# The Ironman Frankfurt Drama & Chaos!!!

An episode of [The Triathlon Hour](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1595443343), 30 Jun 2025, 57 min.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2640942/episodes/19698051-the-ironman-frankfurt-drama-chaos.mp3

Ironman Frankfurt happened over the weekend and it was full of chaos, drama and world class performances. There were disqualifications given, then taken back. Penalties galore. Arguments between athletes/athlete teams and referees on the course. Race changing mechanicals. Cramping/shoe issues. The Norwegian hype train was back in full force and dominating on the world stage, insane bike performances and so much more. This is one of the most action packed podcast of the year so far. We put a lot of time & energy into bringing you this podcast every week and have done for 4 years now. If you appreciate what we do, we would love your support and you can do so for less than the cost of a coffee per week on Patreon - Patreon link

## Transcript

[0:30] SPEAKER_00: Okay.
[0:31] SPEAKER_00: Where do we even start?
[0:33] SPEAKER_00: That's the big question.
[0:34] SPEAKER_00: Iron Man Frankfurt, it had it all over the weekend.
[0:37] SPEAKER_00: It had world-class racing from some of the best Iron Man athletes on the planet, but it also had the most drama and chaos of any race in 2025 so far, by far.
[0:47] SPEAKER_00: There were disqualifications, and then there wasn't disqualifications.
[0:51] SPEAKER_00: There were penalties so obscure and weird you'd have trouble explaining them to even like the biggest Trithlon fan if they didn't watch the race.
[0:58] SPEAKER_00: Bikes were falling apart, motorbikes were helping drag athletes along at about 60 kilometers an hour.
[1:03] SPEAKER_00: Christian Blumenfeld reigns supreme.
[1:05] SPEAKER_00: Patrick Lang, the defending Iron Man World Champion, and Magnus Ditliff faltered.
[1:10] SPEAKER_00: Gustav Eden, he might almost be back.
[1:13] SPEAKER_00: And we're going to unpack it all on today's podcast.
[1:16] SPEAKER_00: So do not miss a minute of this one.
[1:18] SPEAKER_00: And to help me do it, I've got two perfect people for the job.
[1:21] SPEAKER_00: Ben Hamilton is a professional triathlete and he watched every single moment of Iron Man Frankfurt from start to finish.
[1:28] SPEAKER_00: Ben, thanks for being here.
[1:29] SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Jack.
[1:30] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was a good time zone for me to watch it.
[1:32] SPEAKER_01: So I was glued to the TV.
[1:34] SPEAKER_00: And boy, oh boy, welly, is the other person joining us important to just about everything that happened?
[1:41] SPEAKER_00: And you may not even know that this man was important yesterday.
[1:45] SPEAKER_00: The man who isn't the coach of Christian Hogan Hague, but is the one who was responsible for him getting his penalty for coaching, mind you.
[1:53] SPEAKER_00: And the one who actually does coach Magnus Ditliv and was involved in heated debate with the TOs behind the scenes when Magnus got given his red card and also watched every second of the race live from the course.
[2:04] SPEAKER_00: We are lucky to have him here for this one.
[2:06] SPEAKER_00: I think it's going to be pretty explosive.
[2:08] SPEAKER_00: Kasper Peterson, welcome.
[2:09] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, thank you, Jack.
[2:11] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, a lot of stuff went down yesterday, so I think we got plenty, plenty of things to talk about.
[2:17] SPEAKER_00: So there was so much that happened in yesterday's race that it's kind of hard to know where to start.
[2:23] SPEAKER_00: I think what I might do is start with the Magnus Ditliv situation because we've got you here, Casper, and because I think it's probably the most interesting part of the race and the chaos and drama that happened.
[2:34] SPEAKER_00: So what happened was Magnus Ditliv was given a red card, which means you're disqualified there and then as soon as you got given the red card.
[2:42] SPEAKER_00: You can finish the race and protest later on, but those protests never really tend to go well.
[2:47] SPEAKER_00: And he was given that for littering, unintentional littering, intentional littering, doesn't really matter.
[2:53] SPEAKER_00: He he was he was seen to be littering twice, once just outside of the feed zone, and then one a little bit up the road, like maybe 500 meters further up the road afterwards.
[3:04] SPEAKER_00: Um and then what happened was the the TO uh rode his bike up next to him, showed him the red card.
[3:10] SPEAKER_00: Magnus Ditlib said uh some choice words to him uh and then just kept running.
[3:15] SPEAKER_00: And then behind the scenes, it went from that he'd been given a red card and he was disqualified to no, he wasn't disqualified, but he was given a yellow card, which is just a stop and stand penalty.
[3:26] SPEAKER_00: And then, as it turned out, he uh he didn't get a penalty at all.
[3:29] SPEAKER_00: And he was in second place at the time, he ended up finishing eighth.
[3:32] SPEAKER_00: It was a really crazy, bizarre situation that unfolded.
[3:35] SPEAKER_00: So, Casper, why don't you talk to us about this?
[3:38] SPEAKER_00: Because you were involved in all of it behind the scenes yesterday.
[3:41] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so honestly, I think we actually have to start just outside of transition two when Christian is is running out of transition.
[3:49] SPEAKER_02: Uh, and I think also the video footage that you actually published on your story as well from the coverage, where we can see that I'm like, I'm not, I wouldn't even say I'm running, I'm like walking sideways for five meters, giving a spit to to Christian, as we are good mates and we live in the same town, like 500 meters apart.
[4:08] SPEAKER_00: So just pause on that, Casper.
[4:10] SPEAKER_00: So for the people who don't know, this is Christian Hoganhag we're talking about, not Blumenfeld.
[4:14] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he was leading the race out of T2.
[4:17] SPEAKER_00: He got given a one-minute stop and stand penalty for outside assistance, coaching, like I talked about on the intro.
[4:23] SPEAKER_00: And that was Caspar here, who is in the Magnus coaching team.
[4:26] SPEAKER_00: He was the one who ran next to Christian Hoganhag and gave him some information that led to his penalty.
[4:32] SPEAKER_00: So go from there.
[4:34] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so the fact is that I'm giving a split then to Christian Hugenhaugh.
[4:38] SPEAKER_02: And then actually, if you look really closely to the drone footage, you can see that there is a referee that is basically riding almost directly into me, a German referee.
[4:48] SPEAKER_02: And just when the drone footage is going over from that part, then that referee is basically almost attacking me and yelling and shouting at me in German.
[4:59] SPEAKER_02: I don't really understand German at all, but I could sense that that this was not a good thing, and he was basically almost taking my jersey and shouting up my face.
[5:10] SPEAKER_02: But then it so happens that Philipp Seib, who is a good man of mine as well, is standing next to me and just kind of going over and basically taking us apart and saying to the referee that I don't understand German.
[5:24] SPEAKER_02: Um, so he has to speak English, and then he starts yelling at me in English and saying that uh I can't run next to the athletes and they will get disqualified, and uh he will give Christian Högenhauk a one-minute penalty, and I'm saying to him that come on, mate, this is professional racing, it's not just like some weekend racing where people are having fun.
[5:46] SPEAKER_02: You cannot just give like a penalty because I'm running like or walking sideways for five meters next to an athlete, and I'm not even the coach of Christian Hügenhauk.
[5:57] SPEAKER_02: So I could basically get everyone disqualified then if I was running next to Christian Blumenfeld or Gustavidin.
[6:03] SPEAKER_02: But he then gets really mad, and Philip uh Seip is trying to also calm him down.
[6:08] SPEAKER_02: Uh, but then he is riding away the referee as well, trying to bridge up to Christian uh Högenhauck.
[6:15] SPEAKER_02: And then the problem here is actually that Christian Högenhauer's real coach, uh Torben Oggedale, is then running besides Christian for I think maybe 10 meters or five meters more than me.
[6:28] SPEAKER_02: And then, of course, because the referee is already really, really mad at me of what happened before, then where Christian is actually really getting the penalty is actually because Torben is running 10 meters besides uh Christian.
