March, errr August Tri Madness!

Not only am I excited about racing Canada next weekend, but also very interested in how the weekend is going to play out in the Kona Points standings for the Pro's.  This is the last IM weekend for Pro's to get points for Kona, and the last ten spots for the men and women will get their invites to the big show.  Sort of like Selection Sunday for the NCAA, there are too many scenarios that may play out so its a bit hard to wrap your brain around. 

I haven't been able to locate who has declined their invitations from the first wave of July selections, but the women are vying to be in the top 37 at least (Wellington and Carfrae are automatically qualified) to get in.  The men's side has three additional spots to 43 (Alexander automatic bid, McCormack declined) since Patrick Evoe declined his invite so he can continue to improve this season and make a bigger impact next year. I really wanted to be able to scream "Pizza Pizza" when he screamed by.  Some other notables declined their invite to Kona reported from Hawaii 24/7's article. 

First off are the athletes on the bubble who would qualify before this weekend's races given a few roll-downs with athletes concentrating on Vegas and other late season races:


Women:

Joanna Lawn

Miranda Alldritt*

Jacqui Gordon*

Maki Nishiuchi*

Mary Beth Ellis*

Desiree Flicker

Jackie Arendt*

Hillary Biscay

Jodie Swallow

Kate Major

Belinda Granger Martina Dogana Simone Benz Nicole Woysch

Men:

Marko Albert

Hiroyuki Nichiuchi*

Paul Ambrose*

Joe McDaniel

Torsten Le Abel

DomenicoPassuello

Uwe Widmann

Jason Shortis*

Chris McDonald

Simon Billeau

Dirk Wijnalda

Mike Neill*

Markus Fachbach

Christian Brader*

*Denotes athlete is registered for Canada or Louisville

While nearly half of the men and women on the bubble are racing, there will be a big shift in both KPR standings come August 29th.  Lets take a look at each race, who is racing next weekend in Canada and Louisville and what it all means.

All IM races are not created equal on the calendar.  Louisville is a P-1000 race for Ironman which means 1st Place gets 1000 points and has a total of $25,000 up for grabs.  Canada is a P-2000 which awards 1st place 2000 points and has $75,000 up for grabs for the Pro's.  That means Canada's winner has a better opportunity to move up in the KPR standings.  It also means more people will gravitate to the race for that reason.  There are some risky moves being played out as a few Pro's registered for both races and are probably weighing their options for their best points.  #1 option, go for top 10 in Canada and have some insurance for more points, or head to Louisville and go for an Ironman Champion title and max out at 1000 points.

It is amazing all the different scenarios that will unfold from these races and when you throw in the 750 points available in Brazil 70.3 this weekend.  Half the athletes on the bubble will be bounced out of Kona qualification, which is a tragedy as there are some fan favorites there.  There are 15 men and 12 women who sit on the outside looking in for the KPR race.  Trying to break it down as straightforward as possible, but who knows what will happen come race day.  Below are the athletes who are racing next weekend, current KPR rank, and their best outcome with a win.
Women

Last	First	Rnk	Pts	Best Rnk	Best Pts	Race
ALLDRITT	MIRANDA	31	4640	12	6640	Canada
GORDON	JACQUI	32	4370	12	6370	Canada
NISHIUCHI	MAKI	33	4355	12	6355	Canada
ELLIS	MARY	34	4200	14	6200	Canada
GORDON	JACQUI	32	4370	23	5370	Louisville
NISHIUCHI	MAKI	33	4355	23	5355	Louisville
KELLER	FERNANDA	44	3120	26	5120	Canada
HARRISON	LAUREN	45	3030	27	5030	Canada
ARENDT BISCAY	JACKIE HILLARY	36 37	3980 3830	28 29	4980 4830	Louisville Louisville
KESSLER	MEREDITH	49	2805	29	4805	Canada
BEEBE	KELZIE	65	2240	34	4240	Canada
WHITBY	FIONA	68	2098	35	4098	Canada
MADISON	MACKENZIE	76	1780	37	3780	Canada
COOPER-SCOTT	HALEY	95	1430	41	3430	Canada
BEEBE	KELZIE	65	2240	44	3240	Louisville

Men

Last	First	Rank	Points	Best Rnk	Best Pts	Race
NISHIUCHI	HIROYUKI	57	2785	25	4785	Canada
ABEL	TORSTEN	60	2720	25	4720	Canada
SHORTIS	JASON	63	2680	28	4680	Canada
NEILL	MIKE	67	2520	29	4520	Canada
BRADER	CHRISTIAN	69	2445	29	4445	Canada
JAMMAER	BERT	72	2390	30	4390	Canada
DELSAUT	TREVOR	74	2330	31	4330	Canada
RAPP	JORDAN	75	2290	32	4290	Canada
NISHIUCHI	HIROYUKI	57	2785	40	3785	Louisville
CURRY	SCOTT	115	1320	45	3320	Canada
RHODES	BRYAN	116	1300	48	3300	Canada
AMBROSE	PAUL	58	2765	52	3765	Louisville
TOTH	ANTHONY	138	1115	53	3115	Canada
WURTELE	TREVOR	165	910	53	2910	Canada
BRETSCHER	DANIEL	83	1980	53	2980	Louisville
SNOW	TIM	86	1823	56	2823	Louisville

This is leading up to be a great finish for the KPR system.  While its benefits or shortfalls are yet to be seen, at least it will give us a great weekend of excitement as we watch what unfolds next Sunday.  I'm hoping for some great racing to watch as I'm on my out on the run course in Canada.  Should be a incredible battle to see.

Lets just hope Ironman Live can handle it.