Now I don't want to say I called it in pretty much every way. But I am going to claim it anyway. Okay, well perhaps that is a slight exaggeration, but I got pretty close.
Man, that's men's race was one of the most exciting I have seen for a while. It is a real pity that Frodeno had a bad day because of injury, no one wants to see a champion go down like that. Hats off to him for finishing anyway, a real sign of class in my mind, I can think of very few athletes who would have done that. But still a real pity that it wasn't his day.
Still, even if Frodeno had been well, I don't think it is a sure thing that he would have won, the pace this year was just scorching hot. I think there is a strong realisation that if you are going to neutralise the run of guys like Lange and Frodeno you have to bike hard, really hard. The times on the bike course this year I think reflect that. Those guys simply smashed that previous bike record. Hats off to Wurf, Sanders and Kienle for giving that a go. They rode just so damn fast is boggles the mind. For Sanders and Kienle the tactic nearly worked too. In fact it would have worked if it wasn't for the phenomenal runner that is Patrick Lange.
What can you say about that run. Off the bike 7 minutes down and then making all that and then some up. He almost did it last year and then this year he did. Simply amazing.
All up though, it was such a great race. I can honestly say right up until Lange passed Sanders I really had no idea who would win. Would Sanders hold on, would Lange get him. All the way through the field the battles were fierce and unpredictable. It really was a compelling day of great racing. Just what a World Championship should be.
The women's was a bit less close, but still exciting. Lucy Charles really does have a scary talent. Her pro debut in Kona and coming in second. And not just coming in second, but leading the race for the bulk of it. Great to see somebody attack the race and put themselves in the position that they know is necessary rather than having the race dictated to them.
In the end Ryf was simply too strong, as most would have predicted she would be. That last section of the ride where she simply switched on and seemed to ride up to Lucy Charles as if by choice was quite scary. I know she was actually working very hard in that phase, but the fact is that it seemed like she flicked a switch and made up 5 minutes. Amazing.
Once Ryf was off the bike first it was pretty much racing for second for the rest of the field. But still it was a great race to watch. There was that constant fear that Lucy Charles would falter after such a gutsy swim and bike but she hung tough and got that well earned second. And what a great way to finish the season for Sarah Crowley pulling in a bronze. She was certainly one of the in form athletes coming into the race and so it was great to see her fulfill those predictions.
A bit more predictable perhaps, but no less compelling.
And then finally, I can't finish a Kona wrap up without talking briefly about Emily Loughnan. The other day I mentioned that she was one of the main athletes I wanted to watch and what a show she put on. First in her age group and fastest age grouper over all. I am wondering if she the first Western Australian to do that. For the record she was 22nd over all too. Amazingly consistent race. 4th out of the water, 2nd off the bike and then taking it all the way from there. From what I have seen of her training around Perth this race has been the single focus of the last 12 months for Emily, so it is awesome to see the plan come to fruition. Perfect preparation and execution. I am not sure what her plan is now, but with this result she has a load of options open to her. Pro licence perhaps? We shall see.
Phew. What a day. What a race. Time for a sit down I think.
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