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On 20 September the PTO sent a letter to Wanda proposing “to enter into discussions for the acquisition by the PTO of all of the assets of the Wanda Sports Group Company Limited (‘WSG’) related to its worldwide triathlon and mass participation business (the ‘WTC Triathlon-MP Business’)”.

The PTO responded to this statement with a letter to Ironman, saying: “Please be advised that the PTO will continue to implement its strategy for self-determination successfully followed by professional athletes in other sports such as golf and tennis, and we plan on moving forward with acquiring and operating events in the space to celebrate the sport we are so passionate about. Rest assured that our plan is not mutually exclusive and our proposal to enter into discussions to acquire the WTC Triathlon-MP Business remains open. Together with North Point Advisors we are prepared to begin such discussions immediately should the WSG Board reassess its position.”

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You can read the PTO’s full response to Ironman here 

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It also witnessed the changing of the guard at the Ironman World Championship. American Dave Scott, the six-time champion and resilient to the last, against his immeasurably talented yet seemingly flawed compatriot Mark Allen, whose previous attempts to crack the Big Island had only exposed his own fragility. Until Allen finally broke Scott’s resistance less than two miles from the finish, there was barely a gel wrapper between them the entire day.

It’s the elite race that has arguably done more than any other to market Ironman to future generations, and as the years pass its stock only rises. Allen’s winning time was a course record by 19mins and it took until 2016 for Germany’s Patrick Lange to finally beat his 2:40:04 marathon. 

But another Iron War is long overdue. Yes, in the intervening years we’ve had epic races. Monstrous leads have been hunted down, such as Allen reeling in Thomas Hellriegel in 1995 or Mirinda Carfrae catching Daniela Ryf in 2014. There have been front-runners hanging on, meltdowns just shy of the finish, and utter domination by Chrissie Wellington and, more latterly, Ryf.

But the closest we’ve had to a mano a mano contest was Chris McCormack versus Andreas Raelert in 2010, where the Australian outfoxed his opponent for a second triumph. 

Could 2019 be the year? The German showdown of Jan Frodeno v Patrick Lange – scuppered last year after Frodeno’s injury – could be on. While Frodeno was the dominant force in Ironman Frankfurt in June, history tells us that it’s only in Hawaii that Lange really hits his stride. Could Alistair Brownlee play a role? Trying to read much into Brownlee’s win in Ironman Ireland in June is folly. Everything, including fitness levels, will be different come October. History also dictates that you have to pay your dues in Hawaii – no male has won there on debut since 1996. 

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Perhaps for our next Iron War, we should instead turn attention to a rivalry that could blossom to be as exalted as Scott v Allen. Switzerland’s reigning Kona champ Daniela Ryf has won the past four titles – only Allen has won five consecutively. But Lucy Charles-Barclay has been runner-up for the last two and is improving year-on-year. The two tend to avoid each other outside of world championships. As Ryf won in Ironman Austria in July, Charles-Barclay was taking the tape in Challenge Roth. Both remain unbeaten at Ironman distance in 2019. The race dynamic in Hawaii has seen Charles-Barclay overtaken later on the bike leg each time. If they arrive in T2 together then coupled with Charles increasing leg speed then three decades on from 220 reporting on the original Iron War, we could be reflecting on the sequel. 

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Germany’s Patrick Lange is looking for a third successive title. Jan Frodeno – the 2015 and 2016 winner who missed last year’s race through injury – returns undefeated since Hawaii 2017. Their compatriot, the 2014 champion Sebastian Kienle looks back to his best, and the popular 2017 runner-up, Canadian Lionel Sanders, is also in the mix after clinching a late berth in Mont-Tremblant. 

Then there are the Brits led by David McNamee, who finished third here in the past two years, and the much-heralded debut by two-time Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee. While many eyes will be on the Yorkshireman, Norfolk’s Joe Skipper is also back having finished seventh in 2018, and 2008 Olympian Will Clarke has a point to prove after two disappointing appearances on the Big Island to date.

Predicting the top 10 has never been more difficult, but in true 220 style we’ve crunched the form guide and looked at who has the experience, talent and mindset to succeed in triathlon’s hottest arena. This means that, as always, a few big names aren’t included. There’s no place for Sanders, having spent much of the year injured, nor is there for his fellow speedy Canadian, Cody Beals, who is unproven in the humidity of Hawaii. The experienced Terenzo Bozzone, James Cunnama, Tim O’Donnell and Michael Weiss also miss out, as does the fleet-footed Swede Patrik Nilsson, despite winning Ironman Texas in a rapid 7:50:55.

