Who would win this triathlon: Lance Armstrong, Alan Webb, or Michael Phelps?

Tergat. He's known to be a great cyclist.

Terminator X wrote:

[quote]runnar wrote:

If you arent used to it, the second run will kill you,

Haha, triathlon not duathlon there Andy...

I think 17min 5k is maybe a little quick for Lance at the end of a sprint tri (can we make it an actual sprint tri, and change it to a 20k ride?) Lance fresh probably runs an all-out 5k on the track in the low-16's. Having the most endurance of the three (at least he used to) I'd give him probably 18-19, leaning more towards the 18 mark.quote]

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According to Runners World Lance does 8 mile tempo runs at "5:20 pace" if this true ( and I doubt it) he would EASILY handle a 5:30 pace after the swim and bike.

I'm only a runner, but I've done a few duathlons for fun, and you can feel the difference in the quads for the first 5 minutes of the 2nd run.

rr wrote:

According to Runners World Lance does 8 mile tempo runs at "5:20 pace" if this true

It isn't

( and I doubt it) he would EASILY handle a 5:30 pace after the swim and bike.

No he would not. He might do it but nothing even close to "easily".

This is a good way to look at it but the ranges are out of whack...

Here's my take:

Predictions for swim:

Phelps: 7'

Webb: 12'

Armstrong: 13'

Predictions for bike:

Phelps: 28'

Webb: 26'

Armstrong: 23'

Predictions for run:

Phelps: 20'

Webb: 15'

Armstrong: 18'

Total Transition Times:

Phelps: 3'

Webb: 2'

Armstrong: 1'

Total Predicted Times:

Phelps: 58'

Webb: 55'

Armstrong: 55'

Phelps would absolutely smoke them in the water. Webb and Amstrong would just try to survive with Webb surprising himself.

On the Bike, Phelps would awkwardly hammer the first 8 miles of the bike and then fall apart. Amstrong would mistakingly save himself for the run. Webb finds that running helps on the bike.

Here's where Webb takes off. There is no way Webb doesn't go under 15 minutes for 5k. When I was running mid 15's on the roads I was still able to run withing 30 to 45 seconds of that time in a sprint triathlon. Give Webb a minute and he still cracks 15. Lance goes out hard and dies.

Agree with the transition but this goes to Webb in the final quarter mile.

Has anyone actually seen the flippers that Phelps has as feet?

I doubt he could even ride a bike let alone run with them.

Mr. Obvious wrote:

The Flash

Did you mean Superman?

i would have to go with Webb everyone goes against him, but in a sprint tri he has better chances, it's only a half mile swim, and Webb was a competitive swimmer before he started running, granted phelps would blow both of them away in the swim, it is short enough that they'd have time to catch up, webb would likely beat armstrong in the swim, lose time in the transition maybe, and then he'd have to hammer for 10 miles on the bike, they would catch up to phelps, and then once they got on the run all the other events are short enough before the bike ride, that webb will probably be able to run away from phelps and armstrong

Lance by a mile. Look at the standard triathlon distances:

Sprint: 1/2 mile swim, 20k bike, 5k run

Olympic: 1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run

The longest duration is spent on the bike. If we assume that Lance is equally as bad on the run as Webb is on the bike then if the bike is of longer duration (time) Lance would dominate...and that's only if they both took 6 months to train for it. If they did it this very instant Lance would win by a couple miles and Webb would probably drown or pass out on the bike.

I think what some Webb supports are forgetting is that the run is the last event. They've already been going 45 minutes to an hour before they even set out on the run. Go try running anything after cycling for 30-60 minutes. It's not fun.

Alan

Ecnal wrote:

Lance, only because the bike is the longest stage. Lance would only be on the bike for like 20 minute, where the other two would take closer to 30. With a 10 minute gap, it would be difficult for AW to catch him on the run. The swimming would most likely not be a factor since it is only 800 meters. MP might get out earlier, but we are only talking about swimming for 10 minutes, so there is not enough time to make a significant dent.

Now, if you change the distances up, it may be different.

Actually, the only way AW has a chance is if the run is significantly longer than the bike, say a 10 mile bike and a 10km run. Then, he MIGHT have a chance.

you know that 10km is significantly SHORTER than 10 miles right? you would imagine a runner would know these things...

Phelps is a 6'4" / 195 lb swimmer. Even given his excellent cardiovascular fitness, unless he took six months to secretly train with Magnus B., he's going to be at a huge disadvantage on the bike and in the run.