#125 - TUEs in Triathlon

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Welcome back everybody to another episode of Talking Triathlon, a podcast where James Baal talks to Tim Ford all about the sport of triathlon.

I am that Tim Ford, and he is that James Baal, and I don't know why I've said our names so many times at the start of this episode.

But mate, how are you going? What's going on?

I'm alright, mate. I'm alright. How am I going? I'm going okay, I think.

I'm actually a lot better than I was last week, because my thumb's healed.

And also, I seem to have managed my way out of this hip drama quite nicely, because I'm running without any pain now.

And I've still got time to get a couple of longer runs in. I'm quite proud of myself, because old me would have got really annoyed with this injury,

and either gone into full rest mode or just run through it and really hurt myself.

But I've managed to get mildly injured, keep running at least four to five times a week.

Whilst rehabbing it and coming out just at the right time to be able to run the marathon.

So I think I've done, I've finally shown some maturity when it comes to injury management and rehabilitation, and I'm quite pleased with myself.

I love that. So I will admit that I have been getting a little bit of second-hand nervousness for you, because my marathon is in October, and my long runs are already up to like 30 kilometres.

And I've been actually watching your striver quite closely, and I've been...

I know, I've been...

I know, I've been...

He's been on a 14-day...

I know, I've got...

Oh my god, it's gonna happen.

But it's by design, to not tip over the...

Yeah, yeah.

...because it got to the point where I was like, right, I need to do something, I need to be on one.

I was testing to be doing longer runs, but I know that back then, and up until now, if I'd done those longer runs, I ran the risk of not making the start line, because I was going to tip it over the edge.

And so I had to be...

It's taken all of my restraint to do these stupid, little runs and get my rehab on.

But I've got a 25k race this Saturday, and then I will do...

I'll be up in the 30s, and look, it is what it is. I will get to the start line and be able to send it as hard as I can.

I love to hear it, but I was...

I was playing and coming on this week.

You know you got a marathon in like four weeks.

But speaking of the marathon, Jimbo, we announced last week you have your raffle live, your fundraising raffle, and it looks like it's gone pretty well.

It's going pretty well.

Yeah, it is going pretty well.

Last week, I announced the fact that I had the fundraising raffle.

We left the donation link in the show notes, which will probably be in there again this week.

And I said to people, look, if you sign up with...

If you donate to the charity £10, gets you one entry, £20, gets you three entries, £30, gets you five entries and £50, gets you ten entries, or a multiple of...

And I will do the maths on your behalf.

And if you put the tagline talking triathlon London marathon underneath the signing, don't do it anonymously.

I will then enter you into the raffle to win one of the many prizes, which I outlined last week.

And in five days since launching, I've raised over £2,000 for Crohn's and Colitis UK.

So I've got a massive thank you to get everybody who's listening, everybody who's donated.

All of our patrons who've donated, like, I can't thank you enough.

You already contribute to the podcast by being a per member of the patron, but going further than that and adding to the charity is really, really, really appreciated.

Be on words.

Genuinely, before we hit record today, the peak behind the curtain, we were actually talking about how we just have this great group of listeners that we've really...

It's so... I don't know about that.

It feels good to know that we've just got this great group of people around us, not just as a patron, but as a listeners, to see the generosity, as well as support on some other things that we've spoken about in the patron group lately.

But, yeah, I was watching, like, really happy.

And also, I will also thank you, because I think a lot of people got a little bit of, like,

oh, shit, I've donated to James, I better donate to Tim, because I've noticed a few people coming and donating to mine, as well.

I don't have a raffle set up yet, although I am feeling the pressure.

But, no, so I will also say thank you.

But, no, it's really, really great to see.

Yes, it is.

The highest donation, by the way, the entries for the raffle will run until the day of the London marathon.

I will then do the draw the week following.

So, if you donate after the day of the London marathon, you don't get entry into the raffle. That's the rule.

So, when I do close it, whoever's donated the highest amount, that entry is going to be in the raffle, but they are going to get

the James bail face trisuit sent to them as a sign.

Signed.

But then also, whoever wins a, because I've got two of those trisuits, so whoever wins a prize, that is the highest donation.

So, they'll be the highest donation. They'll just get the trisuit, whether they get a prize or not.

Whoever wins a prize, but is the highest donation, will also get a second trisuit, again.

I love that.

Well, another plug while we're here.

If you enjoy this stuff more inside access to things like charity giveaways or the WhatsApp group.

Really good discussions this week with someone we're going to talk about later, actually, in the WhatsApp group, TUEs.

Head to patreon.com forward such talk and triathlon when you get the access.

Well, it's a $5 a month support to podcast.

We do bonus stuff.

As I've said previously, the ultimate point is about supporting the podcast.

Look, you can't just do it if you want the bonuses, but we are a little bit inconsistent.

We always get them all out, but they don't always come out on the dot every time.

But the main thing is about the costs of the editors and the stuff that we have for this.

So, thank you everybody. That's where you go to do it, Jimbo mate.

It is so much easier to do this podcast, not only when triathlon season is back,

but we have good races because we have a shit ton of stuff to talk about today.

And we're not going to, we're not spending five minutes before we record going fuck.

What are we going to talk about today?

What are we going to talk about today?

We have plenty to talk about today.

It's so good to start.

When we got things to talk about.

However, the place we start isn't so good.

And it is also something that I don't actually particularly want to talk about.

But here we are.

It's TUE time, mate.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So Sam Leidler went on Instagram and said recently the ITA posted a file showing how many TUEs had been accepted in each sport.

It made me sad, angry and confused as to why so many athletes feel the need for these medical exceptions.

To my fellow pros at believing clean sport, let's get together and make the TUEs public DM me.

So we can start this charge.

Yes.

Now, it's important to say out front neither of us are subject matter experts when it comes to medical TUEs.

I didn't study medicine.

I'm not a doctor.

Yeah.

And you and you don't work for an anti-doping authority, do you?

No, they do I.

No.

But what's your opinion on this, Tim?

There you go.

Hospital.

I think it goes a little bit further back than Sam Leidler, because I think it was actually powered.

No, who was it?

It was maybe it was powered.

It was one of the, it was like, it was a coach.

I saw who actually was the original poster on threats.

I think found this list.

And it wasn't just, it was a bunch.

They basically showed all the TUEs in a range of sports.

So I think Cyclon had a lot.

There's a breakdown of what they were.

And Trathlon had quite a large number of athletes with TUEs.

And it has been a response from the pros.

Sam Leidler sort of lead in the charge.

I, yeah, look, it's concerning.

When you see some of the items on that list.

And I mean, look, we've heard whispers and rumblings.

And there's been rumors and little pros talking to each other about TUEs and things for years now.

I think seeing Colin Schatz here coming out making a video about it.