So just who does make our top 10. Scroll through to find out…

10. Boris Stein, 34, Germany

Yes, another German. And this one shot to attention by winning Ironman Sweden in August with a 4:03hrs 180km bike split and a finish time of 7:49:14, both, unsurprisingly, course records. Given Stein was over 5mins faster than any challengers on the bike leg, it could be easy to dismiss the 34-year-old as just a power-biking bully who will be shown up leaving T2. But he has also shown he can deliver a marathon to back up his prowess on two wheels. It was a 2:53:37 in Kalmar, against his Ironman-best of 2:44:20 in France in 2014. Experience also often proves critical in Hawaii and this will be Stein’s fifth visit as a professional. He seems to have a liking for the Big Island having finished in the top 10 in his last three appearances, and he’ll return fresh and in-form having missed out last year due to injury.

9. Andy Potts, 42, USA

Having represented the USA in the 2004 Olympic Games triathlon in Athens, where he was first out of the water and eventually finished 22nd, the eight-time Ironman champion shows no sign of slowing down yet. These days he’ll happily concede the Kona swim king honours to Australian Josh Amberger and instead settle for a measured effort across all three disciplines – and it appears to be working. Qualification was clinched with victory at Ironman Brazil in May – his first full distance win for three years – and he also produced his fastest iron-distance bike time of 4:17:43 on his way to seventh in Challenge Roth. But while these results might still not strike fear into too many opponents, his enduring consistency on the Big Island means that, even aged 42, you write off Potts from the top 10 at your peril. Six times has placed in the money since his Kona debut in 2008, and last year was his fastest time yet. 

8. Braden Currie, 33, New Zealand

The Kiwi should claim some credit for Spaniard Javier Gomez’s quick return to short-course racing after he beat him in a titanic tussle in Cairns last year and then again in Hawaii as Currie ran his way to a career-defining fifth. This year, without Gomez in opposition, he could afford to run 5mins slower to defend his title in Cairns – although that still meant a standout 2:44:33 marathon. From there Currie headed to Germany for an aborted crack at Challenge Roth, where he pulled out on the run citing nutrition issues. Having started the year with victory in the middle-distance Challenge Wanaka in February, it’s been a long season, but he’s shown he’s still in decent nick with a 70.3 win on Australia’s Sunshine Coast on the same weekend as the Ironman 70.3 worlds in Nice. Eschewing that second European trip should place him in good stead to try for another payday here.

7. Cameron Wurf, 36, Australia

Expect another step up the top 10 for Australia’s former professional cyclist Cam Wurf as his unique style of triathlon education continues and he becomes ever more of a threat. First off the bike in the past two years in Hawaii and a training partner of Team INEOS’s Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome, Wurf’s ability in the saddle is unquestioned. Having finished an astonishing 19 iron-distance races since his debut in Cairns in 2016, his marathon time has also dropped from 4:03:38 to twice posting 2:50 splits in 2019. Both runs gave him podium finishes, the first a victory at Ironman Australia in May and the second a creditable third place at Challenge Roth in July. Wurf faded to 17th on his Big Island debut and to ninth last year after posting a 4:09:06 bike course record and holding out for 15km on the marathon before a concessionary fist bump as champion-elect Patrick Lange breezed past. Expect him to hold out for a little longer this time around, especially if it’s windy.

6. Alistair Brownlee, 31, Great Britain

Anyone in triathlon who doesn’t know that Alistair Brownlee is lining up in the Ironman World Championship must have been living under a big chunk of volcanic rock. The two-time Olympic champion, and now two-time Ironman 70.3 World Championship runner-up, has never been to the Big Island before and has played down his chances on debut. That’s with some justification. The last male debutant to win here was Luc van Lierde in 1996 and you have to go back over two decades to Canadian Peter Reid to find a male winner who hadn’t first stepped on to the podium. Brownlee has enjoyed a more fruitful 2019 to last year – which he spent the majority of recovering from surgery or injured – and if not at his very best, the 31-year-old still looked strong in finishing second to Norway’s Gustav Iden at the 70.3 worlds in Nice.

Ali Brownlee talks exclusively to 220 about Kona and how he’s feeling

Kona 2019: What are Ali Brownlee’s chances at this year’s Ironman world Championships?

But unlike some rivals, such as Javier Gomez, who was travelling from the World Triathlon Series Grand Final, or Patrick Lange, who appeared to be using it as a tune-up race for Kona, Nice was a key target race for Brownlee. Kona, he admits, will be more of an experiment, and he doesn’t even have a three-discipline Ironman to draw on for experience, with his qualification in Ironman Ireland shortened to a duathlon after the swim was cancelled. Yet while there are many reasons to write off his chances, including coping with the heat and humidity, his talent and ability to dig deep are unsurpassed, and, as his former coach and long-time mentor Malcolm Brown says: “I have been surprised many times by Alistair, and would hope to be so again.”

