Kona is Saturday, Rapha reeling, a new Wahoo leaks, Why your Bike is Made in Asia, the Best Garmin watch, and more…

👋 Good morning and happy Friday! Welcome to the Front Pack newsletter, your source for all things endurance. Click here for the full version.

Holy hell, We are living in the great Data Era aren’t we? I’m constantly getting slapped in the face with technology and data, data, and more data! Everywhere I turn, every app I open, it is right there. Not only is every company working to grab your data but now every company has shifted to try and sell you your data too! Within a nanosecond of finishing an activity, your data is there waiting for you. But. Use your own brain or talk to a buddy or performance coach and the question is, are companies interpreting, and analyzing it correctly or is it complete BS and they’ll leave that up to you to decide.

And when it comes to endurance sports, we’re only starting to see what the future looks like. Take Training Peaks and Strava for example. Both offer so much data in their apps, do most people know what to look at, how to evaluate it or even what it all even means? We’ve chronicled Strava launching its own AI product called Athlete Intelligence (currently in beta). It is supposed to help examine today’s workout against your other workouts over 30 days. Is it helpful? You tell me, but I’m skeptical, especially when the activity recap pushes negativity for the everyday athlete. You just completed a 7 mile run, cool, but you kinda sucked at it, is not what most people want to see. And Garmin does the same but maybe worse; telling you that you’re effort was ‘unproductive’ when you just finished a marathon.

And now people are lactate testing, Amateur Age Group cyclists can purchase their own real-time aerodynamic direct drag force measurement system and Wahoo’s newest computer is rumored to have some sort of aerodynamics coaching built in. (all articles we highlighted below). Vo2 Max machines are readily available to purchase. The list goes on and on.

Regardless of which side of the fence you sit, just remember. Get out, get healthy, be happy, and say hello passing people.

But don’t let the data tell you how to feel.

Hope you had an amazing week and did something special.

See you next week!

Stay moving…✌🏼 – Scott

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Headlines

Top news, races and results you may or may not have been paying attention to…

The 2024 Life Time Grand Prix Wraps: Though the series was decided weeks ago, $30,000 and The Big Sugar Gravel Classic title remained on the line. It would be overall women’s champ Sofia Gomez Villafane and Alexey Vermeulen each taking the dub. While Villafane simply needed to start the race to win the overall series title, it was Vermeulen who went solo and who surprised the field with a solid win to wrap the 2024 LT season. Read more…

All Eyes on Kona: This Saturday, the IRONMAN world will crown their 2024 champion in Hawaii. And not going to lie, I’m super pumped for this one! It is always a crap shoot of who is going to take the victory but this year feels extra special. You’ve of course got the two Norwegians, and then a whole host of others that CAN win BUT will they? That’s the biggest question. Who can put it all together? If you want to tune into the race, head to the IRONMAN YouTube channel or proseries.ironman.com to catch the live action. My predictions – Magnus Ditlev, Kristian Blummenfelt, and Sam Laidlow Read more…

Meanwhile

Other happenings in the world of endurance

New Wahoo with Integrated Aero Sensor?: If the leaks are correct, the new ELEMNT ACE will be touchscreen, 3.8” display, dual-band GPS, 64GB memory, USB-C charging, and have a whopping 4350mAh battery, that’s more than double the 2000mAh of the Wahoo ROAM. Lastly. Under the sensor category, it’s hard to make out, but the first one looks like it might be ‘Wind’? Are we about to see a computer with its own aerodynamics coaching built in? Read more…

Rapha Reeling: I’m a Rapha stan because they single handedly brought back fashionable, comfortable and cool jersey’s and bibs. So this hurts but should come as no surprise. Sales fell for a seventh year in a row. This time, 7% in 2023, or a reported annual loss of $29.5 Million. Read more…

The World’s Most Stunning Rail Trail Adventures for an Incredible Getaway: From Missouri to Australia, there is nothing better than a rail trail on a bike. Nature + no cars is my everything! Read more…

Why Your Bike is Made in Asia: I can’t wait to read this. It’s only 144 pages but seems super fascinating. “Why Your Bike Is Made in Asia: My Career in Bicycles as I watched Two Continents Squander an Industry” is a quick read, but one chock full of industry insight and telling details. The “Two Continents” part refers to the bicycle and equipment manufacturing capabilities of the legacy brands in the U.S. and Europe. Read more…

Why spend more? 5 takeaways from testing cheaper carbon wheelsets: If you’re like the lot of us, being mindful of where you’re hard earned cash is going these days, then this is the article for you. Read more…

The Longest Lasting Bike … EVER: Meet Jo Goosens, 82. If you’re someone who gets a new bike every few years, you might keel over to hear that old Jo is still rocking the bike she was riding since she was 13 years old. As her friends turn to e-bikes to get around, not Jo, she’s happy as a clam peddling away. Read more…

Measure Your Aero Gains: I never thought I’d see the day but yes, are you an AGer who is really into data and knowing everything there is to know about your bike and its drag limits. Then check-out Body Rocket, who has opened up a Kickstarter for its real-time aerodynamic direct drag force measurement system for cyclists and triathletes. Read more…

Life Time Finally Pays Up: It is weird to think, up until this week, the winner of Unbound Gravel never received an oversized pay check for their effort. But times are changing! 2025 will mark the first time the UNBOUND Gravel 200, Leadville Trail 100 MTB and Big Sugar Gravel have ever awarded prize money, $30,000 to be exact. Read more…

Kristen Faulkner Quit Finance for Cycling. Then She Won Gold: No one in Faulkner’s family had been a professional athlete, and none of her cycling teammates had made the transition to full-time sports so late in life, either. There were times in her training when Faulkner felt isolated and unable to relate to anyone around her. She watched friends in the venture-capital world get promotions, score new deals, and move forward along the career path she’d once pursued. There were times she wondered if she’d done the right thing. Read more…

Is the Garmin Forerunner 265 the Best Running Watch: According to one writer, it is. After wearing it for 4 weeks, hear them out as to why – with its middle ground pricing, beautiful display, 2 week battery life and new feature sets, for the price it can’t be beat. Read more…

Training Tips

Because training is life

Five Ways to Improve Your FTP: Boost your FTP, boost your performance. Here’s how you can measure it and, more importantly, how you can coax it upwards. Read more…

Rewatchables

Content for long training days inside or just everyday life.

Zalaris Norseman 2024: The official Zalaris Norseman Xtreme Triathlon 2024 Official Film.

2024 Life Time Grand Prix Big Sugar Gravel Highlights: Relive the final race of the season. One where Keegan Swenson doesn’t win.

Ep.1 | 2024 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship Preview: Go behind the scenes with Sam Laidlow, Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Idean, Magnus Ditlev, Rudy Von Berg and more.