I was like, dude, just fuck off.

Like fuck off.

Yeah, fuck off back to obscurity, please.

But I don't think it's good.

I don't think it's obviously, look, this is, this is a very new one.

It's difficult thing to discuss objectively, right?

And despite what people like to say on YouTube,

we do actually strive for objectivity as much as possible.

And I don't want to sit here and just like spit vitriol

because that's probably a little bit my personal opinion.

But I don't just want to make it kind of sound like propaganda.

I think this is a very complicated topic.

I think me and you have got different, like full disclaimer, right?

And I'm not throwing you on the, you've said this before.

I remember the couple of years ago when Andrew Stark,

which had his challenge, you came out and sort of spoke about this

and gave an incredible perspective on TUEs.

But you've been in a position where if you raised that, you know,

a couple of years ago, you were on very serious medication.

It would have required you to have a TUE if you needed it.

I've never been in that position.

I mean, I'm an age group.

Correct. So I think you're two standards.

I mean, I wasn't.

Exactly. Look, I think for age groupers,

not to, I don't give a shit.

Like, honestly, if an age group needs a TUE, good luck.

I actually, I actually could not care less.

You know what? Everybody raised a TUE.

I don't care.

If they beat you, guess what?

Sorry, you don't get your little plastic age group award.

And I'm not trying to be harsh.

But I think at the end of the day, for age groupers,

as serious as we take it is as hobby.

And there's not really that much on the line.

Even though it sometimes feels like it's really important,

ultimately, it isn't.

Pros, however, I think this is,

this is maybe, again, my opinion.

I think that looking at this TUE system,

it does open itself up potentially to be

taken advantage of.

And I said this year before he record.

My honest opinion, looking at some of the items on this,

because it doesn't just say how many day I chose

what the TUE is a full.

And we've got like, this TUE is for human growth,

hormone on it.

There's a lot of testosterone.

There's all these things.

And I honestly feel like, again,

this might be unpopular opinion.

And again, anybody who has genuine medical needs

for these things, I understand.

But I almost feel like if you're in a position

where you require TUE's to be a professional athlete,

maybe you should be excluded from racing professionally.

And I know that's, and I'm not trying to be like,

get the witch out, you know, get the steak out

and burn people.

But there's so many, like, I sometimes think

that with pro sport, there's this idea of a...

It's like diabetic or something.

No.

It definitely...

No, I mean, it's not as...

I'm not trying to...

I'm not trying to...

I'm not trying to say black or white, right?

I definitely think that it's going to depend on the thing.

But like, I feel like there's so many...

There's almost this, like, when it comes to pro sport,

and this isn't a triathlon specific thing,

this is a lot of pro sport.

It's a deal.

I'm good at the sport.

I have a right to be a pro almost.

Like, you know, and I don't...

I sometimes think it's like...

No, it's a privilege.

It's a privilege to be able to be so good at a sport

that you get paid to do it.

But there's so many other things out there in the world

that aren't pro sport, where you can be restricted

because of things that aren't unfair.

Like, I was saying to you before,

if you want to be a fighter pilot in your colorblind

or you have problems with your vision

or things like this, you can't do things.

And I sometimes think that maybe if that's the case

where you need...

If you're in a position where you need human growth hormone

to be able to be at a base normal,

maybe that means that you're then excluded from pro racing.

And I've seen people suggest that there's different categories

for amateurs.

Yeah, cool.

But I think it should also be the case that if there's a certain...

Yeah, diabetes, I think, for example,

or if it's, you know, things like that.

But anything where you suddenly have a testosterone

or, yeah, actual performance enhancing drugs to you,

maybe you shouldn't be eligible for pro racing.

I think...

Yeah, I just agree.

I think there is...

How am I going to put this?

It's difficult, isn't it?

It is difficult.

There's what the TU is meant to do.

And then there's the fact that they are in certain areas

probably open for abuse and probably abuse.

But just because whatever percentage of people

might be abusing it does that mean,

does that overwrite what they're meant to do?

And what they're meant to do is for people

that have a genuine medical condition,

it brings them up to a base level where they are not...

Yes, they're taking something that's considered

a performance enhancing drug.

But for them, it's not performance enhancing.

It is simply bringing them up to the baseline.

Now, what annoys me about Sam Leydlo's quote

is a few things normally about it.

The thing that annoys me about it

is that nothing's going to change off the back of that.

It's performance art.

It's just show boating.

It's like, look at Jimmy.

Jimmy wouldn't fucking dope.

Look at me.

And he can put that out there

and then nothing will change off the back of it.

And it just...

It's just mouth service.

Lip service is the...

I'm not looking for.

But what really annoys me about it's sentence

was the big way it says,

it made me sad, angry and confused

as to why so many athletes feel the need

for these medical exemptions.

Now, there might be people out there

who are abusing the system,

who have a friendly GP,

who someone who's just prescribing them something

that maybe they shouldn't be prescribed.

But the bulk of people

who race under a TUE,

they don't feel the fucking need

for a medical exemption.

You prick.

They have a condition

that needs medication

that brings them up to normal.

I don't feel the fucking need

to take my medication for five years.

You're fucking our soul.

Come to my fucking door.

Sorry, excuse me.

I'll definitely bit that out.

The only thing I'll say with that

is I feel like yet again what we're doing here.

This is where it gets difficult.

We're sort of starting to blow the lines

of the boot between pro and amateur.

Because I think...

No, no, I'm not.

I'm not blowing the lines at all.

You're a pro athlete

and you've got a medical condition

that means you have to take

a certain medication

to get out of bed every day

or to even be able to leave the house.

Then that's not feeling the need

for a medical exemption.

Okay.

But you didn't just think,

oh, you know what?

I'm going to have this disease

and therefore feel the need

for a metaman.

I get your house in order

and understand what you're talking about

before you talk about it.

So don't make generalizations

is what you're saying.

Yeah, I think...

Yeah, if you apply that generally

to people that look,

I think it there is undoubtedly

a number of people

in that group of TUEs.

I think they said it was like,

I actually don't know the number.

I'm not going to guess.

So objectively,

there's a very good chance

that a number of those people

have genuine name for a TUE

and it is not a TUE for a...

I mean, they're all obviously

TUEs for a band substance.

Yeah.

But there's people...

This is it.

Traftone has seen 78 applications

between 2019 and 2025

with 54 approved

and 17 not needed with draw.

Six pending and one denied.

With one application made

into 23 and 34 in 2024

and 43 last year.

So yeah,

it is increasing

but I suppose,

I mean, knowledge increases us

to what...

I don't know.

I don't know.

It's difficult because

yes, people might be abusing it.

But I don't know.

I just found his comment

a bit reprehensible to be honest

and a bit ignorant.