[6:45] SPEAKER_02: So then Christian gets the one-minute penalty, and I'm getting aware of this, I think five minutes later, while I'm running over to the four-kilometer mark.
[6:56] SPEAKER_02: Uh, and that's after Christian has taken his penalty.
[7:00] SPEAKER_02: And then when Christian is running uh besides me with the referee, I'm saying to the referee that come on, man, you're an idiot, you're ruining people's races.
[7:11] SPEAKER_02: Then the referee turns around and again almost attacks me, like basically riding into me, stopping me, and saying, You can call me an idiot.
[7:22] SPEAKER_02: You have like I will disqualify all your athletes who are your athletes, I will disqualify them right away.
[7:28] SPEAKER_02: And I'm saying to the uh referee that made, come on, you have to chill the fuck down now.
[7:34] SPEAKER_02: This is not just like a weekend race, and because you are a weekend police, it doesn't mean that you can ruin people's races.
[7:42] SPEAKER_02: Uh, and he gets really, really fired up.
[7:45] SPEAKER_02: Uh, and I then actually try to calm him down and also say to him that okay, I'm sorry I call you an idiot.
[7:52] SPEAKER_02: I'm sorry that I ran or walked sideways next to uh Christian.
[7:58] SPEAKER_02: Uh, that's a mistake of mine.
[8:00] SPEAKER_02: Uh, but you need to give me a warning and not let this go out on the athlete.
[8:04] SPEAKER_02: And I also apologize as well for calling him an idiot.
[8:07] SPEAKER_02: Also, to be clear, uh, in this whole episode that we are talking about now, it's not only referees that are making mistakes.
[8:16] SPEAKER_02: I also now, 24 hours later, feel like that I also made some mistakes as a coach and as a yeah human.
[8:24] SPEAKER_02: Like, I don't want to be a guy, obviously, that are calling out referees that they are idiots.
[8:30] SPEAKER_02: I think everyone's heart rate and adrenaline was really, really high.
[8:34] SPEAKER_02: So that's something that I'm a little bit embarrassed about as well.
[8:38] SPEAKER_02: But things happen along the course.
[8:40] SPEAKER_02: Uh, but then actually the referee and I uh end up shaking each other's hands and be like, okay, we stop this now.
[8:47] SPEAKER_02: I apologize, you apologize.
[8:50] SPEAKER_02: Uh and it's like, okay, I won't disqualify any athletes.
[8:53] SPEAKER_02: While this is happening, though, when I'm discussing with the referee, this might take two minutes or so.
[8:59] SPEAKER_02: Then after that, I'm running over to the next spot where I'll be giving Magnus a split, and then I'm getting a call that Magnus is disqualified, and I'm like, okay, what is going on?
[9:13] SPEAKER_02: I just talked with a ref that he won't be disqualified because I was shouting or coaching or calling him an idiot.
[9:21] SPEAKER_02: And everyone should know by this time I don't know that there has been any littering going on or anything like that because I haven't watched the broadcast.
[9:29] SPEAKER_02: I've just been running around trying to sort everything out.
[9:33] SPEAKER_02: So when I get this message that Magnus is disqualified, I'm straightly running towards where I know that the hit referees and the refs like office is.
[9:43] SPEAKER_02: So I'm running towards the transition zone, which is basically maybe one and a half K away from where I was.
[9:49] SPEAKER_02: While I'm running towards that place, I'm getting a call from Jens that he's disqualified due to some littering, which I don't really understand.
[9:58] SPEAKER_02: Uh then I try to watch the clip and kind of figure out what is going on.
[10:03] SPEAKER_02: So I'm running towards the referees kind of office or place, but at that exact place, that's also where the German television is hosting their like live broadcast, and Sibi Kinley is sitting and commentating.
[10:17] SPEAKER_02: Uh Sibi and I know each other a little bit, and he obviously knows that I'm working with Magnus.
[10:22] SPEAKER_02: Uh, so we kind of get eye contact, and I'm like pointing at Sibi that I want to go over to him, and he's kind of waving me over towards him.
[10:31] SPEAKER_02: Uh and I'm having to jump like over a fence, and there's people that are then trying to get me into Sibi.
[10:38] SPEAKER_02: Uh, and then all of a sudden, in the middle of this, like I'm ending up in the German broadcast.
[10:45] SPEAKER_02: Uh, they're putting me on a chair, giving me headphones on, and I just thought that I was about to talk with Sibi because I wanted to understand what was going on, because he's obviously commentating the German broadcast.
[10:57] SPEAKER_02: So I imagined that he knew what was going on.
[11:00] SPEAKER_02: And then I'm getting uh placed in the seat with the headphones on, and Sibi is asking me live on German uh television what I'm thinking about the disqualification, and I'm sitting there like uh and imagine like all of this has happened within let's say 30 minutes or so, all of these things, and my adrenaline is high, I'm angry, I don't know what is going on, and I just have to be honest on the German television and be like, I don't know shit about what's going on, but and I'm I'm trying to be really polite because obviously I could get really, really angry, but I'm really like, okay, you are now talking to people, you are on television, you can't really behave badly.
[11:44] SPEAKER_02: So I'm taking a deep breath and be like, okay, I think everyone needs to handle this in a professional way because people are fighting for European championship title here.
[11:54] SPEAKER_02: They are also fighting for uh money, they are like there is a lot of things invested in this.
[12:00] SPEAKER_02: So I'm just trying to like navigate through all of that, and that takes maybe three or four minutes.
[12:05] SPEAKER_02: Um, then I'm taking out of kind of the broadcast area, and Sippy is going with me, and we're just having a like quick talk about what is going on.
[12:13] SPEAKER_02: And Sippy says that he, as far as he understands, it's due to that he is littering.
[12:20] SPEAKER_02: There is a clip where I think with the cop it's basically maybe two meters after the littering zone ends, and that's why Magnus is getting a yellow card for littering, which honestly is something I've never seen in that way in running.
[12:38] SPEAKER_02: Like it has been in on the bike when people are littering outside of the littering zone, but on running, I've never seen people getting disqualified or getting a penalty for like uh throwing away a cop.
[12:50] SPEAKER_02: Um, and then after that, Magnus is then getting really, really angry at the referee, obviously.
[12:57] SPEAKER_02: Um so because he's shouting some words to the referee that the ref doesn't like, then from my understanding, he then gets a red card for like communicating badly to a referee.
[13:11] SPEAKER_02: Um so that's kind of the whole to kind of summarize what is going on around Magnus.
[13:17] SPEAKER_02: Then I am trying to get in contact with the head referee after I spoke with Sibi.
[13:24] SPEAKER_02: Sibi says that Torsten uh Rade, who is like responsible for tri rating, which I guess most of the listeners know.
[13:32] SPEAKER_02: He's also there in the commentary box.
[13:34] SPEAKER_02: He has the hit the number to the head referee.
[13:36] SPEAKER_02: I go to Torsten, I get the number to the head referee.
[13:40] SPEAKER_02: I'm trying to call her down several times.
[13:42] SPEAKER_02: Uh, after a bit, she uh responds back to me.
[13:46] SPEAKER_02: Uh, we have a chat, uh and the first thing that she can confirm is that Magnus will probably, is her word, not get disqualified.
[13:56] SPEAKER_02: Then I say to her, okay, listen, we are in a situation now where you have an athlete out on the course who has been told that he's disqualified.
[14:06] SPEAKER_02: Imagine running around in a big Iron Man race where you are in a position still to win the race, but you're getting aware that you're getting disqualified and you still have to kind of find a way to go through it.
[14:20] SPEAKER_02: Imagine how much energy that Magnus is now using on being angry, frustrated, and don't really know if okay, should I continue?
[14:29] SPEAKER_02: Because is I am I just about to burn some matches that won't be the sacrifice worth it because I'm being taken out of the race, or should I just keep continuing because maybe I won't be disqualified?
[14:41] SPEAKER_02: So I tell the referee that you guys have to make a decision right away because this is just not fair towards any athletes, even though like I'm supporting of Magnus.