5. Bart Aernouts, 35, Belgium

The Belgian had been a consistent top 10 performer since making his Kona debut in 2012 until last year, where he stepped up a level, running a 2:45:41 marathon off a 4:12:25 bike split to clinch an unlikely runners-up spot and follow Patrick Lange in becoming only the second triathlete to duck under 8hrs on the Big Island. A former duathlete and now coached by two-time Kona winner Luc van Lierde, Aernouts marathon splits have always been of high calibre, but it’s the bike that has really improved. Last year he posted a 4:00:50 split in Ironman Hamburg, albeit on an exceptionally fast day, with a cancelled swim replaced by an initial 6km run, but he also backed it up with 4:17:57 at Challenge Roth in July. With the swim Aernouts weakest discipline, don’t expect to see him until later in the day, but as he showed in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice with a competitive 2:19:46 bike split and 1:10:36 half-marathon for sixth place, he’s peaking perfectly for the Big Island once more. 

4. David McNamee, 31, Great Britain

The Scot has made the top three twice in Hawaii in the past two years and has the third fastest time ever on the Big Island, marking him out as Britain’s finest male Ironman triathlete. Yet it’s still a big jump to the top step of the podium and he knows that leap has to come from an improved bike leg. While it has become top priority, it also hasn’t come to fruition so far in 2019. McNamee split 4:52:13 on a self-confessed ‘bad day’ at Ironman South Africa and 4:31:39 on a traditionally fast course at Roth, although he did puncture on the way. It leaves his best effort as the 4:21:18 he posted in Hawaii last year on a day where the Big Island was at its most benign. In contrast, his run form looks better than ever with 2:41 marathons in both iron-distance races this year, as he ran back through the field. Few are as shrewd as McNamee on the Big Island, and none, bar Lange, have shown they can maximise their ability here as much as the Scot. It’s why you cannot write him off for another perfectly pitched race, and a similar performance – if not finishing position – to the past two years.

3. Sebastian Kienle, 35, Germany

There’s a renewed vigour about Kienle in 2019 that suggests five years on from lifting the Kona title, the German could be in the shape to deliver another masterclass. Britain’s David McNamee was quick to pick the 35-year-old out in 220’s Hawaii previews (Issue 369) and he showed with his race-best 4:17:36 bike leg in Ironman Germany, where he pedalled the 180km with a piece of glass picked up in transition stuck in his foot, and a 1:09:31 half-marathon in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice, that he’s in shape to threaten the podium once more. Kienle’s swim remains a concern, he lost over 3min over 1.9km to the leaders in Nice and has to go double the distance, again without a wetsuit, in Hawaii. But there’s more time to make inroads on the bike over the full distance, and he won’t be short of time-trial aces for company with the likes of Cameron Wurf, Bart Aernouts, Joe Skipper and Andrew Starykowicz also likely to be in the chasing groups. We’ve seen in previous years how the Queen K course suits Kienle to a tee, particularly putting the hammer down on the descent from Hawi, and having dropped out of last year’s race, he has extra incentive to perform.

2. Jan Frodeno, 38, Germany

The 2008 Olympic champion and 2015 and 2016 Ironman world champion, undefeated since Hawaii 2017, will be many observers’ pre-race favourite after another stellar year and opting not to defend his Ironman 70.3 world title to keep full focus on Kona. There’s every reason it might pay off. Frodeno looked serene in defeating Sebastian Kienle to win Ironman Germany for a third time in June, and his biggest fear might be injury after a back issue forced him to jog through the marathon in Hawaii in 2017, and a stress fracture of the hip kept him out of the race altogether last year. If on form, Frodeno will be to the fore in the swim and bike, but may have to run faster than the 2:45:34 marathon he produced to win in 2016 to be successful for a third time. Aged 38, that would be no mean feat and make him just a few months younger than the oldest Kona winner, Craig Alexander, in 2011.

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1. Patrick Lange, 33, Germany

The 2017 and 2018 winner has a trump card that no other triathlete looks capable of playing in Hawaii – a 2:40 marathon at will. Lange, largely anonymous for the rest of the year, has produced it on all three occasions he has raced on the Big Island, and it’s not just the speed, but the knowledge that no-one has come close to matching it, giving him a buffer of around 5mins to his main rivals and 10-15mins over the rest of the field. Aged 33, Lange is softly spoken, small in stature, and far from the best swimmer or cyclist in the sport, and he can expect to be attacked more on the bike this year than ever before. But he remains unfazed by 2019 defeats at Ironman Germany (11th place and 52mins behind winner Frodeno) and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship (22nd), knowing he has the two fastest winning times ever in Hawaii and the confidence that he can run down anybody on the Big Island.

