There is no need to move over. There is no new sheriff in town. That title still belongs to Peter Reid, especially now that he's decided to set his tired bones down and rest a spell. (He spent his winter working on his day job as a pro triathlete and took on an after-hours job as a second pro triathlete. After a while he found he found it hard to hold both jobs down.)

Reid's still the sheriff in town and should redemonstrate that in Kona, on the assumption that (old habits die hard) he doesn't succumb to the temptation to do IM Canada, which he's threatening to do now that he's finally starting to feel good.

Should he falter in Kona, there is no shortage of deputies to take up the slack, including but not limited to Tim DeBoom, Lothar Leder, Luc Van Lierde, and a resurgent Jürgen Zäck, who, aside from having been born with too many ümläüts, is the man who's name I'd most like to type in the results to the right of the number "1." He's ready to finally win, and he's never been stronger.

This generation has held up its end.

Yes, the sheriff's department––in keeping with the metaphor––has not retired, but a new batch has just graduated from the academy. And they're not interested in gaining seniority in the traditional way. They'd just as soon grab the establishment by the boots and drag them out into the alley, give them the once-over with their billy clubs, pass the sergeant's exam, move into the corner offices, and start working the files.

Simply put (changing metaphors), this is the most talented draft in years. There's Ryan Bolton and Steve Larsen, Craig Walton and, if he can somehow find his way onto the start list, Chris McCormack. Any of these guys has a shot at the podium in their rookie outings in Kona. But everybody knows this.

Then there's the one nobody ever heard of—or, if you did hear of him, it's probably only because we interviewed him here on Slowtwitch several months ago. He's a 25-year-old Dane named Rasmus Henning, and he's got his biggest career test yet this weekend. The World Long Course Championships is in Fredericia, Denmark, on Saturday, and it's got the deepest, highest-quality field of any Ironman-distance race in the world this year save Kona. No fewer than 66 pro men are signed up, and they include Torbjorn Sindballe of Denmark, Mark Herremens of Belgium, Frenchmen Cyrille Neveu and Gilles Reboul, Rainer Muller-Horner of Germany, Peter Sandvang of Denmark, Czechs Petr Vabrousek and Jan Strangmüller, Frank Heldoorn of the Netherlands, Uros Velepec of Slovenia, American Chuckie Veylupek and Jonas Colting of Sweden.

Smart money says a Dane will win it, but not Henning. Peter Sandvang has won the Long Course Worlds twice before, and he's great at this distance. Still, I'll hang my hat on the lesser-known Dane. Too much speed, too much youthful energy, and he's just got "winner" tatooed to his forehead. (Besides, I still don't quite get why Henning isn't the favorite. He won Fredericia last year, beating Sandvang in the process.)

Whatever happens this weekend, I hope Rasmus somehow gets to Kona this year. Three years from now the Hawaii Ironman will come down to the final miles, and the duel for the win will be between Ryan Bolton and Rasmus Henning. High time we get a preview.