[14:51] SPEAKER_02: If it happened to any other athletes, it would still not be fair.
[14:55] SPEAKER_02: Uh then she turned back to me after five minutes and tell me, okay, new situation.
[15:01] SPEAKER_02: Magnus is not disqualified, but we are now discussing whether he should have a uh yellow card or not, which by my understanding is either a 30-second penalty or one-minute penalty.
[15:14] SPEAKER_02: So I call all the members of our team who is now out on course because the problem is that I'm also now not on the course.
[15:23] SPEAKER_02: I am wasting an hour with the referees trying to discuss everything, so I cannot be out there for Magnus and kind of informing him of what's going on.
[15:32] SPEAKER_02: So we try to the best of our ability to keep Magnus in the game.
[15:35] SPEAKER_02: I tell Jens and the rest of the team that you have to let him know that he has to stay in the game, keep pushing.
[15:42] SPEAKER_02: And worst case scenario, as of for now, is that he has to serve a 30-second or one-minute penalty.
[15:47] SPEAKER_02: We don't know for now.
[15:49] SPEAKER_02: We try to the best of our ability to then communicate that over to Magnus, who obviously is really, really angry, uh frustrated.
[15:57] SPEAKER_02: And also the problem here is that Magnus cannot just stop for 30 seconds or one minute if he wanted to, because then the referee needs to communicate with Magnus that he has to stop for a minute and take an official penalty time.
[16:12] SPEAKER_02: Now another issue occurs, which is that the referee who is out on the course with Magnus, who is at that point in second position, because Magnus shouted at the referee, he is now afraid of Magnus.
[16:27] SPEAKER_02: Don't want to communicate with him.
[16:29] SPEAKER_02: So he's riding, I think, maybe two or three meters behind, even though Magnus is trying to communicate to the referee and want to understand what's going on so he can make a decision.
[16:39] SPEAKER_02: The referee does not want to communicate, he is not answering at all.
[16:44] SPEAKER_02: He's basically just acting like Magnus is not even in the race or person that is out on the course.
[16:50] SPEAKER_02: Then another 30 minutes or so goes on trying to get in touch with the head referees and the referee's office again.
[16:57] SPEAKER_02: After 30 minutes, we finally have like an official statement, which I get from the uh German head coach of the DTU, which is the Dutch Triadline Union, who says that basically just give me like a five-second call, says we're sorry, we take everything back, Magnus can continue.
[17:18] SPEAKER_02: Goodbye, and kind of puts down the phone.
[17:23] SPEAKER_02: I'm like, okay, that took one hour.
[17:27] SPEAKER_02: Now we have to kind of regroup, refocus.
[17:30] SPEAKER_02: I let everyone know that Magnus is like uh he can just continue his race.
[17:36] SPEAKER_02: This whole process takes basically an hour, so it happened from kilometer six to basically yeah, half marathon or so.
[17:47] SPEAKER_02: So in that time frame, Magnus has been out on the run course in frustration, doesn't really know whether he's about to finish the race or not, or if he's disqualified, and then yeah, from that point Magnus can continue the race, but the problem is just that he's used so much energy on being frustrated, fighting with referees, and I think then I think that's just after or before that the Norwegians, uh Kasper and Christian Blumenfeld is catching up with him, and I think then Christian and Casper is maybe doing a little bit of a search, and then mentally it I think it just hits pretty hard on Magnus, which I think is understandable.
[18:28] SPEAKER_02: Uh, and then yeah, the race goes a little bit uh south uh from there.
[18:34] SPEAKER_02: Um but yeah, that was kind of uh my whole uh experience of what happened uh yesterday.
[18:42] SPEAKER_02: Uh and there is some stuff that I think uh is not uh fair, but there is also stuff that I think we as a team, uh the referees team, Iron Man, should be do doing better in in the future.
[19:00] SPEAKER_02: Uh I think the whole communication should be better from both our side but also their side.
[19:06] SPEAKER_02: Uh so yeah, that's uh that's where I am now, and we are heading to the awards uh soon, where we will actually be having a meeting with the German referee, uh Magnus and I, and kind of talk everything through because I don't want this to happen to any athletes out there again.
[19:24] SPEAKER_00: I think there's a few things from this.
[19:26] SPEAKER_00: So the Christian Hoganhaag situation is important.
[19:30] SPEAKER_00: He gets out of T2, he's almost nine minutes ahead of this race, and then you give him the coaching on the side of the road, and then a few meters up the road, his coach does that.
[19:41] SPEAKER_00: And the the the ref getting so angry at you about that is strange.
[19:45] SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't think it's a situation that should have escalated.
[19:47] SPEAKER_00: If anything, it's just a quick, hey, don't communicate with him.
[19:50] SPEAKER_00: That's all that really needs to be said.
[19:52] SPEAKER_00: But I again it happens at every single race.
[19:54] SPEAKER_00: I I really don't think it's that big a deal, and it opens a huge can of worms.
[19:59] SPEAKER_00: So you you already said it, Casper, that all you have to do now is go and purposely run next to Christian Blumenfeld throughout the race and just yell out splits to him to try and get him disqualified.
[20:09] SPEAKER_00: I think I think that's a really dangerous path to go down, and uh I think that's a rule that needs to be sorted out because that that could that could have just gone so badly for Christian Hoganhag.
[20:19] SPEAKER_00: He still finishes second, but that minute penalty, like he only finished two minutes 35 behind Christian, who knows what impact that had.
[20:26] SPEAKER_00: So that that whole situation's a bit disappointing.
[20:29] SPEAKER_00: And then all the aggression between yourself and Magnus and the referees, that that all that kind of stuff is so avoidable.
[20:37] SPEAKER_00: I think the referees probably need to have a little bit more awareness of just how hard Iron Man racing is and the emotion involved in it, and they need to be the calm, cool, collected voices out on the race course.
[20:49] SPEAKER_00: They can't find themselves getting in yelling matches with athletes or or coaching staff.
[20:54] SPEAKER_00: It's just uh yeah, they need to be the ones who aren't emotionally invested in it and not not um not looking for fights out there, that's that's for sure.
[21:03] SPEAKER_00: And so there was other drama throughout this race.
[21:05] SPEAKER_00: That's kind of the Magnus Ditlib situation and the Christian Hoganhag situation.
[21:10] SPEAKER_00: There was actually also some other stuff with Christian Hoganhag here, Ben.
[21:13] SPEAKER_00: So Christian Hoganhag got off the front of this race.
[21:17] SPEAKER_00: And I think we probably should talk about Jonas Schomberg here.
[21:20] SPEAKER_00: So Jonas Schomberg was off the front of this race by almost three minutes, and then his aero bars just completely exploded on him.
[21:28] SPEAKER_00: They um they kind of just fell off, broke off.
[21:31] SPEAKER_00: Don't know exactly what happened there, and then it took him a few minutes in the penalty tent um to get them back on, and then they never actually got back on properly.
[21:39] SPEAKER_00: And later on, he was when he was back riding with the group, he was asked to step off the course because the referees viewed his his front end as being um a safety issue to himself and his other competitors.
[21:51] SPEAKER_00: So that was a crazy situation in and of itself.
[21:54] SPEAKER_00: But with that happening to Jonas Schomberg, it led to Christian Hoganhag getting off the front of the race by himself.
[22:00] SPEAKER_00: And what did you see, Ben, with the motorbikes out on the front of the race?
[22:04] SPEAKER_00: Because there's been a lot of talk that Christian had motorbikes directly in front of him, out on the front of that bike course for for quite a long period of time, um, helping pull him along.
[22:13] SPEAKER_01: The whole Schomberg situation, firstly, um, it looked like he had a s fixed stack height and then a small bracket that almost went over the top of the stack, and going along the cobalt sector, the bracket almost looked like it broke.
[22:30] SPEAKER_01: And hats off to the mechanic for being so quick at fixing it, but it just I imagine that bolt was gone, and then you just no matter what he did, he couldn't ride with it in a really unfortunate situation to have to pull out for safety reasons.
