{"id":14068,"date":"2022-05-06T14:20:39","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T12:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.220triathlon.com\/?p=99932"},"modified":"2022-05-06T14:28:10","modified_gmt":"2022-05-06T12:28:10","slug":"gustav-iden-tips-blummenfelt-as-favourite-in-st-george","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/rss_feed\/gustav-iden-tips-blummenfelt-as-favourite-in-st-george\/","title":{"rendered":"Gustav Iden tips Blummenfelt as favourite in St George"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Rob Slade\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 06 May 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Norwegian triathlete Gustav Iden<\/a> has named his favourite for this Saturday\u2019s Ironman World Championship in St George, Utah.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Responding to a question about who he thinks is the favourite at a press conference on Thursday 5 May, the reigning 70.3 world champion said: \u201cI think there\u2019s a favourite. To be honest I think it\u2019s not me this time, it\u2019s Kristian [Blummenfelt]<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my mind I\u2019m giving out percentages to everyone. I think I gave Kristian a 30% chance of winning. That\u2019s my pick for the weekend. I won\u2019t say anything more about the percentages, but yeah, Kristian got a 30%.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s probably not a huge surprise, given Blummenfelt\u2019s performances over the past 12 months. He won Olympic gold in Tokyo<\/a><\/strong> in July, claimed the World Triathlon title<\/a><\/strong> in August and then set a new record for the fastest-ever Ironman<\/a><\/strong> on his debut at the distance in Cozumel.<\/p>\n

Both athletes share the same coach and often train together, which led to Blummenfelt being asked if the duo will be working together and sharing strategies in St George.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will see,\u201d said Blummenfelt. \u201cHopefully I\u2019ll have a little gap on Gustav after the swim, because I know he\u2019s really riding well, especially on the second half of the bike course.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to be up front with a comfortable gap, so I can stay up front toward T2. Because if he\u2019s having a gap like he had in the 70.3 coming into T2, he\u2019ll be really difficult to catch. It\u2019s not like I can give him a minute and 40 seconds, I\u2019d like to be at least with him coming into T2.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of the strongest guys in the field so I can\u2019t just race the same tactics as him. I\u2019ll try to use my strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would tell my coach, but the problem is my coach is the same as Kristian\u2019s and my brother is the coach of Lionel [Sanders]<\/a><\/strong>, so I don\u2019t really have anyone to talk to. That\u2019s why I actually invited my mother to come over here. It\u2019s the first time she will watch me race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bad luck for Long<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>