Jamie Riddle ready to roll dice in Kona

South African triathlete Jamie Riddle has made it clear he will not be taking the conservative route when he lines up for his second crack at the Ironman World Championships race in Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i on Saturday.

Riddle, 26, believes his best chance of challenging the established favourites is to attack the swim and force the race to unfold on his terms from the outset.

Speaking on ProTriNews’ Race Week Episode 2, Riddle said his ideal scenario was to emerge from the water with a two- to three-minute advantage over the main contenders.

A strong swimmer in his own right, Riddle won the race-week “warm-up swim” and said the exercise was deliberately competitive, allowing him to identify which athletes were prepared to commit to an aggressive strategy rather than simply sit in the pack.

“I'm going to race my dream scenario,” he said.

“I don't race for safety.”

His target is not necessarily to beat one particular athlete, although Riddle acknowledged that Kristian Blummenfelt remains the man to beat.

Instead, he wants to use his strongest discipline to create a buffer before the 180km bike leg.

“I'd rather spend a penny on the swim than spend a penny on the first half of the bike,” Riddle said.

He has been involved in discussions among the stronger swimmers about working together, but he made it clear that co-operation would only work if everyone was prepared to commit.

“We're at the World Championships. If you don't want surges, you're at the wrong place,” he said.

Riddle expects Martin Van Riel, Jonas Schomburg and others to be involved in the early fight, while Sam Laidlow could quickly become a major factor on the bike.

The strategy is not without risk.

Riddle knows that an overly aggressive approach could leave him paying for it in the marathon, but he believes he needs to balance that danger against the reality that he is unlikely to win by simply following the race.

He does not regard himself as a favourite for victory, but believes a top-eight finish is realistic.

“Do I race for a first, or do I race for a five to eight?” Riddle said.

“I need to race for fifth to eighth. And then, in saying that, if I race in that sort of way, that's still going to give me the best chance of a podium.”

That is the calculation behind his bold approach: not necessarily racing as though victory is expected, but refusing to give up the aggressive style that has taken him to this point.

Riddle arrives in Kona after a breakthrough season that included seventh place at Ironman Frankfurt and seventh at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France..

He has also developed into a stronger runner, producing a 1:10 half-marathon at Nice, giving him greater confidence that he can remain competitive if his swim-and-bike strategy puts him near the front.

He is not coming to Kona simply to experience the biggest stage in long-distance triathlon; he is coming to compete and push the race favourites to their very limits.

• Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world.

The Herald