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Behind her, Lucy Charles-Barclay, second twice in the past two years, leads the quest to try, but it’s not just a two-woman race. The likes of three-time champion Mirinda Carfrae, German duo Anne Haug and Laura Philipp, USA’s Sarah True, who has come through more than enough drama already in qualifying, and experienced podium-chasers Sarah Crowley, Kaisa Sali and Heather Jackson, will all hope to feature prominently. Five other Brits also line up alongside Charles-Barclay, with the return of 2018 ninth-place finisher Corinne Abraham, Nikki Bartlett, Susie Cheetham and Laura Siddall, and a first start for Kimberley Morrison.

Who will make the top 10? As we do every year, 220 has researched the form and fitness of the main contenders to reveal our predictions…

10. Kaisa Sali, 38, Finland

The Finn has visited Hawaii in the past three years and sliced 10mins off her finishing time on successive visits. It was good enough for two fifth-places and then seventh last year and with another sub-9hr performance at Ironman Cairns in June, there is little reason to think she won’t again be contending for prize money. Sali has raced sparingly this year, but did return for the recent Ironman 70.3 World Championship where she placed a commendable 12th. Yet it’s the longer distance where she excels, with a race built around a strong bike leg and a consistent marathon around the 3hr mark. As if to illustrate, her 10 iron-distance marathon times are separated by less than 10mins, ranging from 3:08 down to 2:59.

9. Laura Philipp, 32, Germany

You could be forgiven for not being overly familiar with the name Laura Philipp because the German triathlete has just one Ironman race to her name and that was in Barcelona in October last year. However, not only did she win to qualify and give herself over 12 months to prepare for her Hawaii debut, but in finishing in 8:34:57 with a 2:52:00 marathon she became the fastest female debutant ever in one of the fastest women’s times ever. For good measure, Philipp added another five 70.3 titles in an undefeated season and looked set to take 2019 by storm. That hasn’t happened. After winning in Marbella in April, an injury forced her to quit Challenge Heilbronn in Germany on the run in June. Under the guidance of coach and husband Philipp Seipp, who has also been coaching an improved Sebastian Kienle for the past year, Philipp has rehabilitated and is ready to give Kona a crack. If she can find anything like the form she had pre-injury, then she’ll be worth keeping an eye on.

8. Heather Jackson, 35, USA

After three top five finishes in Hawaii, Jackson had a rare off-day last year, where she slipped back on the run to 14th place. The 35-year-old put any demons to bed over that result by delivering a stellar 8:39:18 performance to win Ironman Arizona the following month in a new best time over the distance. Jackson, a former track cyclist who grew up playing ice hockey and football, has also enjoyed victory in 2019 on a rare excursion to Europe for the inaugural Ironman-branded Vitoria-Gasteiz in northern Spain, and 70.3 success on more familiar territory, for a fourth straight year at Chattanooga and a second time at Coeur d’Alene. Suited to the heat and with a strong back-half of the race, a top 10 will be the least she expects.

7. Jocelyn McCauley, 31, USA

If McCauley can piece together her perfect race then she has the ability to be a force in Hawaii. Last year the American looked set to improve on a creditable 10th place on debut in 2017 before she blew out on the marathon and eventually toiled down Ali’i Drive in 30th. But this year she has stepped up a level. Two of her declared ‘outcome goals’ were to win an Ironman and finish under 9hrs. She achieved both in New Zealand in March with a new course record of 8:53:10, and then went even faster in Texas the following month with 8:39:41. Both races were pegged on sub-3hr marathons, which puts the 31-year-old from Idaho in with a shout of achieving her final outcome goal for the season – placing in the top five in the Ironman World Championship.

6. Sarah True, 37, USA

It’s been a dramatic season for Sarah True, defined by the final throes of her two Ironmans – of which she has little recall. A former World Triathlon Series race winner and fourth-placed finished in the London Olympics, after transitioning from short-course racing and finishing second in Ironman Germany in 2018, she backed it up with fourth place in Hawaii. But although it was an impressive debut on the Big Island, being placed outside the top three meant that there was no automatic qualification to Kona by just completing an Ironman in 2019. She’d have to earn her spot outright. That led True to Cairns and a DNF 17km into the run where she said she “blacked out and it was super scary”. If that was worrying, in her next attempt, on an unseasonably hot summer day back in Frankfurt in June, she was 700m from the finish with an otherwise unassailable lead when she fell victim to heatstroke. True eventually cemented qualification in August in Mont Tremblant by finishing runner-up to Australia’s Carrie Lester who had already bagged her Kona spot in France. Whether she had any energy left for the Big Island or can handle the heat remains to be seen, but if she races to her potential then another top five finish is within her capabilities.

