potholes and cobbles and corners to make you scrub speed. Drafting was being watched pretty closely on the first lap of the bike (at least around me), but I only saw the refs once on the second lap. Most people seemed to be trying to not draft, but there was a little. The wind was pretty strong on the new sections where the surface wasn't as nice. Run course had some varied surfaces with sand and cobble. After trying to kick a rock out of my supershoes numerous times, I eventually had to stop and pull it out. TriDot's projected RaceIndex for Hamburg had it being harder than the average year for Hamburg. Would be interesting to see if they made one for after the fact based on actual weather.
I did it on Sunday too. A mate of mine did last year and this year. His time was slower on the bike this year even though he had to do the D-tour at that accident. The wind was a strong factor slowed us down, I think too.
I found the run course hard to get into a rhythm with all the turns. Can something be said about IM not having carb drinks in course now? I lost 2 bottles and had no way of replacing them. Hate Maurten gels!!!
@@guyholbrow7207 nope …. IM is too greedy to spend money on testing. They know there is widespread doping but won’t address it to avoid drop in registrations
Do you think age groupers are getting faster? 💨
If they have a good doctor
@gtn they listened to Mark's advice from last video and got a coach! 😂 seriously though with so many apps you can get right now it's much easier I presume to have a proper training 😉
Yes! I think that people being able to work from home more since COVID allows for more training to be fitted in, and recovery to be better.
Yes, there are AGers training more or less as pros nowadays
Yes, they are. It's in all amateurs/endurance sports that everyone is getting faster. Better equipment, better training plans, better nutrition. In a short course tri, the difference is not visible as speed can be improved to a certain extent, meanwhile the longer you go, the easier is to get relatively faster.
By the way, it would be really interesting to do a profile on Lars Wichert, just to see how he trains around a full-time job as a triathlon journalist and family commitments.
That's a really cool idea! 👀
@@gtn will dm you on instagram
Hi actually did a couple of interviews about it and since January he only trained 10-12h per week, which is crazy compared to the finishing time
I participated! I was so fast, because we had a strong tail wind while we were in a pretty open area. Then when we turned into the headwind on the way back, it was mostly blocked by trees and houses. It felt like 130km tailwinds and 50km (blocked) headwinds.
Daniela Bleymehl took 20 minutes! off of Laura Philipps bike course record!
Also there and that’s 100%! Run course wasn’t quick though. Lots of turns. Perhaps short by 800m but easily ran that in transitions! Also I thought swim was long.
Cant comment on Europe, but the drafting packs at the front of the age group races here in North America have been RIDICULOUS. Basically a peloton. That could contribute.
I raced on Sunday and I have to say there were 'some' drafting, but in general people kept distance. Many rather kept 12 m and used legal advantages. Top age groupers are riding more like pros in that sense nowadays.
The front guys were racing very fair.
The bike course in Hamburg was over 178k, there is a tunnel with around 500m that you have to go through 4 times. My gps didn’t count the distance everytime I went through it
Ah that's got to be annoying! Bit of shelter from the the weather though 👀
I raced in Hamburg this year and the no-overtaking zone was crazy. They said it was 900m long but after the bridge, the cones just stopped so I overtook there. Suddenly, the cones came back and and the no overtaking zone went for another 300 meters.
There's should be a semi pro category ... it's getting ridiculous for the "real" age grouper to hope for anything but just finish.
I agree. I'm just trying to get some AWA points and then some guy like this shows up in my age group haha
I did Hamburg on Sunday under 10 hours. What I was surprised was that so many people in the Athlete Garden (that's where you can eat and pick up a finisher T-shirt) already. A few hours later there was almost no one in the course. I felt very sorry for people who were closer to the time limit because their run was super lonely. Because it got colder in the evening there was almost no one cheering them.
This is not a free community event. Everyone decides how much training they will put in and what their goals are, do you want to finish and enjoy the day or compete for an AG win. How will you decide "semi-pro" criteria?
