Thursday, August 18, 2011

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:
Simone Benz

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.

5 comments:

  1. sweet post. I'll scream out point standings as I give them drink on the run course.

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  2. Nice analysis! It looks like it's going to be an exciting racing weekend. I hope that IM Live is not going to crap out again ...

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  3. hey brett! a friend referred me here and i must say i love your work! couple add'l bits of info for ya: diana riesler and erica csomor are the girls who passed up slots. and i will be racing louisville. :) all the best in canada! yell extra loud for meredith for me!
    hillary

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  4. Love the inside scoop and good luck in Louisville! Didn't see you on their participant list, but I'll update my post and get you in there. Would love to see our local Meredith keep her title. I read your posts all the time so I really appreciate the compliment!

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  5. Sorry but you are missing Andi Boecherer , who is at the moment in 32th place (4210 pts) but not qualified in July and also Mike Aigroz (46th-3160 pts) who are ahead in the bubble.

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