Patrick Lange getting his number tattoos placed on. Lange was very early to transition.

Tim O'Donnell was one of the early morning highlights during his a pre-race interview with Greg Welch.

Arnaud Guilloux making some last-minute bike preparation.

The last moments of calm before the cannon fires.

Sprinting through the freshwater hoses following a swim that saw most of the male favorites bunched together.

Andre Lopes making the long trek around the pier to the new pro transition area on the road.

Kristian Blummenfelt on board his unique CADEX frame on the Queen K.

After some initial jockeying, the early miles of the bike saw smaller packs -- likely in part due to the enhanced enforcement of position fouls.

Sam Laidlow's most frequent companion during the bike was his own shadow -- blitzing away from the field on the descent from Hawi and staying away until Iden's pass with four miles left to run.

The second batch of chasers making their way up to the turnaround.

The leading chasers: Blummenfelt, Magnus Ditlev, and Max Neumann. Their indecisiveness as to who would lead the pack let Laidlow continue to slip away.

Here at the airport, and Laidlow's lead had grown to six minutes. Iden and Blummenfelt both expressed surprise at just how far up the road Laidlow had gotten in their post-race interviews.

Although there wasn't much wind to speak of, the salt covering athletes told you just how hot and humid it would be come the run.

Coming up Palani in the lead of the IRONMAN World Championships -- a feeling a scant few can accurately describe. Laidlow later called it "a dream come true."

O'Donnell was not the only one to employ the reverse Faris al Sultan bottle carrying method. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Joe Skipper was a man on a mission on the run. His relentless move forward put him fifth at the line.

Iden and Blummenfelt ran stride for stride for nearly 20 miles. Iden broke away when he realized Laidlow still was nearly three minutes up the road on the exit of the Energy Lab.

So close, yet so far, far away from the victory.

Sebastian Kienle, in his final professional race at Kona, passed Ditlev and would come home a well-earned sixth.

Igor Amorelli embraced his inner Dos Equis man: stay hydrated, my friends.