Tri-Banter wrote:
I think this is all great. but as someone who isnt American can someone tell me what the difference between pro and elite and AG and how it could help rider safety? ---
Pro= Stupidly fast people racing for money and have their pro license
Elite= People racing for the overall awards but no professionals
AG= The rest of the riff raff like myself
Here's how it works at some races:
The Pro Race is the pro race. They go first.
If you want to race for an overall podium award, you sign up for the Elite race. In some philosophies, they become ineligible for age group awards. In others, they are the only ones who get AG awards. In doing so, they get their own wave behind the pro race. Some have proposed that these racers are subjected to increased levels of officiating and are eligible for onsite drug testing, if available. Some people sign up for the Elite wave just to get a more clean race.
Age Group is the rest of the field. The people who are doing sport just for the fun of it. Finishing is the goal. Time may or may not be important. Some have suggested that this group could have more relaxed rules.
If there's an elite wave, these (in theory) would be the blokes that would be overtaking the female pros. But, since they are a smaller group, the race organizers would be able to police them more effectively. Even further, they could adjust the send off times behind the pro race to help keep the race more clean.
By USAT definitions, Pro and Elite's are the same thing. "Pro's" as we consider and call them, have a "USAT Elite License" or a Pro card in other words. In USAT's eyes, they are Elite's.
Age group is everyone else. There will be on occasion (at some non IM branded races) an "Open" category and dedicated wave (first to go off or directly after the pro's) where the FOP age groupers will typically race for the overall win or overall age group win. This allows a fast 20 year old to race head to head with a 35 year old and not try to race each other from different waves that could have started 30 min apart. If you race in the open category, there are awards for the open category but you are ineligible for your individual age group award. Since olympic non draft legal races have significantly declined over the last several years and the adoption of rolling starts, I see less and less "open waves" for FOP age groupers. It's not nearly as common as it once was 10 years ago.
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