[22:46] SPEAKER_01: Um Christian Hoganhau and the motorbikes, hard to say.
[22:51] SPEAKER_01: Like uh I'm a bit of a fan of him considering we share a few sponsors, um, and everyone knows what he's capable of on the bike, so it didn't surprise me that he was going so well.
[23:03] SPEAKER_01: Um I saw some of the on the tracker on the downhill, maybe at the end of the first lap, he got quite a lead back on the chasing riders, so hard to say if it was playing a part there.
[23:16] SPEAKER_01: Um, just as it's quite a narrow section as you come down the hill back into Frankfurt to start the second lap, so is the motorbike directly in front of him.
[23:25] SPEAKER_01: Um, but it's it's hard to say because if you're leading any Iron Man race these days, you're kind of getting a motorbike benefit.
[23:32] SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's no different to any other race.
[23:35] SPEAKER_00: He also has a really low CDA, um, that's confirmed.
[23:38] SPEAKER_00: And he he rode 334 normalized um out there yesterday.
[23:43] SPEAKER_00: So that's super high power.
[23:45] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[23:46] SPEAKER_01: It looks like one of the nicest positions out there.
[23:48] SPEAKER_01: So it's it all makes sense why he's leading the bike.
[23:51] SPEAKER_01: Um and he showed us last year, even with his crash and that he went sub-4 and the conditions were way better, even though they're hot, but you got dry roads, um, and he just picked his moment.
[24:03] SPEAKER_01: And it would have been interesting to see if Schomberg was out there, if those two then link up and even push the gap out further.
[24:11] SPEAKER_01: The second lap is so congested with uh age group is so moving around uh the course in a group is quite challenging.
[24:19] SPEAKER_01: So you're almost you are better off being out the front by yourself, even pacing, not really having to surge.
[24:25] SPEAKER_01: Um, so he's he's looking super strong.
[24:27] SPEAKER_01: And the comments he'd made prior to the race that he's swim bike running the best he has.
[24:32] SPEAKER_01: I I always thought he was really gonna hold on and win the race.
[24:36] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was an insane performance from Christian Hoganhag.
[24:39] SPEAKER_00: 35210 on the bike.
[24:41] SPEAKER_00: To put that in into perspective, Magnus had the third fastest bike, 359.05.
[24:47] SPEAKER_00: Like that's that is crazy that he's seven minutes faster than Magnus Ditlive on the bike.
[24:52] SPEAKER_00: Camworth was the the man in the middle there.
[24:54] SPEAKER_00: He rode a minute and a bit slower than Christian Hoganhag, and we we saw what he's done uh at Texas and how well he's riding.
[25:00] SPEAKER_00: So just a mega, mega ride from Christian Hoganhag, irrespective of if the motorbikes did help or not.
[25:06] SPEAKER_00: I do think that's a problem we need to sort out in the sport in general.
[25:08] SPEAKER_00: It's just the it's so advantageous to get out the front on the bike on some courses, narrow courses, um, particularly the ones that are covered in the pro series, because it means there's gonna be a camera there, not just a TO there.
[25:20] SPEAKER_00: And and um yeah, it's it's it's a huge advantage.
[25:23] SPEAKER_00: It's not Christian's fault though, but but we do need to sort that out as a sport because um it's got to be fair.
[25:28] SPEAKER_00: And and yeah, it would have been interesting to see if Jonas Schomberg and Christian could have got together.
[25:32] SPEAKER_00: Uh, and and I'm with you, I think that's the best performance that Christian Hoganhag's put down to date to only finish two and a half minutes back from Christian Blumentfeld.
[25:40] SPEAKER_00: Um, and Christian put in a massive effort and huge performance, and considering that he got the one minute penalty.
[25:46] SPEAKER_00: So, really technically, you could argue he's only a minute and a half down on Christian Blumentfeld in a day like that.
[25:51] SPEAKER_00: Really, really impressive.
[25:53] SPEAKER_00: Patrick Lang was another big story.
[25:55] SPEAKER_00: Uh, he finished seventh.
[25:57] SPEAKER_00: He was 15 minutes and 41 seconds behind Christian Blumentfeld in his home Iron Man.
[26:02] SPEAKER_00: Probably most surprising was that he only had the fifth fastest run, 239.57.
[26:07] SPEAKER_00: He ran to give you perspective on that, that's nine minutes slower than what Christian Blumentfeld ran with with the fastest run of the day.
[26:14] SPEAKER_00: He also had a penalty, so the penalties just could continue all day.
[26:18] SPEAKER_00: He had a one-minute penalty in T2 for a T1 infringement with his swim skin.
[26:22] SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's pretty standard.
[26:24] SPEAKER_00: That happened.
[26:24] SPEAKER_00: We've seen that lots in T100 races in in WTCS racing.
[26:28] SPEAKER_00: That that kind of thing happens.
[26:29] SPEAKER_00: What did what did you two make of Patrick Lang's race?
[26:32] SPEAKER_01: I don't understand the penalty because you know your swim skin's going in a bag.
[26:36] SPEAKER_01: So that's hard to understand how he got a penalty there.
[26:40] SPEAKER_01: But I mean, they did a good job of dropping him on the bike.
[26:44] SPEAKER_01: It's uh the clear tactics to do.
[26:46] SPEAKER_01: Um what did you think, Casper?
[26:48] SPEAKER_02: Uh no, I think uh from my understanding, then it wasn't actually necessarily like because there was an attack in the group after 70k when Patrick uh got dropped.
[27:00] SPEAKER_02: Uh Magnus got to the front at that point, but it wasn't actually because he was doing a search.
[27:05] SPEAKER_02: Uh he was basically just going in front, taking some turns with I think him and Rudy were doing a good job, uh at least like um uh spreading it out a bit with them taking turns.
[27:16] SPEAKER_02: And then Patrick wasn't, I think there was a moment of not being fully aware of what was going on, and I think there was maybe just uh 30 seconds where he wasn't mentally focused on what was going on in front, and he lost uh like a gap, and maybe because he wasn't on his best day, then it was just difficult for him to bridge up.
[27:37] SPEAKER_02: Uh so I think it wasn't actually, you can say, on purpose that Magnus and the group got a little bit away from from Patrick.
[27:44] SPEAKER_02: Of course, they wanted to have a gap to him, but I think it more came out of actually uh not being maybe aware or in the moment for those 20 or 30 seconds, and I think that's also what's great about our sport now is that even in an Iron Man race, you have to be so fully focused for like seven hours, ten, twenty-five minutes throughout the whole race.
[28:07] SPEAKER_02: Because if you're not aware or fully focused for even 10 seconds, then you can lose the race.
[28:13] SPEAKER_02: Um, of course, Patrick didn't have the the run of his his life yesterday either.
[28:19] SPEAKER_02: Uh, but I mean it also maybe also mentally when you're so far back and lose the group like that, because he could easily, from my understanding, have been in that main uh chase pack with uh Christian Blumenfeld, uh Gustav, Magnus, and so on, because they weren't really riding that fast.
[28:39] SPEAKER_02: Uh, and that's also, I mean, now we briefly just discussed a bit that Christian Högenhau got a little bit maybe of motor pacing uh from the motorbikes or the car, the lead car in front.
[28:50] SPEAKER_02: But I think also just in general, like Christian were on a really, really good day, and it was just a like tactical affair in the group with all the main contenders, so like everyone was just looking at each other, and every time Magnus tried to just make a little bit of a search, Christian was all over him, like immediately, and just closed the gap.
[29:13] SPEAKER_02: Uh, and so it just became like a yo-yo riding effect in the group where I mean, I think at one point uh Magnus was sitting with like 110 heart rate and basically doing nothing, uh, where they were pushing 200 watts and then all of a sudden they were pushing 400 and then going back because nobody really wanted to commit to actually bridge up to Christian.
[29:36] SPEAKER_02: So I think it's a a mixture of a lot of things that Christian was on a good day, the group dynamics, Patrick wasn't fully aware at the moment.