5. Mirinda Carfrae, 38, Australia

The three-time champion in 2010, 2013 and 2014 is the only woman to have beaten Daniela Ryf on the Big Island, and although she may not be the force she once was, Carfrae is still capable of producing a performance that threatens the podium. Having last won five years ago, she took time out after finishing runner-up in 2016 to start a family with triathlete husband Tim O’Donnell. Last year’s return saw the Australian finish fifth when calm conditions helped her post her fastest ever bike split in an iron-distance race. As a past winner, Carfrae’s validation race was ticked off with sixth place in Ironman Mar del Plata in Argentina in December and this summer saw June and July successfully filled with 70.3 races where she won in Victoria and Mont Tremblant before finishing runner-up in Coeur d’Alene and Santa Rosa. It means the 38-year-old should arrive in Kona fresh for another assault on her favourite race. Don’t write her off yet.

4. Sarah Crowley, 36, Australia

Replacing the two Ironman victories the Australian achieved in both 2017 and 2018, Crowley has had to accept two runners-up spot in Ironman Cairns and Challenge Roth this year. But those defeats came at the hands of New Zealand’s Teresa Adam, who has opted out of competing in Kona, and the redoubtable Lucy Charles-Barclay, and do little to undermine Crowley’s pedigree as one of the finest long-distance triathletes in the sport. It’s a consistency that’s extended to Hawaii, with a third place in 2017 and sixth last year. Perhaps wisely choosing to race – and win –a low-key 70.3 event in Santa Cruz than travel to the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice, Crowley has set herself up neatly for another crack at the podium. A consistent performer over all three disciplines, she lacks the potent weapon of a Charles-Barclay swim, Ryf bike, or Haug run to threaten for the title, but her footspeed is improving. In the latest of her 13 iron-distance finishes, in Roth, she came within 2sec of cracking the 3hr barrier on the marathon, her best yet.

3. Anne Haug, 36, Germany

The German posted a time of 8:31:21 at Ironman Copenhagen in August to place her in exalted company with only Chrissie Wellington, Daniel Ryf and Melissa Hauschildt having gone faster over the full distance. It was only the third Ironman of Haug’s career after moving across to long distance racing last year with a fourth-place finish in Germany and going one place better in Hawaii. Her small frame and strong running style always marked her out as a threat for Hawaii and a 2:55:20 race-best marathon on the Big Island confirmed that potential. Haug has seen her swim and bike times improve in all three races too and it’s a direction of travel she’ll need to maintain if she’s to be within striking distance of Ryf come the business end of the race. If she can be, then she had the chance of achieving what Mirinda Carfrae did in 2014, running down the Swiss and becoming only the second woman to have beaten her on the Big Island. But that remains a big ‘if’.

2. Lucy Charles-Barclay, 26, Great Britain

Runner-up on her past two visits to the Ironman World Championship, a yardstick as to whether Charles-Barclay is closing in on her nemesis Daniela Ryf was denied to us in the 70.3 worlds after the Brit picked up a 5min drafting penalty that effectively ended her chances of victory.

Can Lucy Charles-Barclay win Kona 2019?

Until then Charles-Barclay had kept her 2019 powder dry on the rivalry between the sport’s top two, and produced an impressive and undefeated season with headlines victories at Ironman South Africa, Challenge Roth and the Challenge Championship in Samorin, Slovakia, for a third consecutive year. With the sanction in Nice only fuelling the fire for another shot at the Swiss here, expect the 25-year-old to open a gap after the swim (she broke the long-standing swim course record last year), and try and maintain that advantage all the way to T2. If she does, then running shoulder-to-shoulder with Ryf over the marathon will be a test of both Ryf and Charles-Barclay’s improved run form. Twice the Brit has run under 3hrs for the marathon, both of which have been this year.

Read Lucy Charles-Barclay’s thoughts on her Kona 2018 performance here

1.Daniela Ryf, 32, Switzerland

The Swiss looked at her indomitable best as she collected a fifth Ironman 70.3 world title in six years on the Cote d’Azur at the start of September, and it’s difficult to see how anyone can stop her winning a fifth consecutive Ironman World Championship. Ryf’s dominance over both 70.3 and the full iron-distance now surpasses any triathlete in history and while she was seventh in the Olympic Games in 2008 and was European junior champion as far back as 2004, there are few signs that her mind or body are losing their edge.

