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One good thing about how the race in Kona was called this year: It gave a lot of pro athletes a chance to catch up socially with their competitors. Some did a lot of socializing.

No, this isn't the Slowtwitch swimsuit edition. It's an analysis of how the women's race has changed at the Hawaiian Ironman; where today's best women are slower than those of yesteryear, and where they're faster.

Now that the ITU World Championship series is over, several European and Australian stars have come to fight it out with Life Time Fitness series stars in Los Angeles

Picking Ironman Hawaii odds is a risky business. What if you miss a 1996 Luc van Lierde? Or the Faris Al-Sultan in 2005? Or Scott Molina in 1988? Timothy Carlson takes on the unforgiving task.

Can anyone beat Chrissie Wellington? The odds say no. But the deepest field in years may yield a challenger who is unafraid to take on the new Queen of Kona.

Setting triathlon championship odds is a thankless task which invariably holds the prognosticator’s shortcomings up for ridicule. But Slowtwitch senior correspondent Timothy Carlson is once again up for his stint in the post race hall of shame.

Who could bet against young Alistair Brownlee, who has a shockingly perfect World Championship Series record? Well, some daring punters (bettors) might look at the crack in his invulnerability revealed with a loss to Javier Gomez at Europeans.

WTC has taken a bold and affirmative step, and has set several industry standards with its new anti-doping program. But AGers as well as pros? That'll require uncommon smarts and agility.

Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run takes a great shot at the title, with his amazing, weird, wonderful, learned, hilarious tale of a secret race and culture clash between soulful U.S. ultrarunners and the legendary Tarahumaras of Mexico.

...they just can't sprint the last lap anymore (well, not in under 65). Here's a tale of special folks who mean a lot to this publisher.

You can't buy love. But can you buy a maillot jaune? Last year Bjarne Riis squeezed the industry, appealing to companies poised to pay for victory. Specialized anted up. How is that turning out?

Steve Larsen is gone too young. Yes, he will be mourned, and remembered. But if you knew him, you knew there was more to him than stellar race results.

Riders in the Giro d'Italia staged a protest. It's a rarity to see athlete solidarity in professional cycling; even less common in any other segment of professional endurance sports; and non-existent among professional triathletes.

Andy Potts and Virginia Berasategui smashed deep, quality fields at the 27th annual Wildflower long course triathlon. So how did those performances stack up against history?

Although defending champs Chris McCormack and Samantha McGlone are out, they're calling this the deepest quality field in Wildflower history. That's saying a lot. Timothy Carlson sorts it out for all you tri-punters

West Point’s Ashley Morgan leads the women’s favorites and the Naval Academy’s Derek Oskutis has the best men’s career record coming into the 2009 USA Triathlon Collegiate Nationals in West Texas

Business is tough. The expression of that was felt last week by Zoot employees, about half of whom have lost or will lose their jobs. Sales management, customer service, finance, warehousing, will move to K2's headquarters in Seattle, Washington.

As we continue a close examination of 09 tri bikes and components, we'll pause for a commentary on house brands, and ask what we ought to expect from Bontrager, Devox, Body Geometry and the like.

A review of Roy Wallack's Run for Life: The Anti-Aging, Super-Fitness Plan to Keep You Running to 100. Skyhorse Publishing. 2009. USA paperback. Price $14.95.

The USOC's self-appointment as Michael Phelps' mentor and confessor—after exercising its role as judge in an affair over which it has debatable jurisdiction—demonstrates that its approach to sports governance is reminiscent of the era of the AAU and Olan Cassell.

In 2008, triathlon may or may not have had its best moments in history, but it had two very different epic performances at the Olympics, giants retired and passed from the scene, youth and age shined bright. Plus there were moments of comedy and perfidy as well.

Inside Triathlon returns as a coffee table book, every other month. It's exceptionally well done, and Competitor Group's risky gambit may prove out.

Chrissie Wellington, the new Empress of Kona, shrugs off a flat, smashes the field, and weeps with joy.

Outguessing Madame Pele on Ironman Day is a fool's errand. But here we go again.

Last year, Chrissie Wellington was an unkown dark horse and her shocking victory was the biggest upset in Kona history. hius year, it will be the biggest upset in Kona history if she doesn't win.