I do think that the whole thing...

I definitely agree that comment.

Yeah, I didn't think of it

I suppose from the same perspective as you

and I can understand the way you see it.

I understand the intention behind it

because there is a lot of talk

around this stuff at the moment.

And I mean, I think even the fact

that we sort of have different opinions

on the use and application

of TUEs shows that.

Which isn't a bad thing.

I...

Yeah.

I don't know.

I honestly...

Nothing's going to change.

I think at the end of the day

they're not going to be ever giving out

personal medical information.

And I just also feel sometimes that

when you look at the way these

items on band lists work.

Like not...

What I've sort of...

Back to my point where I was saying that

I think if people are in a position

maybe they need to opt out of pro sport.

Again, it might sound harsh.

But I think if you look at a lot of the items

that get added to the...

Like the band list.

They're not even always performance enhancing things.

They're things that are

masking agents or, you know...

So it kind of feels like

it comes to the actual drugs.

Anything that can kind of potentially

touch performance.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, we're not...

We're not subject matter experts, are we?

And I...

I would not be surprised if it was a deep,

dark, dirty hole with people

abusing it all over the place.

But it's not for us to say...

We can say what it's meant to do

and it's someone abusing it.

What I'm not willing to sit here and say

is that everyone who needs a TUE

is probably feeling like it

or deciding what they need some medication.

A lot of people need medication for certain things.

And I don't think those people

should be excluded from trying to be a pro athlete.

I mean, the ITA has said

only a small proportion of athletes

around one to three percent require a TUE.

And no evidence shows that having one

provides a performance advantage.

Nonetheless, the system is sometimes

the subject of public debate,

immediate scrutiny.

Occasionally portrayed as a potential loophole.

In reality, TUEs are based on clear

regulatory principles,

robust medical assessment

and rigorous implementation.

One to three percent of athletes

are taken to TUEs.

That's probably in line with...

I'm, again, I'm...

Yeah, exactly.

I'm no subject matter expert,

but that's probably in line

with the amount of people

in the general population

who need to take these kind of medications.

I don't think it's rife.

I don't think it's rippling

through the sport like this.

I agree with that.

Yeah.

It's complicated.

Even talking about it.

I'm still not even sure where...

Like genuinely, I'm not actually

fully sure what my opinion

about the whole thing is.

Like, it's...

I mean, people will be hearing that

because I'm in an iron

and splutter them always.

Yeah, I'm not either.

I just...

I just think you've got to be careful

when you're being cut

belongs to your social media.

Yeah.

I also just think the whole thing

is a bit like...

There's probably bigger issues in the sport

that could be addressed

other than the medical exemptions people.

Like, to make out that it is...

Like, it's not an easy process.

And to be honest here

and what you just read about the ITA

talking about, I actually kind of...

It makes me feel a bit...

Okay.

Like, the evidence-based thing.

I'm guessing they're probably looking

at the people with TUEs.

And saying, Jesus Christ,

James Bell just applied for a TUE.

Fucking hell, it's just gone

from finish in 25th to winning

six races in a row.

Like, I'm pretty sure that they're not,

like, again, I don't know.

But I wouldn't imagine that they're not

just going to go, yep, take your TUE.

Oh, who cares?

You want to tell your take it?

Yeah.

Oh, he's just one...

Like, he just broke the ball for a different...

There is a difference.

There is a difference.

There's this difference standard

when it comes to pros and age groupers.

I remember when I was put on the medication

that I was put on for the specific reason I was put on it.

I researched it,

realized it was a performance enhancing

sub-considered performance on it.

It's an absence.

It wouldn't have...

It's my performance at that time.

I'll tell you.

But...

And then I reached out to the powers that be.

And they just said,

yeah, don't worry about it.

You're an age grouper.

Like, if anything comes of it,

we'll give you a TUE in retrospectively.

You don't have to worry.

It's fine.

It is a unique sport.

You've got a prescription in fine.

Don't worry.

It is a unique sport.

It's different from the pros.

They need it.

They need it in advance.

They need it agreed.

They need the evidence looked at.

100%.

Because, like, I said,

one of the things I always

am left scratching my head about

is how often when you start to see posts online

about doping or positive tests.

And there's this sweeping thing of a lot of people saying

we need age group tests.

We need age group tests.

We need age group testing.

And I'm like, no, we don't.

Like, again, I understand...

This is the great thing right?

I was a very...

I took my...

I took trial from very, very seriously.

I get it.

But I was never a person.

Like, I was always worried about my own performance.

I was never really worried about what others were doing.

And that's...

Yeah.

Obviously, intrinsic...

Extrinsic motivation.

But I just think when I hear people talking about

we need age group testing.

I'm thinking,

would you go down to the local park

when you got over 35s,

division eight soccer?

And would you suddenly test them?

Because fuck and hell,

tell you what,

they'd all be test and positive

for fucking, like,

they'd be all sorts of illicit drugs

in those systems and stuff.

And it's like...

Nobody cares.

It's just like,

I just sometimes think we again need to understand that

amateur triathlon is...

amateur triathlon.

It isn't...

And yes, we have age group awards

and we have age group,

which can be tips.

And God knows we have a lot of ways

of celebrating success.

But it isn't ever...

The thought of spending money

on age group testing to me

is just...

It just seems like...

No, we don't even...

Yeah, we don't even...

No, no, no.

The reason...

Yeah.

The investment and resource needs

to be put into the pro side of the sport.

Yes.

And look,

it's much easier to get a TUE

and probably much easier

to abuse that system

if you're an age group.

And I understand

when people get really wild

about testosterone

and how many people are taking it.

But...

you've also got to take into account

that...

Yeah.

There probably are people out there

who are getting a prescription

for testosterone

that maybe shouldn't have it.

But there's also great advances

in medical knowledge at the moment.

When you're starting to really see

a lot more people

become much more knowledgeable

about what might be wrong with me.

Why don't I feel very good?

Why am I so lethargic?

And the information

and the knowledge is out there now to go,

okay, maybe I should get myself tested.

Maybe I should have a think about this.

And so you'll see more people

stepping into that arena

and going,

oh, blind me,

that's why I've been depressed for 10 years.

And perhaps

that's why you're seeing such an increase

as well as there'll be people

out there abusing it.

But also that increase

will come with knowledge as well.

And again, what...

I really don't want to talk too much

about the amateur, but here we are.

If you need to take a substance

to, as you say,

feel normal as an amateur,

take it.

And I really don't want people to go,

I don't feel it.

I can't take testosterone

because I race,

triathlon is a hobby.

Like that is,

again, I will,

I've never,

again,

I'm racing my marathon this year.

I'm trying to go

under two hours 50.

I am not going to finish my race

and go,

I went to 50,

but I'm annoyed

because that guy

went to 49,

but I'm pretty sure he's on testosterone.

