Alan Webb to retire and become Triathlete (Link)

It will be interesting to see how Webb does as a triathlete. I sort of wonder if his endocrine system isn't a little messed up from all his training. If that is the case than I can't see him standing up to Tri training.

I don't think it's safe to assume that he will go the ITU route. The easier money may be on the Iron Man circuit. I think he could be very competitive at 70.3. Webb was an excellent swimmer in his younger days. He's built for the bike (huge quads), and he has a bigger engine than 99% of his competitors. He will have no problem picking up some pretty solid contracts because, much like Armstrong, his name will be a big ticket.

One more thing: 40km/hour is not very fast. I'm pretty average, in my mid 40's, and I have only been riding for a couple of years...and I can average pretty close to 40km/hr for a 1 hour time trial. At my peak, my mile PR was 30 seconds inferior to Webb. He will crush it on the bike. I would be very, very surprised if he isn't among the best cyclists in Triathlon within 3 years. He can easily stay relevent and earn a pretty nice paycheck in multisport for another 10 years quite easily. Great move.

just sayin wrote:

lol...

put webb on a bike and he'll prob max out at 30 km/h

no chance he ever gets up to 40

the guy would just get left way behind on the road

you people have no clue!

Sorry, but many suggest that an hour 40km TT is about similiar to a 34 min 10km. Webb would almost certainly be able to hit 40km/hr for an hour after some training.

I am glad to here Webb is going to give the Tri a try sooner than later. For various reasons I'm pretty sure Webb has been doing some swimming and biking over the years which means he's not starting from ground zero. I finished 4th in my age group in my first tri 'sprint' with a bike I brought from Walmart and only a couple weeks of serious biking and only recreational swimming. Granted this was not a pro level event, but it was fairly large and had most of the top local guys. About half of the really good triathletes I've met come from a running background. (Running is by far the most difficult phase of a triathlon.) Based on Webb's background and body type, if he approaches the tri in the way he approached running, in 6 months he can become a national level triathlete. Now, with that said, can he compete on the international pro circuit...I am not sure. The top world class triathletes can run close to a 14 flat 5K, which negates Webb's running ability and they are better swimmers and bikers.

I think Webb can become good fairly quickly, but just starting out at age 31, I doubt he can become great.

Looks like he is working with Bobby McGee and appears to have a smile on his face:

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=mhu0y&s=5#.UuBXdhDn9hE

Whatever happened to the marathon? I was looking forward to seeing him in some longer races. Even if the raw speed's not there, it should be good enough for a longer race. Plus, what RD wouldn't want Webb debuting in his race.

Mixed emotions on this. I have always loved the guy and hoped for a comeback. On one hand sad that he will never "comeback" on the track, but I am very excited to root for him in the TRI.

Not sure he can dominate, but he can for sure be competitive.

I would love to see a real appreciation thread for this guy, he deserves it!

But, but, but....the brojos said talent doesn't just go away!

I'll believe it when I see it. Webb didn't seem that down in his interview post race. If he drops his time....and say pops a 3:57 at milrose, I can see Webb getting excited and sticking with it a bit longer. If Webb gets a glimmer of hope he'll be his excited comeback self again. To be clear I'm not saying he'll successfully come back, just that Webb could easily become invigorated with a little improvement. If he tanks...then yes I'll believe he'll quit, for now at least.

His competition will be Lukas.

Alistair Brownlee wrote:

i'm going to destroy webb

No mention of him doing a half or full? Is that so out of the question? I would think he could go 61-62, no?

Hope you guys realize that 2012 Oly Tri champ Alistair Brownlee ran 28:32 last year at Payton Jordan so it is not like Webb will be gunning all these guys down.

putins black hole wrote:

Hope you guys realize that 2012 Oly Tri champ Alistair Brownlee ran 28:32 last year at Payton Jordan so it is not like Webb will be gunning all these guys down.

But did he look relaxed?

Alistair Brownlee wrote:

i'm going to destroy webb

Hardly. Webb would beat the Brownlee's in a 10km and therefor in any ITU race.

He has the swimming background to get out of the water with the main pack and then draft with the pack letting workhorses like Hayes pull him along.

In the run, he wins everytime. There is no cycle in a drafting ITU triathlon. Just draft and everyone starts over at T2 well rested from the draft.

putins black hole wrote:

Hope you guys realize that 2012 Oly Tri champ Alistair Brownlee ran 28:32 last year at Payton Jordan so it is not like Webb will be gunning all these guys down.

Webb can beat 28:32. Everyone starts over from scratch at Transition point T2 in a drafting triathlon. The other events do NOT matter! It's a running race. You just have to be a competent swimmer and hang with the main drafting pack. Triathlon has become a joke. Look up Stuart Hayes and see why the Brownlee's won! Hayes won them the medals.

triathlon really sucks wrote:

Alistair Brownlee wrote:

i'm going to destroy webb

Hardly. Webb would beat the Brownlee's in a 10km and therefor in any ITU race.

He has the swimming background to get out of the water with the main pack and then draft with the pack letting workhorses like Hayes pull him along.

In the run, he wins everytime. There is no cycle in a drafting ITU triathlon. Just draft and everyone starts over at T2 well rested from the draft.

He has a swimming background which is a good start.

But, the top tri guys are very good swimmers, better than just a swimming background. He will have some work to do.

I do think the fact that he is a miler will benefit him on the bike, more power, more fast twitch than some long distance guy going over to tri's. But, there is still some technique to be learned to be a good and efficient cyclist, otherwise you just hammer yourself into mush.

NJ Possible wrote:

No mention of him doing a half or full? Is that so out of the question? I would think he could go 61-62, no?

What would be the point of running such a mediocre time?

Alistair Brownlee wrote:

we'll see where he is in the water. that is the #1 determining factor to how well he does in the ITU, there are others but what level he gets to in the water is #1.

doesn't matter if you are a fantastic runner like webb is, if he is more than a few seconds down out of the water, that gap will be 1-2min coming off the bike. he could do well even with that gap but he won't win. it will be a couple years until he is very good.

You do realize that Webb was initially a swimmer and relatively successful. It's not like we're throwing Ryan Hall into a pool here.

reality checky wrote:

You do realize that Webb was initially a swimmer and relatively successful. It's not like we're throwing Ryan Hall into a pool here.

video- speaking of swimming