@@julianavanniekerk9970 Lars was talking exactly on that topic on their podcast (in German). I don't get into details because it's just so much, but it's an interesting topic.
I do think there are a lot of “AG’rs” that are just not taking the pro licenses so they can win WC as a AG.. looked at a lot of stats and then Strava + social media.. you’ll see them have sponsors / train full time yet still race as AG.. makes it hard to quantify for WC if your working / family / etc
Even if doping is an issue it's not going to turn a couch potato into Jan Frodeno. As an AG athlete with a full time job (6 days per week) I still have my eye on qualifying for WC 70.3 and putting in 15-20h / week. It's about dedication and discipline, these AGs are putting in the hard work so why not applaud them rather than hating on them. It's about your own goals at the end of the day.
Ex pros are still pros at dodging pharmaceutical detection. Let’s all just acknowledge it and make a new category for these people.
I raced and to summarise: swim was tough and I measured longer than IM distance. Transitions were massive - definitely had to run further than a marathon in total!
Bike course was very quick. Pan flat but some pot hole/paved sections. I measured 177km but longer than Nice and Portugal.
Run - quite a few turns and some elevations. Definitely not quick. Around 800m short, longer than Portugal and Nice.
Fast day on a fast course.
Add an ex-Olympian who likely could be a pro, and you get an ultra fast day.
rapid!
The guy on the cover picture is Dr.Andreas Kröner from Vienna-Austria, he's medical doctor and 50 years old. He did 4h00 at iM 70.3 Jesolo 2024 and beat up the young "pro's". He also became European Champion at iM Hamburg 2023 with 8h47min. How is that possible??
Amok Andi !!!
Super interesting! Best from Poland !!!
At this rate, it makes more sense to create a new catetory for these people . Age group is supposed to be about amateur athletes , not ex pros/professional athlete's.
Or millionaires (*hyperbole... Not too much, though)
Why? He is an age grouper. End of discussion
Aka, I wana easer competition.
Being an elite oarsman doesn’t automatically translate to success at triathlon 😂. I wish! I used to row for my country too, but my fastest Ironman is 11:03. Hoping to break 5 hrs for the 70.3 this year. Some people have a special gift for swimming, running and cycling over the IM distance and the discipline to exploit it. I don’t and that’s fine! Let’s just enjoy what’s possible and not envy their amazing performances.
@michaelbauer8778 so are a lot of pros who compete internally as a pros, but for Ironman, they choose to participate as Age groupers.
It's just not that fair but again IM is also about the €€€ take a look at the amount of people taking spots to go to 70.3 worls in New Zealand when they finish 20th-30th in their age group simply because all the other ones either qualified or don't want to waste 6k + on a race
Nutrition and feuling have improved considerably in reasant years. Also, I am pretty sure the weather conditions were optimal compared to the heat and winds of Kona.
I raced on Sunday. The air and water temperature was spot on, but it was windy. A friend of mine competed this year and last year. He was actually slower on the bike course compared to the last year. Last year there was a D-tour at that accident, so even considering that.
Tri-spy: Chelsea Sodaro
But how good is Fusion's wind tunnel?
Well, we know how thorough Ironman PED testing is, right?
It would be interesting if WADA turned up to IM races. I've only ever seen them at the ETU champs.
That's Els Visser for sure in the pic
Gustav is doing IM70.3 in Poland I believe (answering to James)
Did I miss it or was the Victoria, BC 1/2 ironman world qualifier mentioned?
I think the sport is becoming mainstream with all the media coverage. Now that people can see others doing amazing things, like sub 8 hour full distance races. This causes the population of triathletes as a whole to step their game up. The same thing happened in the United States when basketball started airing on television.
Makes it seem like an impossible task to podium as a 55+.
Tri-Spy Chelsea Sodaro - Kona Champ
Sam long doing T100 then flying to Australia to do cairns to try and qualify for Kona
Is it Chelsea Sodaro I the zoomed in pic?
