Sometimes it isn't up to the athlete.Some governing triathlon bodies do not allow just any fast guy or girl to be classified as Pro.You have to meet certain criteria in certain races to be given pro status.Sometimes you can have great results over one season but didn't race the races required to be considered as pro(Nationals,Provincials.State Champs etc).As for ex-pros,well that is a personal thing.I don't care if ex-pros race age group.I do have a problem with pros getting paid in Ironman when an age grouper beats them though.

I don´t care either, since the chance I have to get a top 5 in any respectable race is the same of being hit by an asteroid while sleeping. Anyway, IF I were a fast guy fighting for a good position, and an ex-pro blew by me, I would find it completely unfair...

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"To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost. "
Gustave Flaubert

So how about all the 40 year old guys with MBAs and 15 years of Wall street experience be excluded from the job at the investment bank because they have an unfair advantage over the now retired pro who decided to go back to school and just freshly graduate with his MBA but has no experience?

Come on man...life ain't fair. if an ex pro wants to race age group, that's his choice. The defininition of pro is simple...you hold a pro card from your local tri federation and it is up to them to decide the criteria :-). Trust me, I feel you pain. I race 40-44, and I get my ass handed to me by many an ex pro. All I can say, is that I usually honoured to share the same piece of tarmac with some of these guys who I may have been a huge fan of in my twenties....and frankly, it is good to be put in your place in the tri universe...we sometimes get a false sense of where we stand when racing against "softer competition"...nothing like racing real studs to elevate your own game :-)

Dev

Dev, I agree with you. To me, if you get your ass handed to you by a guy who used to be a pro athlete, then that's how it works.

The ex-pro still has to work 40-60 hours a week like the rest of us.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I (50-54) race against alot of x-pros.

The last race I did a 53 year old guy blew by me on the bike like I was standing still. He had the second fastest bike of the day, a currrent pro had the number one, and he placed 4th overall. He beat me by over 5 minutes in a sprint race. I spoke with him after the race about blowing by me, his only comment was that he used to do these for a living.

My first race this season had me beating a former pro by about 15 seconds in a sprint race. I beat him on both the bike and the run. He whopped me in the water.

I don't mind racing against former pros. And I was very proud of myself for beating one : ) But......I think if a former pro races and places as high as the elites, thats where he should be racing, if the race offers that division. If a race offers an elite division, then fast athletes should be racing there, instead of crushing the age group by 5-8 minutes in a sprint race.

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Paul

Hmmm. Joes vs Pros.

I agree. I think there should be some sort of a master's catagory for ex pros. In fact that might make for some very interesting racing if it encouraged some of the retired pros to come back and compete against each other. I remember watching Kona one year and the fastest "AG'er" was an ex TDF rider. Seems a bit unfair IMO for him to be competing against regular Joes.

That's what makes our sport unique, the fact that thousands of average Joes get to line up at the start line with the best of the world on a weekly basis. Who cares if you get your ass handed to you in your age group racing against an ex-pro. Yes Pros have the advantage of being paid to do the sport, and training full-time while we have to balance training with work and family/friends. Ex-Pros have the advantage of an abundance of base miles they accumulated as pros, and now despite having other responsibilities can put that base to use with what training they now do. But as I said, you don't go to the local ball field and get to bat against Randy Johnson, you don't play flag football on thanksgiving with Lawrence Taylor lining up across the ball, but you can run a marathon with Lance Armstrong on the start line, you can run in a field with Deena Kastor, or Meb Kaflezghi. You can swim bike and run against Sian Welch, or Lisa Bentley or Michellie Jones or Scott Molina. I think that's a pretty cool thing about our sport. It's not about the medals, I'd rather have the best race I can and come last, than win with a crappy race (unless of course, it's a prize purse like Lifetime Fitness, in which case, bring on the soft field, I'mma get paid!).

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Adam

Euro-Sports.ca/The Foodery Team member

Unfair?

I'm smiling as I say "suck it up princess".

It's a race. If you go faster, you win.

Pro and elite catagories are to keep age group racers like me away from the fastest folks, not to keep the fastest folks away from the amatuers and protect fragile egos.

I really should add to my previous flippant comment...if you destroy your age group at race that has a pro/elite catagory, then you are a total douche bag.

At least, if you do it more than once.


If I understand correctly from my limited experience road racing, cycling federations require you to up your catagory if you score well.

pro/cat1/cat2; cat3; cat4; masters 45+; women...maybe more fair, but wow, quite a different vibe than the more casual age group divisions at tris and running races

I agree also...God knows we need MORE trophies/plaques/ribbons for people to stuff in their sock drawer. More is MORE, right?

Seriously, we would end up with categories for M50-51 ex-Military wife just had a baby works over 60hrs a week. 5 year age increments are enough. Pros get to race by themselves because they've earned it. Ex-pros are just that...EX-pros. They've made a choice to step away from the sport at its highest level. What are they supposed to do, un-train and de-talent?