Tomorrow's Underdogs and Bike Powers

OK, we all have Faris, Michellie, Macca, Natascha, Normann, Cam Brown in our list of favorites for tomorrow. But there’s always an underdog that rises up, nips at the heels of the heavies on the bike, and pulls off a surprising run that puts them on the map. Among them are a bevy of gun bikers who promise to make the day’s dynamics exciting.

Yesterday we talked to Rutger Beke, and he has countrymate Marino Vanhoenacker in his surprise list. “Either he’ll have a horrible day and finish out of the mix, or he’ll surprise everyone," Beke said. “I think he can surprise everyone.”

Who else is out there under the radar? I’d like to think Joanna Zeiger, who probably has one of the biggest drives in the sport, is not being given the props she is deserved. Nobody has mentioned the name of the Ironman Coeur d’Alene champ this week. Which, for Joanna, is just as well. She has had her fair share of bad luck here, but like McCormack, she is starting to understand this race a bit more.

While they may not figure into the top finishers, there’s a bevy of athletes who are going to turn this race inside out by virtue of expecte stunning bike performances. I think given how his biking has going astral (see his top finish over a heap of United Cycling and HealthNet/Maxxis hitters at the Tour of Utah a couple months ago and his win at Ironman Japan) Chris Lieto is going get out of the water and simply smoke the bike, maybe chasing a new bike record, maybe chasing a chance at putting some fear into the major favorites. Considering that Trek pulled out all the stops, building his TTX with heaps of non-standard aero effects, I want to hope he's got something in mind. Will he outsplit Normann? Faris? It all comes at a cost on the run. I’m sure Chris has the ponies under the hood, but how many he’s putting out on the Queen K at the expense of the run is the question.

Switzerland’s Karin Theurig, the former time trial world champion falls into the same category: a gun biker who sacrificed her short-course time trialing speed to focus on her longer rides as well as swimming and running. Ultimately she finished third at Worlds (to former triathlete and American Kristin Armstrong), but has no regrets. “I had to give up something, and that shorter speed was what I sacrificed for my swimming and running,” Theurig told us when we ran into her yesterday near Lava Java. I watched her bike at Ironman Lanzarote which was expectedly impressive and dominant, but was more keen to see her run—and I was impressed. She might catch some people off guard. And what a story it’d be if she made the front of the bike with Natascha and Michellie.

Same with Belinda Granger. Training with Brett Sutton, she thrived in the focused training environment in Switzerland, and, ever bubbly, seems genuinely excited about getting after it tomorrow on her custom BMC TT01. After her victory over Lisa Bentley at Ironman Canada, she’s proved a threat to the major players in the field. Whether she has the gap off it to make a race of it on the marathon? We’ll see tomorrow.

How about Ain Alar Juhansson. At 6’3, he’s more fit to be a small forward in the NBA than a triathlete. If he can negate losses in the water, his bike is his ace in the hole. If he reaches the lead group, he’ll do a Normann and ride straight through it. Recording a 3:00 marathon in Lanzarote this May, he’s someone the favorites can’t let go too far. Maybe we’re looking the new Torbjorn Sindballe for 2006?

Who’ll throw a wrench in the game tomorrow? There’s always someone.

Comments

[Team Guy]

Mitch:
Thanks for what you're doing. Good luck today in the Ironman from everyone in the SEAL Teams!

Thanks Jessi and Ironblog for sharing Mitch's story.