Like that doesn't enter my head.

I don't,

I just,

we're probably going to get

in a lot of trouble

for saying this stuff.

So I think we should just wrap it up.

I've seen the list.

Yeah, I agree.

I've seen the list.

I've seen the signatures on it.

Focus on you.

Look inward.

Yeah, just,

if you can.

I think a lot of people

would have a much better

time racing triathlon as an amateur

if they focus more on their own

performance and less,

like that.

Like the LA marathon.

Did you see that thing

about the LA marathon recently?

And everybody was crying

about it.

And it's like me.

You went,

I always like to stress

these things about

with,

as if I'm as an adult

talking to a parent,

my parent or a grandparent

or something.

I went and did the LA marathon.

I had you get on.

Yeah, I did.

I did all right.

Like,

but I'm really upset

because somebody else didn't

do quite the same distance

as me.

And they got the same medal

as me.

It's like, Jesus,

you sound like a child.

You shut the fuck up

and enjoy your day out.

I know.

It's like the other one I find

really weird.

And is the people who,

anyway, I'm not going to start

this.

I don't need this in my life.

Let's move on.

Again, I was going to say,

I've seen the list of names

that have already signed the

petition.

There's a lot of pros.

I'm already signed.

I guess there's more.

Do you think, I mean,

I don't want to keep

vlogging this dead horse,

but I mean,

nothing will happen.

Nothing.

No, no, no.

I find it reprehensible

that these people

will put their name on paper

to say that they want

to see people's

private medical information.

Like, you can say,

look, I don't think

T.U.E.'s,

I don't think people

want to erase

with the T.U.E.

That, I can, you can,

that's an

arguable point.

You can defend

that point.

But what isn't

defensible to me

is saying,

I need to see your

private medical information.

That, that, that.

Now, I have a

think about what you've

just signed.

I know.

You fucking know that.

Well, again, it makes me

think back to what happened

at Image in Simmons last

year, right?

Where, like, the amount

of detail we had to have

come out about her personal

life that should

never be made public.

It should never be

no.

And I, yeah.

And I, I was thinking

about that the other day,

actually, because I was

listening to something

and someone made a joke

about it.

You know, that specific

detail of that story,

someone made a joke

about it.

And it, it upsets me

every time I hear somebody

make a joke about it,

because it's not fair.

Everybody has their,

everybody has their

private life and everybody

has moments in it

that should never be

public for people to just

have a laugh about.

And I find that

particularly upsetting,

because it's more

honest.

Yeah.

Yeah, me too.

Well, look, all

we'll say is it's

difficult.

Everybody, it's clearly

something that everybody

has opinions on.

But, um, God knows, I don't

even know if we've done a

very good job of

currentists, but we've

discussed it a lot

longer than I thought.

I'm sorry about that.

I didn't mean to.

And I'm going to have to

be a part of bad words you

said.

So, imagine that I

imagine your, um, how

far into the poker?

We're about half an hour

in now.

25 minutes, mate.

So, imagine that you're trying to make your way through this murky pool of TUEs and it's

all murky and horrible.

You know what would help you get through that murky pool, mate?

Tell me mate, I need this, give it to me, come on, I can feel this, come on, I'm excited.

I think a pair of brand-spanking new goggles would help you get through that murky pool.

Luckily, that is a segway.

Luckily, we've got a great offer again, which I'm going to repeat this week from our friends

Hoob.

And this one, as it always has been this month, is all about goggles.

Hoob of us has to help them put a spotlight on their goggles range and to make it interesting

for listeners, they're offering 50% off any pair of Hoob goggles, so that's half price

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Now, there are two standout models they want to highlight this month.

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It features a photochromatic lens that automatically adapts to changing light conditions, so if

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You know, one of the conditions of our sponsorship, actually, Dean doesn't realize this yet,

is that they have to rename the light smoke to the James Bell.

So let's get on that, Dean.

Like I said, last week, I've been swimming with a pair of Hoob goggles for the last week

and half.

Really great goggles, highly recommend them.

I just, what I've really, one of my biggest pet peeves with goggles is after, you know,

all goggles are okay for like the first one or two K. Be again to the back end, you're

doing your threshold or your VO2 max efforts, and suddenly the goggles, a bit of water

creeps in, and then a bit of fold creeps in, and suddenly while you're working your heart,

it's dealing with issues with goggles.

No issues for me.

So big, big Tim recommend, but yeah, great deal.

Get on it.

I started swimming with Hoob goggles a few years ago, and I haven't swam with any other

goggles since James Bell, we had a race over the weekend, we had two races over the weekend.

We have three races to talk about, two that have happened, one that is happening, and

we are going to start by talking about T100 Gold Coast happened over the weekend on the

aforementioned Gold Coast, which is in Queensland, in Australia, mate, women's only pro race,

give it to me.

So what happened?

Are we happy?

Yeah, I mean, it looked like it was a choppy swim, and then essentially they came out of

the water and Taylor Nibb basically took control on the bike, and in imperious form never really

looked back, did you?

Yeah, I mean, I don't think anybody was surprised by the results, I mean, the top three we

had, Taylor Nibb won, Jess Fuller was in second, and Imogen Simmons was in third, a very

talented one, three 27, 53, Jess Fuller in three 28, 53, and Imogen Simmons in three 33,

11.

Yeah, so I think that's a really great top three, looking at the start list, they'd probably

be the three athletes you'd expect to be up there, a great to see Imogen Simmons making

a podium after the year that she had last year, Jess Fuller, I said she was the one to

watch, she was definitely one to watch, she was first out of the water, led for a big

part of the bike until Nibb caught up to her, did it on a, I heard them saying on the

broadcaster borrowed bike, yeah, Nibb though, just is one of the best athletes in the world

and showed it, mate, as we do most of the time with these events, what are your thoughts

about the broadcaster, the location, all that stuff, what were your thoughts about the

actual race itself?

I mean, I thought the location was stunning, yeah, it looked like an amazing place to have

a race, and I was always with the T100, the broadcaster seemed tight to me, it was the

wrong time of day for me to watch live, so I watched the highlights, so if you watch

the entire thing, then you might have a different version to me, but to me, the package they

put together are the highlights, they look tight, and the broadcaster looked fine, I just

think, I mean, truly just how this season will go on for the T100, because the first race

where they've split the men and the women, I still keep forgetting that it's just a

women's race and looking for the men's results, and I haven't quite got that into my head yet,

and I don't know, what, what, did you watch the race live?

