{"id":838987,"date":"2026-07-31T21:27:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/838987\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T21:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:27:18","slug":"we-noticed-no-kona-for-sanders-garmins-smart-band-debut-dropbar-tri-goes-mainstream-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/838987\/","title":{"rendered":"We Noticed: No Kona for Sanders, Garmin\u2019s Smart Band Debut, Dropbar Tri Goes Mainstream and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some interesting things happening (or about to happen) in the endurance world.<\/p>\n

Course Change at Leadville<\/p>\n

The Leadville Trail 100 MTB is two weeks out (Aug. 15) and it\u2019s going to look nothing like the race Keegan Swenson has been quietly owning for years. The Willow Fire chewed through 6,800+ acres west of town starting in late June, and roughly 70 miles of the classic course sits inside a Forest Service closure that doesn\u2019t lift until September \u2014 meaning it doesn\u2019t lift before raceday, full stop. <\/p>\n

The stage race already rerouted around Sugarloaf and Powerline using pieces of the Silver Rush 50 and the Trail Marathon course, so expect the 100 to do something similar. However it shakes out, put an asterisk on this year\u2019s results.<\/p>\n

Will Kona Be the Same Without Lionel Sanders?<\/p>\n

Apparently this is big news as Lionel\u2019s Kona bid is done for 2026. Kalmar was the last stand \u2014 final race in the qualifying window \u2014 and the start list is out with no Sanders on it. No surprise given the injury that\u2019s basically eaten his whole season, but still stings for the guy chasing that one result that\u2019s eluded him twice. He\u2019s not sitting on the couch though \u2014 he\u2019ll be back racing at 70.3 Northern California on Aug. 16.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile the internet did what the internet does: Morgan Pearson dropped a \u201cwho cares\u201d on the news and got dragged in the replies for it. Except \u2014 and this is the part nobody in the comments seemed to remember \u2014 Pearson has said in multiple interviews that Sanders is one of his biggest inspirations in the sport. So this isn\u2019t beef. It\u2019s one throwaway line getting way more legs than it earned. Move along.<\/p>\n

Good Dirt Riding: FoCo Fondo<\/p>\n

Putting this on your radar now:\u00a0FoCo Fondo.<\/a> We were onsite this year helping with the live broadcast and honestly, the vibe alone sells it \u2014 five distance options (12 to 118 miles), a $15,000 USD purse split evenly across men\u2019s\/women\u2019s\/non-binary, based out of New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins. They call it \u201cGravel Graceland\u201d and they\u2019re not wrong.<\/p>\n

\"\"Riders roll out of town before they head west to the mountains. Photo Emily Sierra <\/p>\n

\"\"What is gravel without beer right? Photo Machmer Media <\/p>\n

Whoop What? Garmin Launches the CIRQA<\/p>\n

Garmin\u2019s not in the smart band game now. The CIRQA<\/a> dropped this week. The unit is an automatic activity detecting, 24\/7 health and stress tracking, up to 10 days of battery, and no subscription required product. I\u2019ll believe the \u201cno subscription\u201d part when I see how long that lasts, but on paper this reads like Garmin taking a swing at the market share of the Oura\/Whoop crowd rather than just our multisport data nerds who already own three of their watches. Curious where this goes. We do have one on hand and will be diving in to it. Until then you can watch Triathlon\u2019s New Captain America tell you about it.<\/p>\n

The retired Captain America had a pretty good post about it as well.<\/p>\n

Quintana Roo Keeps Expanding Drop Bar Triathlon<\/p>\n

Quintana Roo has somewhat quietly added a forward offset seatpost onto their Service Course road bike and quietly created the category \u201cDropbar Tri.\u201d The Sliding saddle rail clamp that comes on all the other triathlon bikes is now available for the road bike owners this will now get them an effective seat angle range of 74-82\u00b0, and the new bikes are spec\u2019d to run clip-on extensions \u2014 so on paper you\u2019ve got a road bike that can pull double duty as a tri bike without buying a dedicated rig. <\/p>\n

\"\"Here is a photo of my current service course with the seat post swapped out <\/p>\n

\"\"The same slider found on the newer QR Triathlon specific frames <\/p>\n

\"\"The Redshift Quick Release Clip-on Aero Bars <\/p>\n

Shut Up and Take My Money: Daniela Ryf\u2019s Tri Camp<\/p>\n

Daniela Ryf is finally running the camp people have been begging her for. Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, capped at 15 athletes, four days, and it\u2019s actually her running it \u2014 swim, bike, run, strength, mindset, plus video analysis. Her quote says she\u2019s handing over \u201ceverything I\u2019ve learned at the top of the sport\u2026 directly and openly, in a small, exclusive group.\u201d Five Kona titles worth of knowledge for 15 people. If you\u2019ve got the means and the timing works, this is about as good as access gets. <\/p>\n

For more information check our her link in bio or you can go to the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz page here <\/a><\/p>\n

Women Do Wheelies Too<\/p>\n

XCO World Champion Puck Pieterse from the Fenix Permiertech squad shows off her riding skills like a boss lady (and while revealing those new Dura-Ace wheels from Shimano<\/a>). #yougogirl<\/p>\n

Stay Warm Kevin!<\/p>\n

Last but not least its that time of year again when a couple of hundred of the craziest endurance athletes take on the race that is not for you. If you\u2019ve got FOMO watching our Norseman content drop this week \u2014 that\u2019s on you. Our own Kevin MacKinnon is out there right now with some great, articles<\/a> and stories<\/a> on our social pages . Go look.<\/p>\n

You can follow that race coverage on YouTube<\/a> or Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tags:Garmin<\/a>Lionel Sanders<\/a>Quintana Roo<\/a>
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