McFessel has essentially said It'd staying in Clearwater as long as we are welcome. Here is my opinion on Clearwater after racing it on Saturday. I rode legally all day albeit tempting to draft I had decided to give it my best effort to be legal at all times. I was successful in doing so. Yes I rode a good bit 7 meters off 1 wheel or in a few cases several wheels especially the first 20 miles as bike traffic was most congested. Did it help my time a bit? Yea probably. I was 2 minutes faster at Clearwater on the bike than I was at Eagleman which is also a flat course but had zero drafting affect at Eagleman because there weren't as many fast people around. It was also way hotter at Eagleman which affected performance adversely. I also feel my bike fitness was a little better now than it was in June. My point here is you can ride legaly at Clearwater but most people CHOOSE not to. It takes a little discipline to drop back when a group passes you because it pisses you off. People need to police themselves and race by the rules...period. It is up to us to be clean as there simply can't be 500 people on the course policing dirty age groupers. Otherwise it's a great location. The beaches are beautiful and the swim course is great. The run course is actually a bit challenging as you get the causeway bridge twice in each direction per loop so 4 times up and over and there is virtually no shade to be found.

Did the drafting piss me off? Yea... but as I said it can be minimized by the riders deciding to ride legally. I actually liked the race overall. I wouldn't do it every year, but will probably do it again in the coming years. It was nice to get out of a cool Virginia autumn for a few days for sure. It will never have the draw that Kona has as long as it's in Clearwater though. California would be a great choice in my mind... Say San Diego, or Santa Barbara? Both are very desireable locations with lots of hills. The water may be a bit chilly in November though.

With the sale of the WTC don't be surprised to see the race moved.

"I am paraphrasing the great Monty here, but the best way to change the Clearwater situation is to not sign up for it. If the drafting situation really bothers you that much, don't race. Period. Frankly, I find my self keeping off of these forums after IMFL and Clearwater as it is a constant bitch-fest. If you don't like it, don't sign up and don't race."

So the best solution is just to hide our heads in the sand and ignore the problem?

I don't object to the Clearwater location for a race. I don't think it's the ideal 70.3 WC course. There are so many really, really good (and big) 70.3 races, that I think it's a series where the WC could, as with the ITU, really move from race to race. One year, Vineman, the next Eagleman, the next Steelhead, the next Muskoka, the next Cornerbrook, etc., etc. That's what I'd really like to see, even more than a new single location.