I was outrided, so I actually had this brilliant idea where I, even when I bought an adaptive

for my phone, so I could plug my headphones into my phone, and I was riding, listening

to the commentary while I was riding, so I was listening to Belinda talk about the race,

and then I've also gone back and watched bits and pieces, and I've watched the highlights,

I think this, I knew it was on the Gold Coast, but when you hear Gold Coast, Gold Coast

is quite a long stretch up in Queens, I think it's actually like 60 kilometres end to end

from Berlia all the way up to Gold, what's that at the top, I can't remember, but Mission

Bay, I think it is, but they normally do the same broadwater, which is, it's like an inlet

like, it's kind of like a saltwater lake, I guess you'd say, and that's normally where

they do the triathletes, that's where the age group stuff was held, and normally it's

like, it's out of the main street, when I saw the race was actually at Surface Paradise,

which is, it's like, plus the Laonglès in Nice, it's in the centre of Surface, I was

absolutely blown away by when I saw what the actual course was, I thought, fuck, here

we go, we've spoken a lot about these events that say they're a city race, and then they're

like 16 miles out of town, whatever, this was in the centre of the Gold Coast, the run

course was along my, one of my favourite places in the world to run, but it just looked

exceptional, like presentation wise, absolutely brilliant, this is what we need, and this is

why I think having these events in like secondary cities, not going Brisbane, not going Sydney,

let's go the Gold Coast, like that's, it looks, it just looks so good, do you compare that

race to any of the Middle Eastern races we saw last year, the look like COVID races, it

was so good to see the crowds at their support in the pros, I thought, brilliant, brilliant,

blended grandeur, chef's kiss, great job in commentary, I just found the race in quite

formulaic, like I look at how the T100 starts this year compared to what we've seen with

the prosies and a race we're going to talk about in a little bit, and the T100 was like,

great, this is, it's like a very responsible well presented thing, just wasn't, just wasn't

very exciting, and unfortunately, very polished, everything around it was polished, the location

was great, the broadcast was great, the race was well presented, it just didn't feel

too racy, at no point was on the edge of my seat, and there were other races this weekend

where I was on the edge of my seat a little bit more, yeah, yeah, so look, I think that

it is a great start, I'm very curious to see what's going to happen with the T100

series this year, I think that what we see happening in the Middle East at the moment

is going to have last, I'm flying to Europe today, and I remember a month ago thinking,

I could probably leave my tickets because I was originally meant to fly to Dubai, I changed

them three weeks ago, but I remember thinking, it'll probably be okay by then, it's not,

I don't see this thing fixing itself anytime soon, so I'm very curious, we've already

just seen the WTCS race in Abu Dhabi, post-pone, probably cancelled, but there's so many

T100 events in the Middle East, I just, at what point do they go, okay, we need to have

a plan B here, so we'll see, but like, I think that it is, it just feels like, it just

kind of feels like a continuation, right? It just feels like, here we are, it just feels

like a continuation last year, things are good, it's just, it's good, it's good, that's

what, it's good, it's, it's, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's comfortable

good, it's, what they've, what they've done is they've laid the groundwork for, if good

racing does come to this series, they've got the ability to capture and present it in

a really good way, they just need the racing, without racing, you haven't got much, I

will say, I will say one thing that definitely, Sean, at the T100 race compared to the,

the Jalong 70 points areas, which I'll talk about next, was how much better it looked

to not having the edge groupers on course on the bike, because that stressed me the fuck

out in Jalong. Yeah, Jesus, yeah, I mean, I'm always going on about vibes, aren't I?

And I was saying that in, in a place pinning with them where there's 70.3 worlds were last

year, my bear, my bear, in my bear, I liked the vibe of having all the age groupers and

the men and the women, the pro men, pro women, all racing together and it, and it seemed

amazing, they obviously weren't racing on the same day, but the pro men had age groupers

and the pro women had age groupers. And, and it just, I liked that vibe, I did not like

that vibe in Jalong, but that's a conversation for a bit further down. Yeah, and he saw how

it didn't do quite as well as she'd hoped, had a chat with her afterwards, she said she

was very proud of the fight to get back into the race after horrendous swim. I was

really pleased to see Image and Siemens in third place, I think, I hope we see a really

good hit year from her that last this year, because, you know, going back to what I said

earlier, I think she was dragged through it and I think it'd be really nice to see her

bounce back and have some performances and show some real resilience to, to what other

people think and say outside. Yeah, really good to see Taylor Nibb travel as well. You

know, we know she doesn't early season normally like to travel so far. I, I loved having her

in Australia. I loved Taylor Nibb. Like really, she's just such a quirky, awesome character

and yeah, I'm really happy to see her back to winning, but I'm just so happy for Jess

Fulluger as well, you know, I think Jess has found her like to do it on a borrowed bike

is, is just crazy and she looks so aerodynamic Lucy Burram. Lucy Burram, yeah, which is cool.

Nicole Vanderkane fourth place to another short course athlete. So, yeah, good stuff. We're

close. Like that's, I, we're close to 100. We've got it. As you said, I think, I think

you nailed it right. All the pieces are in play. We just need that, that genus aqua to

take it to another level. Yeah, like the fire, like the fire. Mate, let's talk about one

of the best races I've seen in recent times. Truly wonderful racing at Jolong 70.3 over

the weekend. Did you get the chance to watch this live? Did you have your watches highlights?

What did you do? I tapped in and out of it when it was live. I was, I was a busy day.

So I was, I was kind of moving and checking things. But I have watched the highlights.

Did you watch it while it was happening? I also started tapping in. So I, I didn't watch

the swim. I watched them on the bike for a bit. I saw Hayden attack off the front in the

start of the second lap. And then I can't, well, I was doing something else. I can't

remember what I was doing, but very quickly on the run, I turned it on and kept it on.

I kept that race on for all the run because what we saw was just, just brilliant, just

an absolutely brilliant race. Yeah. So Hayden built himself a bit of a lead on the bike

and then it came down to the run. Hayden was off the front. Yellow games was chasing and

Blumafelt was making his way through the field. And Blumafelt caught Yellow and then essentially

raced to catch Hayden caught Hayden. Hayden joined him for a little bit and then Blumafelt

just fucked off for a 106 something. 106 something. Mate, I was watching, I was watching during

the part of the bike. Because again, I've said a lot on the podcast about how I feel the

20-metre draft is going to make the sport a lot less entertaining. And I have now been

proved wrong two times because I think New Zealand was quite entertaining with the other

quarter trying to run down Trevor Foley. And I've definitely been proved wrong here in

New Zealand. And one of our patrons, we both joke that we were going to steal it. I can't

actually remember who was off the top of my head, but basically said maybe the 20-metre

draft is actually meaning that an athlete like Christian is not only able to write his own

pace, but avoids all those surges that would have happened at the front. And that's why

we're going to see a better run. I thought that was a pretty good observation. Yeah. And

I was so wrong because I said yellow games was going to give them both a free lesson here.