[29:46] SPEAKER_02: So, in in many ways, I think it actually was a bit of an odd dynamic, even from the swim start uh or after the swim, where we saw a lot of separation.
[29:55] SPEAKER_02: Uh, we've been connected and communicated about that.
[29:58] SPEAKER_02: We were quite surprised to see people being fairly separated instead of like having one big group coming out of the water.
[30:04] SPEAKER_00: Caspar with Magnus's race, he we're so used to seeing him have the fastest or second fastest bike split of the day, but he he had the third fastest bike split, like I said, seven minutes behind Christian Hoganhag, six-ish minutes behind Cam Worth.
[30:18] SPEAKER_00: Have you has he said anything to you post-race?
[30:21] SPEAKER_00: Like has he said that he wishes he had gone earlier on the bike?
[30:24] SPEAKER_00: Him and Daniel Bachgaard ended up getting a little bit of a gap into T2, but it was in the end, it only ended up being about 30 seconds out of T2.
[30:32] SPEAKER_00: Has he said that he wished he he had just gone to the front and tried to split things apart in that main group?
[30:38] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's one of the things that we have also evaluated on.
[30:41] SPEAKER_02: Uh, because I think we weren't clear enough as a team on how we wanted to approach this race.
[30:50] SPEAKER_02: I think back in the day, now I say back in the days, but uh previous races, Magnus has been like so much stronger on the bike than the rest of the athletes that he could basically go away whenever he wanted to.
[31:05] SPEAKER_02: But I think now people are on better equipment, everyone is getting uh aerodynamic tested, uh, they have really leveled up their bike game, so we cannot just play the card that whenever Magnus wants to go, he can go.
[31:18] SPEAKER_02: We have to be a lot more strategic about it, and I think that's like also Magnus was like now when we debriefed that we need to be more clear of when we are doing stuff and also committing to it.
[31:31] SPEAKER_02: And I think Magnus hasn't really been in situations before, like yesterday, where he's just sitting in a group, and I think uh he's not used to racing like this, and I think that got a little bit frustrated from him because we also told him out on the course that you're beating time to the front, you have to be aggressive.
[31:54] SPEAKER_02: But when he's already frustrated, that's maybe not the message you want to get out on the course because if you can go like because we can obviously only see moments of what's going on on the broadcast, or when we are out there, so we don't really know how much power they are pushing, or if he is actually trying to go away.
[32:14] SPEAKER_02: And he tried to go away several times, but it was like Christian was just glued to like 12 meters apart from him, so every move he did, Christian was there, and I mean it's also pretty bloody cold of Christian to just be like, I don't care if Christian is going away with uh eight minutes in the front, like I just sit here in the group, do no work at all, and just believe in my run.
[32:43] SPEAKER_02: And that's a way of racing.
[32:44] SPEAKER_02: I mean, that's the tactical affair, uh, that's what plays out.
[32:48] SPEAKER_02: But I think we Magnus is just an athlete type that want to have a hard race and want to do like be a good swim bike and runner and take it from the get-go and not just sit in.
[33:01] SPEAKER_02: But that's maybe where we have to learn and play on the tactical pass and maybe also just sit in and then decide it on the run.
[33:08] SPEAKER_02: But yeah, that's uh that's the name of the game.
[33:11] SPEAKER_00: I look at the race and I think we're 76 days away from the Iron Man World Championships.
[33:16] SPEAKER_00: It it's not it's not like over the top concerning for Magnus Ditlib and his his hopes of winning the Iron Man World Championships in Nice, but I wouldn't say it's perfect either.
[33:26] SPEAKER_00: Like I'm a little bit concerned.
[33:28] SPEAKER_00: Do you have those same concerns?
[33:30] SPEAKER_00: Do you think he shapes where it needs to be, or do you think there's a lot of work for him to do if he wants to win the Iron Man World Championships?
[33:36] SPEAKER_02: I think of course yesterday takes its tools mentally because he's also running the last half of the marathon fairly slow compared to what we know he's capable of.
[33:48] SPEAKER_02: But getting back to the whole episode, like it takes so much out of you mentally and your focus when stuff like that happens with a disqualification, then you're not disqualified.
[33:58] SPEAKER_02: And if in an Iron Man race, if you are mentally off for just a briefly period, then you can lose everything.
[34:06] SPEAKER_02: So I think we are exactly where we wanted to be.
[34:10] SPEAKER_02: And yesterday was not a hard ride at all on the bike.
[34:15] SPEAKER_02: So in Nice, the dynamics doesn't play uh such a big role as it did yesterday.
[34:22] SPEAKER_02: It was a fairly easy course to just sit in.
[34:25] SPEAKER_02: So I think we will have a completely different race in Nice where everyone needs to work on the bike, like even though you're sitting at 12 meters on the main climb or in the rolling plateau or of after the main climb, then you have to work for it, so it'll be a way more honest race.
[34:41] SPEAKER_02: Uh, but I mean, I also just have to say kudos to everyone else, like all the other athletes, like yeah, Christian, or we haven't even talked about Gustav yet, but also Jonas, like I think Jonas will be Schomberg will be really, really dangerous at a course in Nice, Martin will be there as well.
[35:00] SPEAKER_02: Uh so it's the the level is just really, really high in this game.
[35:04] SPEAKER_02: And I mean uh you can finish top 10.
[35:07] SPEAKER_02: I think there is maybe 10 guys that can win the race when we come to Nice, and you can have your best day out there.
[35:12] SPEAKER_02: You and Magnus can have his best day out there and still finish maybe fifth or sixth position.
[35:17] SPEAKER_02: So it's just nice to see that the the game is leveling up, and I'm I'm really excited to see what will happen in September.
[35:25] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you just touched on it.
[35:26] SPEAKER_00: We're about 40 minutes into the podcast, and we haven't talked about the Norwegians at all, really.
[35:30] SPEAKER_00: So Christian Blumenfeld wins the race.
[35:32] SPEAKER_00: It was an incredible display.
[35:34] SPEAKER_00: 230-59 marathon.
[35:36] SPEAKER_00: The marathon course was a fraction long, particularly by Iron Man marathon standards as well.
[35:41] SPEAKER_00: So 230-59.
[35:43] SPEAKER_00: He looked like he was kind of a level above everyone else on the run at the end of the day.
[35:47] SPEAKER_00: About halfway through it, Kasper Stoyners looked like he was he was going to be there and compete with Christian.
[35:53] SPEAKER_00: And even there was a point where Christian looked like he was having some cramping issues potentially, then it looked like it was maybe some footwear issues that he had to sort out.
[36:00] SPEAKER_00: He ended up sorting them out and ran away with the race.
[36:03] SPEAKER_00: He just did everything right all day.
[36:05] SPEAKER_00: Like you talked about on the bike, Casper.
[36:07] SPEAKER_00: He played a perfect tactical game.
[36:08] SPEAKER_00: There were so many chances where, if you think back to the US Open where Christian made the wrong move to try and break it open and then ended up cramping and blowing his race up, and and Jan Fredino ended up winning.
[36:20] SPEAKER_00: I think he's learnt from things like that because he was, like you said, cold as cold as ice.
[36:24] SPEAKER_00: Like he just had ice running through his veins, and he did not do anything to sabotage his race on the ride.
[36:30] SPEAKER_00: He let everyone else do the work, he was there with all the right moves, he backed his run completely, and yeah, he won this race by two and a half minutes in the end.
[36:38] SPEAKER_00: Um, Gustav Eden, he finished fourth.
[36:41] SPEAKER_00: It was a big result for him.
[36:42] SPEAKER_00: In my opinion, it was his best result since he won the Iron Man World Championships in 2022.
[36:47] SPEAKER_00: And I think there were glimpses of the old Gustav.
[36:50] SPEAKER_00: Like I really don't think he's that far off anymore.
[36:53] SPEAKER_00: He's not at that level yet, but finishing fourth in a field like that was huge.
[36:57] SPEAKER_00: And and I touched on him.
