Big Weekend

Well, what a weekend of sport we are in for over the next two days.

For one we have that little thing called Kona coming up on Sunday.

I don't have any athletes racing at Kona this year, so for me most of my attention will be on the Pros. Who is my money on for the wins? Well I am thinking Frodeno and Ryf. Frodeno because he seems to be heading in in good form and when he is fit and uninjured he is very, very good. And Ryf, well, because she is Daniela Ryf.

Who would I pick after those two? Well that is one of the great things about Kona, you never really know. Lucy Charles will definitely be up there in the women, I would think second, but there are probably some other athlete's who will have something to say about that. Marianne Haug would be another pick to be a very top contender. After that I think the usual suspects will be in the mix, Mirinda Carfrae, Sarah Crowley, Heather Jackson, perhaps Caroline Steffen, but which order they will be will really come down to who weathers the day best, and perhaps a bit of luck.

In the men? A few names have to be mentioned. Lange obviously has to be considered, he is the defending world champion after all. After the last couple of years you can never write him off, he has come into Kona after quiet years before and won, but he does seem to be a little off the boil this year. I may very well eat my words on Sunday, but I can't see him winning, although he is likely to be up there with his phenomenal run leg.

What about Brownlee? Win on debut? He is an amazing athlete for sure, but I can't see him coming away with the win. He is likely top 10, after all he is very good, but mastering Kona and beating a strong field of other amazing athletes is a tough ask. Not this year I think.

I would love to see Kienle with a top podium finish, he really is in good form and is running very well, but will have to wait and see if he can put it all together on the big Island. Bart Aernouts has been very consistent at Kona and I would expect more of the same this year. Wurf? Possibly, we will see if he burnt too many matches in Italy. He seems to have an amazing capacity for suffering, but to me an Ironman two weeks before Kona is a bit out there, I think it will hurt him. Currie, he is my dark horse after a top 10 last year, I think we will see more of the same from him. David McNamee? Just like Aernouts he has been very consistent at Kona and I don't see any reason we wouldn't see more of the same, although the conditions may not favour him quite as much as the more recent races have.

On that topic of conditions, it sounds like this year the conditions are predicted to be a bit tougher. Last year was widely considered to be mild by Kona standards, cooler temperatures and less wind. The milder conditions favoured athletes with strong runs and slightly weaker bikes as they didn't lose as much time as usual on the bike and were able to make it up on the run. This year, if the tougher bike conditions eventuate it may be to the advantage of the uber bikers like Kienle, Aernouts, Wurf and Sanders, particularly if they can also run, which these guys can. I don't think it will necessarily be enough to overtake the well rounded athletes like Ryf and Frodeno, but it could make the results look a bit different to what we have seen for the last two years.

And if Kona wasn't enough, the other sporting event on this weekend is the another little thing called the Ineos 1:59. If anything I am perhaps more interested in tomorrow's sub 2 hour marathon attempt than Kona. Whilst a sub 2 hour time won't actually count as a new marathon world record, just the idea of it is amazing to consider and more than a little mind boggling. And an unbelievable as it sounds, from what I am hearing it is sounding very possible. I will definitely be keeping a close eye on this one.

What a weekend.