And I was so wrong.

Mate, look, I don't think yellow, I feel like yellow was very sore. I was surprised because when

I saw Hayden, the part that made me very uncomfortable watching the bike was at the start of the

second lap where Hayden really attacked coming up those little climbs and he was weaving through

amateurs and he was on the air bars and I was like, Jesus Christ, he's going to crash in

somebody. And because yellow was right with him for the first lap. And then suddenly Hayden

seemed to have dropped yellow, especially about the hills. I thought, well,

fucking that's game over. Hayden's going to ride away with this thing away from yellow.

And when I checked a bit later, yellow had closed the gap right back down to Hayden.

So fucking credits, yellow games have been, I was chatting with Tyler Misner,

Chuck about it saying, is he always been this strong? Is that Mate 60 kilos that get on a TT bike

is so error? Like, he's a absolute beast. I feel like it was just, I was quite surprised

how well yellow did on the bike and then very, very sort of run. But the my favorite part about

this whole thing, apart from the fact that Christian absolutely destroyed them and he did destroy

them was during the bike. And Crowe, we love you. You know, we love you. We don't think you should

necessarily be a commentator. I think maybe an audiobook or calm sleep meditation reader would be

a better profession for you. Crowe on the broadcast said that Christian hasn't been a Sam

athlete for 12 months. And maybe we've not seen it. Maybe the best of Christians behind him.

And all the changes, distance is probably impacted Christian. At some point,

Christian has got to pay the price for all that he has done. And I love that, you know, that

from the Michael Jordan documentary. And I think try me to see this thing. I was like, I took it

personally because fuck me. If Christian, Christian is probably riding and he's getting this thing.

He's like, I feel like one of the greats of the sporters said I'm done or I'm not as good as I

used to. And I took it personally because he was what, a minute 40 down off Hayden or something

off the bike, which you would assume on paper. I don't care who you are. If you're, if you look

yourself in the mirror, honest, you would not expect Christian or anybody to run down a minute

40 over Hayden. Even I was like, okay, it's probably Hayden. And I wasn't even paying that much

attention to Christian to all of a sudden. The gap was like 40 seconds in the like crazy far

what the hell is happening. And then they're saying, maybe he's just throwing caution of the wind

and he's just going to see what a motherfucker did not slow down. He was like a man possessed and

it was the best. It was the best. It was the best. It was the best. So we had, we had Hayden

swimmer 2215, yellow gains swammer 2213 and groom and flout swammer 2218. So all relatively

close groom and flout, groom and flout and then on the bike Hayden bike to 15603 and then yellow

a 15703 and Christian on 15729. So I mean, they were within the margin of error on the bike as well.

And then you look at the run and Hayden ran a 10904, yellow ran a 10830 and Christian ran a 10639.

Mate, he just went into overdrive, mate. So you say Hayden ran a 109 and when you saw Hayden running

compared to Christian, it made Hayden look slow. Like Hayden, Hayden Wild looked like he was just,

like they'd show Christian and he's fucking absolutely flying. And then they'd cut to Hayden and

it looked like Hayden was jogging. Like genuinely, when I saw Hayden's run split, I was like, what the

fuck? Because he did not look like if Christians are normal. Hayden did not look like that. It was

man, just fucking what the hell? Flying, yeah. I did have a little chat with Christian afterwards

and he just said it's good to show that there's still some leg speed in an old dog,

laughing face, laughing face. No wonder whether that was a slight digger crowing.

God, I love him. I do, but it was, yeah, man. But 330, 25 on a, this is not a flat fast course.

The fact they were all right and well under two hours, it just shows you know, all sub two

hour rides with 20 meter draft. And then follow it with a 10639 is just elite racing. And

yeah, man, this was, I love this. I really, I really love this. This was, and yeah.

Have you seen one of the things I've seen? I saw a few reels this week that made me chuckle a lot.

So there's an excellent clip of Christian runners with the aid session. I thought that I thought

the people of camera work at Jolong was exceptional. Like truly, I don't know whether it was by accident,

but they had all these zoom in, zoom out, they showed the background, they zoom in on the actor,

they showed their feet. I thought the cameras were on fire, to be honest. But there's this brilliant

shot of Christian running through the aid station, smashing the drinks as he's going, he's running,

looks like he's absolutely flying. And what a lot of, I've seen a lot of people do, it's a,

it's a clip of them running through transition, like, you know, or not transition, running through an

aid station, like an amateur, pulling along, having a drink, pulling along, and it's like,

what it looks like, cuts to what it feels like. And then it's the shot of Christian absolutely.

And I love it. It's so good. But no, this, this race really, like, as people can probably hear,

I was, I, I loved this. This is the stuff that gets me really, really excited. I thought this was,

I've seen people say it's the best 70 points forever. I disagree with that. I still think the

2018 70 point three worlds, Jan Javier Alistair is the best I've seen. Yeah. I mean, I would even say

that last year's 70 point three worlds beat this. But I love this performance from Christian.

Yeah. I just love it. I love that he's come off Iron Man New Zealand. I love that he's come into

this race. He's laid down a marker and said, you know, I'm still here. I'm still, I can still do

this. And I think, I think, look, big respect to Craig Alexander. I think he couldn't be more wrong.

I agree. I don't think we just, we're far from having seen the best of Christian Blumentfeld.

Do you still think he's going to never win Kona? I don't think he'll win Kona. But I will

Kavier. And I took it personally. Rick just came through my window and knocks me out.

No, I've, I'll caveat that with, I want to be wrong. Yeah. I don't want him never to win Kona.

I want him to go and go and get that race on his palm iris. I want him to, you know,

have the best career he can possibly have. I just have a feeling that Kona might be beyond him.

But I would love him to prove me wrong. I would, nothing would make me happier. He's a really

great burger. A lot of time for him. I mean, like I said, this is, this is the, the Christian

effect for me is he makes race an exciting light. And again, no disrespect to somebody like Magnus

did live. But when I watch Magnus race, I don't, I don't get super excited, right? It's,

it's a very good performance. It's very methodical. And to be honest, to a probably similar extent,

Hayden Wilde, because Hayden just does his race the way he races it. Christians out there,

fucking race him in. Like he is, he is a racer. And not just like not only does he do what he

needs to do runs out at like almost a 30 minute 10 K or something for the first 10 K. He doesn't

just pass Hayden. He then fucking drops him. And then he keeps fucking going, mate. Like it's,

it's just, it's so good. This, yeah, mate. It's absolutely brilliant. It's absolutely brilliant.

We didn't see any of the cramps or any of that. So, you know, I'm assuming it was a hot race.

And he didn't have it to have any of those hydration issues or cramp issues. That's good to see.

Now, anyway, I do think looking at it, I wonder, I think Hayden's even comments,

he probably overbites a little bit. I would imagine, again, I have literally no insight.