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Her greatest challengers are likely to be Lucy Charles-Barclay attacking from the front, and Anne Haug trying to run Ryf down from behind, but there’s a sense it will take something incredible from either, or both, plus a sub-par Ryf performance or mechanical calamity to usurp her. In 2018, Ryf, in unprecedented calm conditions, broke the bike (4:26:07) and course (8:26:18) records despite being stung by a jellyfish during the swim and thinking she may have to quit. No-one has been able to apply any real pressure on the Swiss since Mirinda Carfrae chased her down on debut in 2014. The Australian broke the run course record that day in one of the all-time great Ironman performances. You’d sense someone will have to do similar to take Ryf down again.

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With its brutal heat, pummelling winds and gruelling hills, Kona is a place where anything can happen – and usually does. From Julie Moss to Paula Newby-Fraser and Normann Stadler, many an athlete has been forced into a crawl or a DNF on the course, giving rise to unexpected shake-ups in the top ranks.

There’s still no distinct landmark that ‘tells the tale’ better than the finish line itself. But there are key landmarks you can look at for progress along the way…  

The swim and T1

There may be more riding on the swim than ever before. After Normann Stadler won with a crushing cycling performance in 2004, the prevailing strategy was to establish a lead in the lava fields and then ‘hold on’ through the marathon. But the trend in recent years has shown the über-bikers having to overcome gaps incurred on the swim before creating their lead for the run.

As close as the men’s race portends to be, the amount of time taken in transition could make a crucial difference in the early positions on the bike.

Bike Course

© Michael Rauschendorfer

Most people look at the elevation profile of the course and think that the 19km climb up to the turnaround point is the make-or-break point. But looks are deceiving, and the actual determinant is an invisible enemy.

By the time the competitors are well on their way to T2, they’ll be pedalling against those pesky headwinds. Out on the highway, with the sun nearing its peak and not a drop of shade to be found, disaster lurks behind every lava rock. From flat tyres to dehydration and digestive issues, this is where it all goes wrong for even the most prepared athlete.  

Six times Kona winner Dave Scott said: “I think the biggest issue isn’t that the men aren’t going too hard on the bike, it’s that the train of athletes are producing these super surges where they’re producing high VO2 and muscle acidity and end up burning muscle glycogen at a furious rate. 

“This is conjecture, but I think a number of the athletes don’t do strength training year-round, and Hawaii really is a strength sport. So for the athletes that are chasing Kienle, I’d say stick to your plan and don’t linger in that higher VO2 range for longer than 20secs. Otherwise you’re going to get spat out the back.”

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Transition 2

Again, with the difference measured in minutes, seconds will count getting off the bike and onto the pavement. We’ll know a lot by the time the athletes exit this point and begin the run. 

Run course

From 22-30km on the run is where we’ll probably start getting our clearest indications of the finish.

Six-times Ironman world champ Mark Allen said: “Pre-race tactics are very hard to maintain in Hawaii. In 1995, I came out of the bike over 13mins down on Thomas Hellriegel. It was very hard to stick to my plan on the bike, but I’d set an upper limit of how fast I was going to go and if people pulled away, I had to let them go. My run was much faster than Hellriegel’s but it was hard, very hard. Most people would rather not take that risk and not rely on the run, as opposed to going their own pace on the bike in the hope that they have a great marathon.”

Chrissie Wellington said: “If you need to adopt a run-walk strategy, that might be a faster way to the finish.In 2012 Pete Jacobs stopped and stretched. Anticipate the demons that might hit you in Hawaii. The run is rolling so be prepared for it. There are some steep parts and it could actually be faster to walk up them. 

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“If you start getting nervous, maybe have some strategies that will calm you down. Just chill out. It’s not a holiday, but don’t let the size of the event get to you. Above all, enjoy it!”

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Becky Hoare: An age-group perspective on Kona
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Mirinda Carfrae on coping with the heat in long-distance triathlons

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Ali Brownlee talks exclusively to 220 about racing Kona

“Alistair has everything that’s required, but will need to make some adjustments to psychology for the length of the race,” says Malcolm Brown, who played a guiding hand in the Brownlee brothers’ rise from keen upstarts to Olympic medallists. Since winning Olympic gold in Rio 2016, Brownlee, through choice and injury, has mixed up his racing schedule, and even being in Hawaii has come about somewhat by chance. 

