firstoffthebike.com - Features

2011's magnificent 7 - for now

With the tri year around about half way through we thought we would choose 7 triathletes who have, for us, made the season really hum. They have raised the bar on performance or strung together multiple wins.

Our Magnificent 7!



Andy Potts - Potts has been the master over the 70.3 and the Olympic (non drafting) races this year. With wins all over the States and against some of the best in the business, Potts has been the ultimate in versatility. Armed with a killer swim leg he is dangerous by simply being on the start line. He has also showed the tri world that you can step up and down in distance.

Alistair Brownlee - It's not that Brownlee wins, that's a given. It's how he has won this season. The defining moment was him riding away from the field at Kitzbuhel. He was on song that day and continues to be THE major threat in an ITU race. And while his team have been making news Brownlee has proven once again this season that he has what it takes to become the firmest of favourites for the Olympic Gold medal in London.

Chrissie Wellington - Chrissie has long worn out journos who have tried to capture what she has been doing on course and convert it to some form of meaningful prose. But, while she is still smashing records, races, herself and her competition we'll keep tying to put this stunning career into perspective. Her season so far has seen her go 8:33 in Sth Africa, 4:11 at Kansas (70.3) and that 8:19 in Roth. Now all that remains is for her to regain her Kona crown.

Paula Findlay - Findlay has picked up where the likes of Emma Snowsill left off. 3 ITU wins has seen her dominate all that she has come up against. Findlay's season has been a break out one and must give Triathlon Canada some hope heading into London. Findlay's wins have seen her favourite to win the World title even this she missed the last round in Hamburg. Poised and powerful, Findlay's season so far has been a highlight reel.

Marino Vanhoenacker - Vanhoenacker pushed Fred Van Lierde in Abu Dhabi where he ended up with a second and then had a huge day at Ironman Austria where he went 7:45:58. It was, for a time, a world record. Vanhoenacker has always had the tools to be one of the best in the world but since last season in Kona (3rd) he has expanded his winning ways to be, in our book, one of the best triathletes in the world.

Julie Dibens - Dibens has been rock solid this season. A win at Abu Dhabi against a stacked field was the best start to her campaign. Wins at 70.3 New Orleans, Rev3 Quassy and then opening her Ironman win account at IM Coeur d'Alene (CDA) has been a big start to the likeable Brit. Dibens has improved her run this season and her day at CDA showed how hard she was prepared to push it. Whatever she does in Kona her season has already been a brilliant one.

Andreas Raelert - It is hard to put someone up for just one race but it was one heck of a race. His day in Roth set the Iron Distance record at 7:41:43 and redefined what was possible at this distance. Despite any conjecture regarding course length Raelert's day was simply magnificent. A 4:11 bike and 2:40 marathon were the numerical highlights but it was the fact that he basically did it by himself that wowed us. The Roth pro field not exactly running deep. Whether he backs it up in Kona (if he can qualify) is the question but his Roth day out remains the sports benchmark.