I would imagine an athlete like Hayden Wilde probably gets quite excited by that 20 minute draft.

And that's why, like when I saw him at the way he attacked, I was like, Jesus Christ, like this is,

like, wow, it felt a little unnecessary considering, considering how good Hayden's run is,

I didn't necessarily expect to see him attack the way that he did on the bike.

I wonder if he gets a little bit excited or a little bit like he knows how good his bike run is.

And sometimes that can then become a bit of a liability because you maybe overdo it a little

bit on the bike to get away from an athlete, yellow games or Christian. And that's why we saw him,

like he just, yeah, he just, he didn't have it there in the run.

So after this race, you know, you know who's at the top of the Iron Man pro standings for the man?

Tell me. Christian Blue. Yeah, is it the only one that's done with two races?

Yeah, maybe. So second place is Trevor Foley, and that was Iron Man New Zealand.

Third place is Pierre Le Corne. Pierre Le Corne did Jolong and New Zealand. He didn't finish.

He didn't finish. Yeah. And then you've got Jack Salinsky. He did, he did Jolong,

and I'm a New Zealand, but he placed 10th in New Zealand and 13th in Jolong.

So Christian Blumenfeld is probably the only one who's had done both races and had a win in one of them.

So again, great race. Definitely go and watch the highlights. Jolong looked fantastic too.

I think, yeah, I love seeing the race by the ocean. So it's been a good little, like,

Australian New Zealand start to the season for Iron Man and T100, to be honest.

In the women's race, mate, there was also a women's race. So we had T100 Gold Coast

women's race, then we also had Jolong 70.3 women's race over the weekend. To be honest,

there was only one real big surprise for me that weekend that this weekend in Jolong, because

Cat Matthews did what Cat Matthews does. But Grace Stekmate, almost, I mean, not really,

but made it a lot more entertaining than otherwise would have been, because she ran

three and a half minutes quicker than Cat Matthews and got within a minute of her.

I think it was only just over 40 seconds at the end, or maybe 50 seconds. So it was actually

close-ish. I guess there was a bit of drama in that race.

Yes, it was close-ish. We've got Cat Matthews as now one Iron Man New Zealand and then

gone on to Wim 70.3 Jolong. Absolutely underlining her lead in the pro series. There's no question

of that. But yeah, having Grace Stek, because what? Cat swam on 2443, Grace swam on 2448,

Cat bike to 202, 1409, Grace bike to 217, 17, and then Cat Rana 122, 29 and Grace Rana 1119,

01 and they were Cat finished overall in four hours, six minutes, 15 and Grace finished in four

hours, six minutes, 51. So yes, she was running her down and if there was a little bit more road,

she might have got there, but she didn't. It's not something you'd normally see with Cat Matthews

to be honest. And that's why her run is stunning. To be honest, it's also probably a little bit

difficult to actually really understand because she was so far ahead right that she probably isn't,

you know, absolutely. I don't know. Again, I don't know. She'd also race time, but I mean, Grace

Stek also ran out around Tamarajua. Grace Stek is a very, very good runner. I think it's a great

performance in Grace. It was good to see Tamarajua back on the podium. She was, I mean, ultimately,

she was quite far back from both of them, but yeah. So if you're green, who was our hot tip from

maybe fake tailing it, maybe real tailing it, was faster swimmer and had the second best bike,

but certainly struggled a little bit. You know, she ran a 137 compared to the others running,

you know, 120. So well back, well back on the run, but yeah, I mean, I certainly didn't find

this race as entertaining as men's, but like I said, Grace Stek doing that certainly added an

element, but yeah, Kath Matthews is looking imperious. Great to see Grace Stek run like she did.

And I was wrong again. I picked Tamarajua. I'm going to keep back in her for a minute. I think

she's an incredible athlete and I think she'll she'll get there, but she was a bit down on the swim,

quite a bit down on the bike, but still did a run that was 1955. So a very quick run.

I just can't help but think if you merge those two start lists together,

if you take the two 100 athletes and then you take the Jolong athletes and you put them into one race,

it's an exciting event. You've got this of really exciting, really exciting. The funny thing is,

is almost like you can imagine if two 100 went out to Iron Man and said, hey guys, look, is it okay

with you if we take and pay your pros, your female pros, you just put on a men's only pro race,

you only have to pay half the price of money, we'll take the women. I don't remember if I fuck

you, I'm still having them. It's fine. No, I think that was just the one thing, but Kath Matthews

made is just so consistently good. You know, every time she races, unless she has a legal

or injury or she's racing Iron Man literally six days before, she is always making an impact on

the race and it's just, it's just so consistent now. Yeah, well, Kath, well, Kath. Imperius is the

word I think and yeah, it's going to be really interesting to see how the year unfolds. I think,

I think this might be, this might be the year that Kath does Kona. You think she'll win Kona?

Yeah. I, I've got feeling. Don't. Only because I feel like a lot of athletes, i.e.

tail and hip, Lucy Charles had the hiccups last year, so they're going to have learnt the lessons,

but also I think we're going to have new new women come through. I think Solva was also very good.

I think Solva is going to grow as a, I don't think, I don't think Solva is going to be a one-hit wonder.

I think we're going to see Solva do it. Yeah. Would I be surprised if Kath Matthews won? No.

We're a long way off. We're a long way off. Exactly. But I do love the, I do love the, or

I speculate on it. You know, that's one of my favourite things. So, Jolong 70.3 had no business

been as good as it was, but it was very good. On the women's side in the pro series, Kath Matthews

leads tomorrow to it, who leads Gabrielle Lucas over Hannah Berry, and Kath Matthews is way ahead

with 7,500 points having one two races in a row. Mate, one last thing to talk about, and that is,

of course, we have, um, ocean side happening this weekend. Yes, we do. What are you reckon?

Disappointed lawners on the start list, obviously. How good was the photo that Christian

put up, though, the gangs back together? And it's a photo of him, Gustav Kaspar,

Jonas Schomburg, Solva Love Seth, and I'm like, yeah, this is, this is pretty good. How you feeling

about it? Yeah, I'm excited to see it. I mean, the start list looks, looks good on the women's

side, Paula Finley, Taylor Nibb, Solva Love Seth, Jackie Haring, Daniela Lewis, Grace Thack,

Victoria Lopez, um, Grace Alexander, Kirsten Kaspar, Siff Benedict Madsen, just skimming

this start list more. Yeah, it looks like it, I mean, it's going to be a really solid race on

the women's side, and then the men's Christian Blumentfeld, Kaspar Storners, Rudi Womberg, Gustav

Eden Sam Long, Jonas Schomburg, Sam Alton, Leon Shevier, Henry Rappo, Jason West, Antonio Benito

Lopez, Jan Stratman, Ben Canute, Christian Holmberg. Take a break, Jonas. Yeah, it just, I mean,

it goes deep. It goes, it goes really deep. Um, Joe Skippers on there as well.