[36:58] SPEAKER_00: Kasper Stoyners for third.
[37:00] SPEAKER_00: That was um that was probably his best result of the year.
[37:03] SPEAKER_00: He was he was in and up to his eyeballs in that run battle with Christian.
[37:06] SPEAKER_00: It was him and Christian who ran up to Magnus when Magnus was in second, and they were they were catching Christian Hoganhag really quickly, and and Kasper was the one doing a lot of work.
[37:15] SPEAKER_00: So the Norwegians, led by Christian Blumentfeld, put on an absolute show and a bit of a clinic.
[37:20] SPEAKER_00: And it had it not been for the incredible race by Christian Hoganhag, they would have finished one, two, and three.
[37:26] SPEAKER_00: But in the end, Christian first, um Kasper in third, and and Gustav in fourth.
[37:31] SPEAKER_01: They execute their plan very well.
[37:33] SPEAKER_01: Um they've done it a couple of times now, but if it's not clear enough, they swim well, do as little as they can on the bike, and take away the first, second, and third fastest run splits.
[37:44] SPEAKER_01: So, as you say, if it wasn't for Christian Hoganhaugh, you know, they would have gone one, two, three.
[37:48] SPEAKER_01: Um it's a little bit frustrating when the commentary team takes two seconds of look at Christian Blumenvelt going to like touch his foot, and then we don't see anything, and they kind of just jump to the conclusion of oh, he's cramping, and it it purely looked like he was just adjusting his shoe, and it's uh it's frustrating to watch, and then he he keeps going again, it's like oh, but what's happened?
[38:12] SPEAKER_01: And it's it's nothing.
[38:14] SPEAKER_01: Um, but they they ran well, Christian and Casper ran very well together, they just looked in such good control throughout the entire race, and as Christian just looked at his watch, I think he even was even split, well pretty even split, 114, almost 116 through the marathon, which is uh very, very good performance.
[38:34] SPEAKER_00: When Casper was pushing the pace on Christian right about when they caught Magnus Ditliv, Ben, do you think there was ever a moment in Christian's mind where he was a little bit worried of Casper on the day?
[38:45] SPEAKER_01: I don't think so.
[38:47] SPEAKER_01: Um when they caught Magnus, Magnus just looked like he took his time through the aid station a bit more, and those guys just are so quick through the aid stations, just a couple of cups, a gel, and just on their way.
[38:59] SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think Magnus was playing with his hat.
[39:01] SPEAKER_01: So that kind of uh Magnus got detached, and then Christian just has the ability just to turn the screws a little bit when he feels like it, and um just puts Casper under a little bit of pressure and he just keeps going, and then it comes the decision, I believe, of do I try and push here or I just have to stick to my pace?
[39:20] SPEAKER_01: And those boys will know exactly what they're capable of in training.
[39:24] SPEAKER_01: Um, and we kind of probably saw that a bit with Gustav as he set off uh at a slower rate, didn't try to go with Christian and Casper, and at in the later stages was running uh equal pace, if not better, for some part of the last half of the marathon.
[39:39] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and like you said, it did look like Christian just had that ability to just turn it up a little bit whenever he wanted.
[39:45] SPEAKER_00: And he did that, it was kind of like 23, 24k into the marathon when at the half marathon point it was Casper who was kind of in the lead for a little bit, and yeah, Christian a couple of K's later turned the screws and he ran up and caught Christian Hoganhag, but Casper couldn't go with him, and and that was the race.
[40:01] SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, huge, huge performance from all those boys.
[40:04] SPEAKER_00: Some other talking points.
[40:05] SPEAKER_00: Um, Daniel Backergard Kaspar.
[40:07] SPEAKER_00: He looked great until he didn't.
[40:08] SPEAKER_00: You talked about Philip Sype, who you're good friends with.
[40:11] SPEAKER_00: He's the new coach of Daniel Backegaard, he's Laura Phillips' coach, Rico Bogan's coach.
[40:16] SPEAKER_00: Um Daniel Backegaard exited T2 with Magnus, so they were in second and third.
[40:21] SPEAKER_00: They kind of uh got a little gap on the the rest of the group behind with Christian and Gustav and Kaspar.
[40:26] SPEAKER_00: And and Daniel, was it running in second for a little bit, but ended up DNFing?
[40:30] SPEAKER_00: Do you know what happened there?
[40:32] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think he had some kind of uh stomach issues, couldn't really absorb the cops.
[40:38] SPEAKER_02: It basically just went uh through the system pretty quickly, as far as I understood.
[40:44] SPEAKER_02: So he yeah had to withdraw with the stomach issue.
[40:48] SPEAKER_02: I think he also started puking out on the course.
[40:50] SPEAKER_02: Um, so I just spoke uh briefly with uh Philip after the race.
[40:56] SPEAKER_02: Um but yeah, it's a shame.
[40:59] SPEAKER_02: I think uh we are slowly starting to see uh the you can say the old Daniel coming uh back together.
[41:07] SPEAKER_02: I mean, I remember how dangerous he was back in 2019, 2020, where uh like we were really looking at him, be like, okay, that's the new standard.
[41:17] SPEAKER_02: Uh and I think he had some difficult years, but if there is one guy that can maybe help him turn stuff around, I think it's Philip and also just we should remember that the last yeah, was it 20, 30k of the ride, uh him and and Magnus actually got away on the bike.
[41:34] SPEAKER_02: And I think we haven't seen Daniel being able to do so before, uh, like riding away from a group.
[41:41] SPEAKER_02: So uh I think that's that's really positive for him.
[41:44] SPEAKER_02: And if he can manage out his nutrition issues, or obviously don't really know the main issue of what happens, but if he can solve those issues out, then we know he's a really, really good runner, and he will basically be one of the guys that can again also be one of those who can fight for a world championship title.
[42:03] SPEAKER_00: Another little bit of drama throughout the race.
[42:05] SPEAKER_00: Um Kieran Linders was in the race, he was riding with that front group, and and on the cobbled section that kind of ruined um Jonas Schomberg's race, Kieran's uh front end also kind of exploded and wrecked his race.
[42:18] SPEAKER_00: So it was just drama everywhere.
[42:19] SPEAKER_00: Ben, I've got a quiz question for you.
[42:21] SPEAKER_00: It's a who am I?
[42:23] SPEAKER_00: Okay.
[42:24] SPEAKER_00: So I finished 30th at the 2023 Iron Man 70.3 World Championships.
[42:30] SPEAKER_00: That same year, I finished 23rd at the PTO US Open and 13th at the Asian Open.
[42:36] SPEAKER_00: The year after, I finished 31st at the Iron Man World Championships in Kona.
[42:41] SPEAKER_00: I DNF'd at London T100, came 12th at T-100 San Francisco and 14th at Miami T100.
[42:48] SPEAKER_00: This year in 2025, I finished 17th in Texas and 19th at Iron Man Frankfurt on the weekend.
[42:54] SPEAKER_00: Who am I?
[42:56] SPEAKER_01: Uh I can scroll up the results and tell you fairly quickly, but off the top of my head, I'm not sure.
[43:03] SPEAKER_00: I'm Ben Canute, and I'm a I'm a little bit worried about Ben Canute because the reason I list all those results is the the big result before them was a podium at the the 70.3 World Championships where he finished second to Christian Blumenfeld in 2022 and then backed it up with a third place finish at Iron Man Arizona.
[43:21] SPEAKER_00: He did come third at Challenge Roth in that time, but I just I'm worried about Ben Canute and and I want to know what's happening with Ben Canute because I don't feel like he's at the level I'm expecting, but but it kind of keeps happening, and and a 19th place finish at Frankfurt on the weekend is a long way off what he's capable of.
[43:41] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean I I definitely still wish I could swim like Ben Canute.
[43:45] SPEAKER_01: Um there's nothing wrong with a swim and bike.
[43:47] SPEAKER_01: I think it's maybe just piecing it together and trying to execute that run properly.
[43:52] SPEAKER_01: And I think even at Eagle Man, his run was a little bit off where he wanted it to be.