Brownlee’s Ironman debut in Cork in June came at short notice and without specific long-distance prep. His goal had been to produce a performance in front of a home crowd to win the ITU World Triathlon Series event in Leeds for a third time. But when that inexplicably fell flat, attention turned to Ironman Ireland, and a race that would be marked by a cancelled swim, punishingly wet and cold conditions, and a successful pursuit of home hope Bryan McCrystal on the marathon run. It could hardly be further from what he’ll face in Hawaii in October, but he duly accepted his qualification berth.

History shows that male debutants in Kona must earn their stripes. You have to go back over 20 years to Canadian Peter Reid to find a men’s champion who hadn’t previously podiumed, so taking the tape first time out is a big ask.

“He’s shown that he can do pretty well as a debutant in longer-distance events,” Brown argues. “One reason is his background in endurance, but he’s also good at preparing when he decides to prepare thoroughly. I’d expect him to take three weeks to acclimatise as much as he can, but I also think he’s doing it this year to understand how he’ll react physically, to give himself the best chance in the future.”

In trying to topple 2015 and 2016 champion Jan Frodeno, and 2017 and 2018 winner Patrick Lange, who lowered his own course record to 7:52:39 last year and seems able to produce a 2:40hr marathon at will, Brownlee will need to respect the conditions as much as his German rivals. “It’s knowing where your red line lies,” Brown adds. “Alistair can bury himself, but if you do that in Hawaii you won’t finish. It requires a different mentality.”

Unanswered questions

Producing a swim and bike leg strong enough to remain in contention has to be a given, but it’s the run where questions remain unanswered, and, in truth, have been since a hot day in Hyde Park in 2010 when Brownlee flaked out approaching the finish and can’t remember the final yards. While brother Jonny’s near-collapse in Cozumel in 2016 only increased perceptions that the Yorkshire brothers might be susceptible to heat, Brown sees it slightly differently.

“Counterintuitively, a 10km can be more of a threat to athletes who are vulnerable,” he suggests. “I think there’s some good evidence that over 10km you are running much closer to your limits.”

If Brownlee is to triumph he’ll repeat the rare achievement of Brit Chrissie Wellington, who won convincingly on debut in 2007. “He can cope with the pressure, attention and expectation, and with surges on the bike,” Wellington says. “But I do think the marathon will be a huge challenge. My advice is to adapt to the heat long before you get there and develop strategies for racing in it, put spare nutrition in your special needs bag and choose your wheels carefully based on the winds.” 

Brown remains cautiously optimistic: “I’m confident he’ll complete with distinction, yet I’d be surprised if he were able to know enough about the conditions without having run it before to be the top man. But I’d hope to be surprised; I have been many times by Alistair.

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The BMC-Vitfit Pro Tri Team athlete’s move to long-course racing has brought about further highs (he has three sub-8hr Ironman finishes to his name) and lows (he’s struggled in his two previous attempts in Kona). And yet he’s back in Hawaii as the best prepared he’s ever been, having spent late summer altitude training at Livigno in Italy before warm-weather acclimitisation in Texas alongside the reigning Kona champ Patrick Lange.

The latter saw Clarke perform low volume, high intensity efforts with the German, and he admits to feeling more potent as a result. But talking to the Brit at a Team BMC showcase at Huggo’s in Hawaii, and you become aware and the sacrifices, perils and pressure that pro triathletes have to face in order to make a living in Ironman.

“I haven’t seen my four-year-old son for a month and the Hawaii experience will have cost me six thousand pounds,” says Clarke. “It is a sacrifice and a burden, but it’s something I have to do as if you take yourself seriously as an Iron athlete then you have to be here. If you don’t come here desperate, then you can go home. The pressure is good for me and keeps the fire in my belly.”

Clarke’s Hawaii ventures so far have ended in disappointment, and he’s aware of the pitfalls of not racing to his own plan come Saturday morning on the Big Island. “The race does scare me,” Clarke admits, “Everyone over-bikes and moves out of their comfort zone. The worst-case scenario is to miss the packs on the bike and ride on your own for 180km; you need other athletes to bounce off and the aero benefits of being in a group.”

Clarke will be joined by his old friend and former training partner, Ali Brownlee, for the first time in Hawaii. Having had dinner with Brownlee this week, Clarke has high hopes for his fellow Brit. “He’s good to go. He’s really smart and leaves no stone unturned. I think he’s the most talented triathlete in history and he wants his title as the best triathlete on the planet back.”