Joe's not racing, Joe's withdrawn. Okay, fair enough. Um, yeah, I mean, I think we could have,

it's, it's another, um, it's very strong, I'm an start list for the start of the year,

and this is what I like to see. It's a crazy, it's a crazy start list. Like, yeah, great. Again,

I question, I understand the logistics of Australia, America, but there's 52 weeks in the year,

can't we space these events out a little bit, but, um, mate, I'm, I'm really, really, really

looking forward to this. I think my favorite thing in pro triathlon at the moment is when you

have the three Norwegian boys on a start list together. It's the first, since 70.3 worlds,

we're going to see Casper race again. He won the IML champs, went to my Bayer finish on the podium,

and now he's here having foregone the New Zealand trip with Christian. Um,

mate, there's, there's so much, Jonas Schomburg. I mean, I, yeah, it's a, it's a, uh, who's who

of Maltryath on? Um, do you think Christian's going to slide down because the last weekend,

or do you think it's going to, he's going to carry that momentum into this and win again? Like,

how do you see it going? Oh, he's Christian, isn't he? Yeah, exactly. He probably hasn't slowed

down since he've crossed the finish line. He's probably just running to ocean side. I couldn't

believe I quickly got there to be honest. So I saw him on, um, on the Strava. One second is in

Australia and doing, doing along the neck metadise is in California running. I was like,

Jesus Christ, that did you fly out straight after the race? How did you do that? Um,

mate, yeah, like, there's just so many athletes on this list. I want to see where they're at.

It's the first chance to see so many of them out there racing. Um, we start building data points

that we, this, this point in the season. And that's what I'm enjoying. I'm starting, I'm enjoying

seeing people where people are form wise. And we're collecting data that gives us more things to

talk about as the year goes on. You know, at the moment, it's looking like Taylor and Eve's in

really strong form. Cat Matthews is looking imperious. We've got Christian Blumafelt really

showing that he's, he's entered this year ready to race. Good to go. And now from this race,

we're going to get to see a lot more information on a lot, a lot more competitors. Um, I'm intrigued

as to where Casper Storner's is. I love Jonas Schomburg and how he races. And the fact that he's

really found, he's found his niche at this longer course racing, having been Mr T2 in, uh, in short

course. And I'd be really keen to see how Taylor comes out of T100 Gold Coast and into this race.

The other, I mean, Grace thick after that running, after that running Jolong, she's certainly gone up

my, my, uh, list in terms of wants to watch. We spoke about it last week as well, you know,

the short course athletes, you look at this Christian Blumafelt Casper Storner's Gustav Edan,

Jonas Schomburg, you know, we got a lot of, a lot of short course guys up there. I feel like

we're probably going to see a very short course podium, to be honest. Um, let's, let's, I mean,

we're running out of time. There's what we're doing really, really well. But what's our picks?

Who do you think, do you want to start with the women? Who's your, who's your third place

women's, women's, uh, prize getter? Who comes third? So they love Seth. Interesting. That's

really okay. Explain why. Why do you think she's not going to win the thing? Um, because I just

think that her season will be backloaded. Okay. Uh, I'm going to put, I'm going to put Paula Finlay

in third place. Fair enough. Second place, I'm going to put,

geez, it's, it's a pretty good, it's a pretty tough, I'm going to go, saw my love set the second

place. I'm going to put Grace back in second place. Great shot. Absolutely. Great shot.

I'm going to be tailing it for the win. There you go. Same, same. Big risk. I mean, yeah, we're

taking, we're taking our chances. How about the men's third place? Oh, Jonas Schomburg. Great

call. Was the, what was the race last year where they did a 70 point three together? And Jonas

was right with them. I think it was, it was in Portugal or Spanish. I can't remember. Uh, I'm

going to go third place. Gustave in. Interesting. Second, second place. For me, I go, I guess

second. No, you pick third. Who's your third pick? You said Jonas Schomburg didn't know.

Jonas Schomburg was third. Yeah. I think Caspar Storn is second. I think Caspar Storn is second

two. I think we're going to have a very similar, and I reckon Christian Bloomfield is going to roll

over and, and same, same, same, same, same, same, same, same, same, same, same, same, same, same, same,

same, same, same, same, same, same, same, same, same. I mean, that's what I want. I know, so, he,

he again came back, he had their mechanical, she's last, she's still got the bike and ran crazy

fast. He's, uh, yeah. I mean, it's born at this point. I always pick Christian when he's in a race,

but I think he's earned that, that privilege. Actually, I don't know if you know this about Christian,

but did you know that in 2021, he actually won the WTCS World title? Did he,

far, little learn fact. Well, there you go, under the radar, under the radar, that one.

Mate, I'm looking forward to ocean side. Genuinely, I don't know what the, I don't know where I'm

going to be when it's on. I am somewhere in Europe. I might be in London. I might be in France.

I might be in Austria. Who knows? I'm leaving early. I will not be on the show next week. I,

I am away. I am working in the end of next week. You will try to find a guest or we might just

miss a week. Who knows? Um, Jimbo, mate, if people want to find out more about us and all that stuff,

where do they need to go? If you want to support the show, jump on at patreon.com forward slash

talking triathlon. If you want to follow Tim, he's a T414 on Instagram and I'm at bale.james 85

on Instagram. Find us across all social networks. We are at talking triathlon on Instagram.

If you join the patreon group, you can access them on monthly bonus episode and the social

group. Put you in the whatsapp group. The whatsapp group keeps us in me endlessly entertained.

If you're not in the patreon group though and you want to add a comment, put it on the YouTube

channel and um, we will get back to you there. And just to, I just, I've been thinking about

something that I said at the start and I want to, I want to just finish my point. You know,

we were talking about the TUEs. Yes. The reason I get so annoyed about the idea of publishing

people's medical data is because then it takes it out of the hands of people who are trained experts

in judging whether somebody needs a TUE and it makes it trial by peers and trial by media.

And that is not where I want to be. Yeah. So that's, that's the final point I want to make.

I wish we didn't talk about it at all to be honest because now I'm Sydney going, what did I say?

Was it bad? I hope it wasn't bad. Someone's going to have a go at this all.

Always. That's always the way. Um, guys also don't forget James's raffle is going. You can also

donate to my fundraiser. Those are in the show notes as well. Jim, I made a pleasure as always.

Guys, thank you so much. Enjoy your ocean side this weekend. Put your picks on YouTube. Let us

know who you think is going to come third second and first. Let's see how we go. Um, Jim,

pleasure as always. Cheerio.