[43:57] SPEAKER_01: Um so, and that could be, you know.
[44:00] SPEAKER_01: Maybe he's not cycling as well as he has in the past, and that's affecting his run.
[44:05] SPEAKER_01: But I'm sure Ben can hopefully get to the bottom of what's not clicking for his performance and try and get back to the best because he's um he's a talented athlete.
[44:15] SPEAKER_00: Are you surprised with what we're seeing from Ben at the moment, Casper?
[44:18] SPEAKER_00: He obviously left his longtime coach Jim Vance, who who got him his 70.3 World Championships podiums, and and and doesn't seem to be at his best at the moment.
[44:26] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I actually had a chat with him uh in the breakfast area uh the days before the race, and he said that one of the issues that him and Jim made, or like uh mistakes they made, was that mostly as athletes you always want to do more and you want to explore where the limit is.
[44:44] SPEAKER_02: And sometimes then as coaches, our job is then to hold back the athlete and kind of make sure that we are pushing when it's needed and not just pushing at all times.
[44:56] SPEAKER_02: And I think Ben and Jim got on the same page.
[45:00] SPEAKER_02: So Jim also wanted to push the limits quite a lot, and I think he maybe ended up being a little bit overtrained, uh, and sometimes it can just be difficult to get out of you can say that state.
[45:13] SPEAKER_02: Uh, it's not just something that a new coach can change or something that you can kind of say, okay, then you do some new training, and then all of a sudden you'll be back to normal.
[45:23] SPEAKER_02: It's a long process.
[45:24] SPEAKER_02: So I think it might be a more longer time frame before we'll see the old Ben uh coming back and be like firing on all cylinders, and especially yesterday it was a really hot day as well.
[45:38] SPEAKER_02: So if you're just not 100% ready for it, then the heat also takes quite a lot out of you.
[45:44] SPEAKER_02: So I think that might be one of the reasons why we're not seeing him performing where we obviously want him to be at.
[45:51] SPEAKER_00: And Cam Worth is probably the last athlete I want to touch on from the race.
[45:56] SPEAKER_00: I think there's this thing that's happening with Cam.
[45:58] SPEAKER_00: And he races so much that you're always going to get up and down performances, but his swim seems to show it as much as anything.
[46:05] SPEAKER_00: He can swim with a front pack one week and then literally two weeks later be like five or six minutes down from that same group.
[46:12] SPEAKER_00: His swim is it's just up and down so badly.
[46:14] SPEAKER_00: And on the weekend, he had not his best swim, he had one of the bad swims.
[46:18] SPEAKER_00: He rode really well.
[46:20] SPEAKER_00: He's showing that he's back to being one of the best cyclists in long course triathlon.
[46:24] SPEAKER_00: I think he I think he kind of lost that for a little bit.
[46:27] SPEAKER_00: He lost his weapon on the bike relative to people like Sam Ladl and Magnus Ditliff, but he's now he's now put on two amazing performances over the full distance on the bike.
[46:36] SPEAKER_00: Yesterday he rode incredibly well to get himself back up into the race and finished a solid ninth.
[46:41] SPEAKER_00: He looked like he was running well for a little bit, but I don't know.
[46:44] SPEAKER_00: To me, he looked like a guy who this wasn't his A race.
[46:47] SPEAKER_00: He was just there to have a solid finish and a good day.
[46:49] SPEAKER_00: And I think I think he had that, just a nice solid ninth place finish with with really promising signs.
[46:54] SPEAKER_02: He was on a training day.
[46:56] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it looks like that.
[46:57] SPEAKER_02: He said he was on a training day.
[46:59] SPEAKER_02: I think he's uh racing Roth this week as well.
[47:02] SPEAKER_02: And he actually said, like coming back to his swim, that he said that whenever he decides or knows that he needs to have a good swim, he always swims really bad.
[47:12] SPEAKER_02: And when he's like, fuck it, I don't care what my time spit is, then he'll swim well.
[47:17] SPEAKER_02: So he couldn't really understand it himself because he was really determined and like focused on having a really, really good swim.
[47:27] SPEAKER_02: And he said, whenever he's having that mindset, he always swims really poorly.
[47:32] SPEAKER_02: So uh yeah, I think he was equally as confused about the time gap as as we were as spectators.
[47:39] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean he every race he does is a training day.
[47:41] SPEAKER_00: Like he even he can like I swear he's the kind of guy who would occasionally call the Iron Man World Championships a training day.
[47:47] SPEAKER_00: Just he just loves it.
[47:48] SPEAKER_00: He would race literally every weekend if he could, and he's trying to.
[47:51] SPEAKER_00: So he makes it fun.
[47:52] SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I think he's a bit dangerous for the the Iron Man World Championships in Nice because I think his bike's back, and I think that course suits him, and he's ridden it uh around that area lots.
[48:01] SPEAKER_00: Um, okay, uh a couple of other talking points from this race, and we can kind of wrap it up.
[48:06] SPEAKER_00: But I like I know that's a lot.
[48:08] SPEAKER_00: Like there was just so much chaos and drama from this race.
[48:10] SPEAKER_00: It was uh it had like kind of the best and worst of everything.
[48:13] SPEAKER_00: Um we talked off-air, so I'm not sure if you want to touch on this, Ben, but we we talked about some things on the coverage.
[48:19] SPEAKER_00: Did you want to talk about, you know, like I know you brought up the body weight issue and and a bit of the commentary.
[48:24] SPEAKER_00: Did you want to touch on any of that?
[48:26] SPEAKER_01: Uh like it's it's probably just never great to be talking about athletes' body image from a multiple different reasons, you know, trying to say that athletes are looking thinner.
[48:38] SPEAKER_01: It's just not a great narrative to be telling, because yeah, like I think triathlon is in a really good place, and I think that's a bit of a dampener on what the positive is that's coming out from triathon, and everyone is fueling now to a completely new level.
[48:57] SPEAKER_01: Um, if anything, they're actually gonna have more weight on than not.
[49:01] SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, Christian's been, in my opinion, Christian's been leading the forefront of different body image for the last few years.
[49:10] SPEAKER_01: So why would you try to be thinner and not look like Christian?
[49:13] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, just to confirm what you're talking about is Dee Dee Griesbauer just saying that she thought Christian looked a bit uh a bit lighter, a bit, a bit thinner at the moment.
[49:21] SPEAKER_00: Um let me ask you this question, Ben.
[49:24] SPEAKER_00: Because I'm confused on it.
[49:25] SPEAKER_00: I I like I I I I think I've taken like a bit of a a role in trying to lead the charge and have conversations around around this stuff.
[49:33] SPEAKER_00: And and I'm with you.
[49:34] SPEAKER_00: I I don't think it's good if we have body image issues as just a fabric of our sport.
[49:38] SPEAKER_00: Um But if if she if Christian has gotten a little bit thinner, been eating healthier, and that's a real thing, and she just comments on it, d do you think that is inherently bad?
[49:49] SPEAKER_00: Like, do you think you just should avoid it at all costs?
[49:52] SPEAKER_00: Just even if it is true, let's just not make a big deal about it.
[49:56] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think it shouldn't be the top topic of conversation.
[50:00] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm with you.
[50:01] SPEAKER_00: I think it's just one of those things, true or not, just it's just best to leave it alone because it's not even about that athlete, it's just about everyone watching, and yeah, we kind of want to get rid of the chat about body weight being the be all and end all, and the only reason that he might be running better is because he's lighter and that kind of talk.
[50:18] SPEAKER_00: It just it's just it's not really helpful.
[50:20] SPEAKER_00: So I I do think I agree with you there.
[50:22] SPEAKER_00: Um there's an this I don't know which one of you two wrote this in the show notes, but there's a there's an Eagle Man uh little note here.
[50:31] SPEAKER_00: Did whoever want wrote that want to touch on it?
[50:34] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no.
[50:35] SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you want to touch on this.