I'd like to use the opening segment where you talked about Ms. Matthews as a means to bring back up something I commented a few videos ago:
When are we going to have a meta conversation around excessive gear use and excessive rules in sport? Not just tri, but all sports.
She had to stop her flow to fix a piece of hardware. That's not sport. That's mechanics and engineering.
She got disqualified because of a rule that she accidentally broke... Because she was worried about breaking ANOTHER rule which is built upon yet another rule.
Personally, I see beauty in simplicity. Running is one of the purest ways we can use our bodies in my opinion. The only gear you "need" are shoes, and the only rules are... Idk.. stay in your lane, basically. Dont bring a knife on the course and stab fellow runners.
Really basic stuff.
But with all of these tri rules and gear and .... Nah it feels dirty and nearly pointless
Els visser!
Tri-spy: Kat Matthews
Tri-Spy Fanella Langridge for the win
I will go on the limb and guess Els Visser
Tri spy: Fenella langridge
Tri-Spy Chelsea Sodaro
Jonas 👍
Chelsea sodaro🤪
Tri spy- Els Visser
Keep your bloody hands still Mark. Banging them on the table is distracting
They need to start doing drug tests on anyone qualifying for Kona if they want the spot and the result to stand. If its too good to be true, it probably is.
sorry but not each age grouper is for me an real age grouper. espacilly lars wichert was an olympic athlet. is that Amateure level? He works at and triatlon magazine and im pretty sure he got here some got condictions to combine training and job a littel bit better than other. further on such athelthtes are more and more sponsored got ne bikes and suits each year. Sound more like an pro condictions for an age grouper than something else?
It’s definitely not drugs.
tri spy: daniela bleymehl
Hamburg also has looooong transitions. The difference between pro and age grouper in triathlon is just a "few" bucks for the pro license and most of the time not having to work a full-time job. The winner here has 3 kids and works a normal day job. That remains impressive.
Fair to say, as a sports & triathlon journalist, working in a sports & triathlon News Magazin, he has an advantage - talking about understanding and sympathy of his manager to sometimes priories training session for meeting. But in the end he has a job and an income, generates from a different source and crunches all training hours besides that!
he posts all of his training on strava and he didnt train more than 12 hours a week during his preperation so still quite a lot less than full time athletes
Those ag really were in an own level.
I compete in ag 10 years. And when I started it was enough to be a good runner to beat the other in the group. (I’m not the one) Nowadays ag are really triathletes, they are good in all three parts and training all of them consistently.
So I think the ag triathletes are better now than 10 years ago.
I dont think AG are doping tested...
I was at Hamburg on Sunday and i can testify there are people there that were freakishly strong on the bike and even though it was flat there was a hell of a headwind on the way back to hamburg and some of the roads surface was terrible so not like it is now a silky smooth tarmac like Switzerland so to still smash sub 8 hours is amazing. It was also pretty cold and some were suffering. At 112kg I certainy wasnt one of them and called it quits at half way after not training - I'll be back thrid time lucky but fully trained next time. I ended up chatting to a guy who had done the first lap in 2.15 then started suffering migraine and was struggling to see on the bike and decided not to do the run. he put it down to the cold after the swim causing stiffness in his neck muscles - the only positive of being 112kg is i had no such issue. we agreed I'd give him 10kg of my body weight for 10% of his bike talent in return
Good luck on your training for next year! It shows a real maturity to be able to stop and know your limit 🙌 Great to see you're staying safe
I’m sorry, but is Lars really an AG athlete? His time is better than the PRO finishing time who won Challenge Korea. He should be automatically pushed into the pro category
Raced Hamburg at the weekend... super disappointed for Kat, but her classy reaction just speaks to the athlete she is. Will be rooting for her for rest of season.