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And what of Clarke’s own pre-race goals and his future in the sport that’s dominated his life? “I’ll be proud to run myself into the top 10. I want to stay on Team BMC and earn myself another contract with them. My own coaching setup, Will Clarke Coaching, is going well and I want to start a Zwift team next year. But I know that I can leave pro racing with no regrets.”

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The technology will be on show in David McNamee’s Anemoi+ tri-suit and is a collaboration between the Derby-based brand and textile innovator Devan Chemicals. The cool comfort coating is said to have a positive impact on core body temperature as well as on heart rate. 

The Anemoi+ will be launched following Kona, with Scottish athlete David McNamee (third twice in Hawaii) involved in the testing process of the original Anemoi tri-suit from its conception. 

The cooling effect of the multisport formulation reportedly helps evaporate sweat during exercise in a balanced way, with heat thus drawn from the body for cooling benefits. The Moov&Cool tech contains a continuous heat-absorption capacity, which can assist in the heat withdrawal process, and it’s said to work in wet environments as well.

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The Ironman World Champs start at 5:30pm UK time, with McNamee (who was sporting kinesis tape on his neck at the pro press conference) set to face fellow Brit Alistair Brownlee on the start line. 

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Kona 2019 once again had quite possibly the strongest men’s field in the 41-year-old history of the Ironman World Championships. The big name contenders were all present, including a two-time Olympic Champion by the name of Alistair Brownlee on his Kona (and full Ironman) debut.

The 3.8km swim in Kailua-Kona town began after the U.S. national anthem at 6:25am, and swim course record holder, Australia’s Josh Amberger, and Brownlee were straight to the front. The two-time Kona champ and another Olympic gold medallist, Jan Frodeno, was soon to join them in conditions described as the having the biggest swell in at least a decade of Kona races.

Kona swim and @AliBrownleetri following @JoshAmberger in the lead. Lots of swell here. pic.twitter.com/8KmquecoRl

— 220Triathlon (@220Triathlon) October 12, 2019

The big story was reigning champion Patrick Lange having the Kona swim of his life and positioned in the lead pack, but Brit David McNamee missed that lead group. The men would be led out of the swim by Amberger in 47:28mins, with Frodeno (47:31mins) and Brownlee (47:33mins) soon behind in second and third respectively.

Heavyweight contenders Lange (who had suffered from a fever the day before the race) and McNamee (neck injury) were soon to drop out as the bike leg pace was set by Frodeno, Brownlee (who seemed to have a replacement back wheel during the ride) and American Tim O’Donnell. The uber-bikers of Seb Kienle and Cameron Wurf only started gaining in time at the 90km point, and Brit Joe Skipper was with the bike train and in 10th position at 160km.

Lead pack of men’s elites out of the water, @AliBrownleetri comfortably in it. #IMwc2019 pic.twitter.com/waCPXMPctx

— 220Triathlon (@220Triathlon) October 12, 2019

Into T2 and Frodeno had created a 3min gap on Brownlee and O’Donnell having upped the pace with 30km to go, entering transition after a 4:16:03 bike split. Brownlee’s 180km split was 4:19:59, with Sebi Kienle, Cameron Wurf and Boris Stein all in the mix.

Onto the run and, with the heat rising, the long, looping gait of Frodeno was holding firm. By the halfway stage of the run and on the approach to the infamous heat of the Energy Lab, the German’s advantage was 3:26mins over O’Donnell, 5:30mins over Kienle and 10mins over a fading Brownlee.

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Jan Frodeno has just come near us on Ali’i Drive, looking strong. #imwc2019 pic.twitter.com/zzxZbXcdiD

— 220Triathlon (@220Triathlon) October 12, 2019

“All of the predictions come in during the week ahead of the race and people look at the data and race results, but the fascinating thing for us athletes is to then see how it unfolds on race day,” said Frodeno at the press conference ahead of the race, and unfold it would in Frodeno’s favour.

The German, having dropped out injured in 2017 and not made it to the start line in 2018 as his compatriot Lange took the glory (and the course record), held off the challengers to run a 2:42 marathon to cross the line in 7:51hrs and break Lange’s course record of 7:52hrs. “Kona is the Wimbledon of our sport and it’s a great feeling to run on this course after walking in 2017,” was his post-race comment.

It was his third Kona title, to go along with his two 70.3 World titles and Olympic gold from 2008. And it means that the last time a German man didn’t win the Kona title was 2013, making it 10 for the European nation.

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Second was America’s Tim O’Donnell, with another German, Sebastian Kienle, in third. Joe Skipper was top Brit in sixth with an 8:07 finish, with Brownlee coming home in 21st after a 3:13 marathon (and 8:25hr finish time) and Will Clarke in 25th.