[50:37] SPEAKER_01: No, it's the just when Cam Worth got a penalty and Eagle Man, you know, not not the best commentary ever.
[50:44] SPEAKER_00: I don't remember it.
[50:45] SPEAKER_00: What happened?
[50:46] SPEAKER_01: Uh I think Cam rolled up to the penalty 10 and he got a uh while from one of the commentators, and it was just sounded a bit childish.
[50:58] SPEAKER_00: No more details.
[51:00] SPEAKER_01: No, no, I've I've extended my comments enough.
[51:05] SPEAKER_00: Oh, I wish I could read out what was written in the notes here because this is uh probably a bit confusing, but it's funny.
[51:10] SPEAKER_00: Um, some other notables for the weekend.
[51:12] SPEAKER_00: We had Iron Man 70.3 Nice, where Martin Van Rieel won that race and Jessica Liamont won the women's race.
[51:19] SPEAKER_00: Two really good performances from two really world-class athletes.
[51:22] SPEAKER_00: I've got some quickfire questions for you two to wrap up the podcast, and it's based off what we saw at Ironman Frankfurt on the weekend.
[51:30] SPEAKER_00: I don't want you to explain yourself, I just want you to give me a yes or a no to these questions.
[51:35] SPEAKER_00: So I'll ask them and then you both answer.
[51:38] SPEAKER_00: Uh after the weekend, Christian Blumenfeld is the favourite for the Iron Man World Championships in Nice in 76 days.
[51:47] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[51:49] SPEAKER_01: No.
[51:51] SPEAKER_00: After the weekend, I'm worried about Patrick Lang defending the Iron Man World Championships.
[51:57] SPEAKER_00: I don't think his bike is in the form that it needs to be in.
[52:01] SPEAKER_01: No.
[52:03] SPEAKER_02: No.
[52:04] SPEAKER_00: After the weekend, I'm worried about Magnus Ditlib winning the Iron Man World Championship.
[52:10] SPEAKER_00: I don't think his bike is where it needs to be.
[52:14] SPEAKER_02: Yes.
[52:17] SPEAKER_02: Yes.
[52:19] SPEAKER_00: That's controversial.
[52:23] SPEAKER_00: After the weekend, I think Gustav Eden can finish top five at the Iron Man World Championships.
[52:31] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[52:32] SPEAKER_02: Yes.
[52:34] SPEAKER_00: After the weekend, I think one of or both Jonas Schomberg and Christian Hoganhag will come into T2 in the lead at the Iron Man World Championships.
[52:46] SPEAKER_02: No.
[52:50] SPEAKER_02: No.
[52:51] SPEAKER_00: And my last one, after the weekend, I think Kasper Stoyners can finish on the podium at the Iron Man World Championships.
[53:00] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[53:01] SPEAKER_01: No.
[53:03] SPEAKER_00: To summarise a big day at Iron Man Frankfurt, it was full of chaos and drama and world-class racing.
[53:09] SPEAKER_00: I think some takeaways from my perspective, the Christian Hogan Hague penalty was wildly, wildly disproportionate to the crime.
[53:17] SPEAKER_00: I think we need to look at that rule as a triathon community.
[53:20] SPEAKER_00: It just is too unclear.
[53:22] SPEAKER_00: I mean, one minute penalty when you're at the front of the biggest race of your career for someone running beside you for five metres and telling you a split.
[53:30] SPEAKER_00: I don't think that's something we want as part of our sport, particularly the can of worms that opens.
[53:34] SPEAKER_00: If at the Iron Man World Championships in Kona, someone random goes and runs next to Christian Blumenfeld and he gets a penalty for that when he's in the lead of the race.
[53:43] SPEAKER_00: That's something that I don't think we want to happen.
[53:45] SPEAKER_00: And I think we should all look at like T-100, Iron Man, all the different federations.
[53:50] SPEAKER_00: I felt that was very unfair on Christian Hoganhaag and not what we wanted.
[53:53] SPEAKER_00: The Magnus Ditlib situation, saga, for lack of a better word.
[53:58] SPEAKER_00: I already touched on it, but the referees need to be the cool, calm, collected heads out on course.
[54:04] SPEAKER_00: They can't be the ones getting involved in swearing battles with coaches, like we've heard of with Casper.
[54:10] SPEAKER_00: They can't be the ones being intimidated by athletes who might say a swear word out in the heat of battle.
[54:15] SPEAKER_00: They're the ones who need to keep control of the race.
[54:18] SPEAKER_00: That whole situation was too chaotic, too confusing.
[54:21] SPEAKER_00: No one knew what was happening.
[54:23] SPEAKER_00: I think we need to be better in that regard.
[54:25] SPEAKER_00: And I did not love what I saw there.
[54:27] SPEAKER_00: And I'm disappointed in the impact that probably had on Magnus Ditliff's race.
[54:31] SPEAKER_00: He's running in second in the marathon of a massive Iron Man.
[54:36] SPEAKER_00: That's the last thing an athlete needs.
[54:38] SPEAKER_00: I just think we need to have a look at that.
[54:39] SPEAKER_00: I don't necessarily think there's anyone to blame for that.
[54:42] SPEAKER_00: These referees are volunteers.
[54:44] SPEAKER_00: They're not doing this as a full-time job.
[54:46] SPEAKER_00: They're not highly paid.
[54:48] SPEAKER_00: It's a very tough job.
[54:49] SPEAKER_00: But I think when you are a volunteer referee, it's just better to err on the side of less penalties, is a good thing, particularly for like ticky touchwood decisions like just littering outside of a litter zone or the coaching situation.
[55:06] SPEAKER_00: That wasn't good.
[55:07] SPEAKER_00: Outside of that, you know, I just think the race was was full of drama and chaos with the Patrick Lang situation, his penalty, him not having the race he wanted, Christian Blumenfeld, and the Norwegians putting on an absolute show.
[55:19] SPEAKER_00: The Joan Jonas Schomburg and Christian Hoganhag bike theatrics.
[55:22] SPEAKER_00: It was uh it was a hella wit of a weekend of racing.
[55:25] SPEAKER_00: And and Ben Hamilton and Kasper Peterson, thank you so much for coming on and unpacking it all with me.
[55:30] SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Jack.
[55:32] SPEAKER_01: I hope the rest of the racing this year is just as exciting, and we get another great showdown in Nice.
[55:39] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, thanks, Jack.
[55:40] SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having us on and also explaining the whole situation from yeah, at least our side.
[55:46] SPEAKER_02: I guess the Federation and Irmaine also have their side, but I think the main conclusion is that everyone made a few mistakes out there, uh, and we just have to learn from this.
[55:58] SPEAKER_02: Our sport is still growing, and we need to be way more professional, all of us, and and if we keep involving and developing in the right direction, I think in the years to come we won't have episodes like this, hopefully.
[56:12] SPEAKER_00: I did also and should make this clear that I reached out to Iron Man just to clarify whether they have any role in what TOs and referees are out on course or whether it's entirely from the federations, because often it's just the federation have those decisions and Iron Man or the T100 or the WTCS just have the refs and and they can't do anything about it.
[56:32] SPEAKER_00: And then at other times they do have a little bit of a say on it, but Iron Man didn't get back to me in time for us recording this podcast, so not sure whether they had any any any say in it.
[56:42] SPEAKER_00: I do also think worth noting that the Iron Man Pro Series is on fire this year.
[56:46] SPEAKER_00: Like I love the T100, I think the T100's completely necessary for the growth of this sport, and and I love what they forced Iron Man to do, but the Pro Series is on top at the moment, I think, in terms of excitement and drama and and athletic performance.
[57:00] SPEAKER_00: It's uh it's it's crushing 2025.
[57:03] SPEAKER_01: It was better when I was leading it, but it's no no more.
[57:08] SPEAKER_00: All right then.
[57:09] SPEAKER_00: All right, Casper.
[57:09] SPEAKER_00: Thanks, boys.
[57:10] SPEAKER_00: Have a good day.
[57:11] SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Jack.
[57:12] SPEAKER_01: Bye bye.

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