The new section of the course was really poor road quality... had fix bottle cage/pick up bottles numerous times... and was lucky to avoid a puncture. No idea how the pros managed blast through some of the sections!!
Remember that Hamburg is just above sea level and it’s flat as a pancake.
Tri spy: Fenella Langridge
In Ironman Brazil(with PRO field) second and third place overall was from age-groupers with 8.08 and 8.14
Some crazy times 🙌 Did you compete yourself?
@@gtn no, just like statistics)
I believe one of those was Felipe Santos, who was a pro last year but just decided not to take his license this year ?
I’ll be at the San Francisco T100 Saturday, and was wondering where are the most exciting places to spectate - T1, T2, along the course, at the finish? I’ll be fairly mobile, either running or cycling, so I’m planning to watch in 2-3 places.
Crissy field should have good views for the bike and run
@@triathlontimmy I’ll probably watch the bike segment at the top of Lincoln Blvd, head over to T2, and watch the run on Crissy Field. Might also go to T1 to see how they cope with the cold SF Bay waters!
As soon as he is finishing his 120 days of Ironman, I will start mine, will do 121 day....lol
Just imagine, what could you do in 120 day? Sorry, but this type of races are silly!
PS,
Dazn has a subscription of $19.99... NOTHING IS FREE!
Fenella an Tri-Spy :-)
There no doubt was some strong entries at Hamburg. Swim conditions were pretty much perfect, i started nearly an hour after the first age groupers and there still wasn't any waves. The early starters had it easier on the bike as the wind got up later and was headwind on the open sections especially the 2nd loop. The run was also well supported most of the way round so that no doubt helps. Kudos to them though.
1) they are ex-pros and train like pros
2) no one is ever testing them for doping
3) they draft A LOT - it often reminded me more of a group ride than a race
magical mix :)
Going with Chelsea Sodora for the Tri-Spy pic.
Hamburg safer? Fenella and Julie had a head on confrontation with a van on the course and another rider and moto turned left to find another head on situation. Shocking.
Are age group racers drug tested?
No but should be!!
Age groupers becoming pros 😅
How does a pro like Kate get into a tangle like this?
Tri-Spy Fenella Langridge
Not sure but doping has.
It's all the GTN hints and tips!
Fenella Langridge 🤔
Tri spy: Els Visser
I raced Hamburg. Swim was choppy on the far end (my Strava does claim it was short with just over 4,000 yds, but that could just be me). Hamburg has long transitions with each about half a mile. According to the race briefing, the bike course was 178k, technical, and not on beautiful tarmac. Plenty of bottles and bike bits on the road from the potholes and cobbles and corners to make you scrub speed. Drafting was being watched pretty closely on the first lap of the bike (at least around me), but I only saw the refs once on the second lap. Most people seemed to be trying to not draft, but there was a little. The wind was pretty strong on the new sections where the surface wasn't as nice. Run course had some varied surfaces with sand and cobble. After trying to kick a rock out of my supershoes numerous times, I eventually had to stop and pull it out.
TriDot's projected RaceIndex for Hamburg had it being harder than the average year for Hamburg. Would be interesting to see if they made one for after the fact based on actual weather.
I did it on Sunday too. A mate of mine did last year and this year. His time was slower on the bike this year even though he had to do the D-tour at that accident. The wind was a strong factor slowed us down, I think too.
I found the run course hard to get into a rhythm with all the turns.
Can something be said about IM not having carb drinks in course now? I lost 2 bottles and had no way of replacing them. Hate Maurten gels!!!
@@ianbatty25 I had back up carb drink mixes in my special needs bag, so stopped there to replace the bottle that I lost of liquid carbs!
One word .. DOPING !!
and then you might as well draft when no one’s looking to optimise your performance! I wonder if any of the top 10 age groupers were drug-tested?
@@guyholbrow7207 nope …. IM is too greedy to spend money on testing. They know there is widespread doping but won’t address it to avoid drop in registrations