* The announcer was Mr Easy Listening ... please find someone with more energy.

That's Steve King you're talking about

So recapping, was the festival 2 weekends in length? How did the locals handle that? How were road closures handled?

So it was Duathlon worlds (regular/sprint) + LC tri + cross (or whatever they call the xterra version) Is that correct?

It was effectively 9 days in length... DL Sprint Du/Elite DL Du (Sat 19), Standard Du (Mon 21), Cross Tri (AG & Elite) (Wed 23), Aquathlon (AG & Elite) (Fri 25), LD Tri/Aquabike (AG & Elite) (Sun 27). All spaced out to convene to the ITU 36hr rule... There was a main closure downtown by the Lakeside resort, where the finish line and elite T-zone was set-up, that was in effect from Wednesday before the festival until the end, and then road closures each race day for the race courses. There were signs everywhere in the days leading up to each race about the upcoming closures. For the most part locals complied (with the obvious towing of a few cars parked on the courses race morning). There were a few issues with frustrated locals, and a few cars driving onto the courses, but at least when I was there, this was very minimal. They tried to vary the courses a bit too, so that they weren't all using exactly the same route, so that they could mix up which roads were closed (except for the obvious ones by transition and the finish) to help reduce the impact on locals. Many of the locals were volunteering or spectating at the events, and largely they were very supportive (many businesses has signs up welcoming athletes and their families). Like any city, there were a few locals who were less thrilled, but their was little noticeable impact. There were tons of spectators for the parade of nations (at least the first one, they did for the Dus and Cross Tri), with many people cheering from their yards, and kids high fiving the athletes.

In terms of Steve King announcing... if he seemed more "easy listening" and less energetic, it was only because he was pacing himself... he announced every race, all festival long, and with the AG/Jr/Elite races for each discipline, there were many long days, I'm amazed that his voice lasted that long. Maybe if you caught him at the end of the week, he was trying to make sure that his voice made it, but there were some very excited calls in some of the early races. He was also speeding through, with many close AG finishes, to try and mention as many athletes as possible (which comes at the expense of the excitement sometimes in the voice).

There were some small kinks for sure, which will happen with any World Champs, especially given this is the first time that they have used this festival format with so many championships in such a short time in the same city. But largely it was successful, enjoyable for the athletes and well run. And there was lots to do in the city as well when not racing, we enjoyed excellent food, there were good breweries/brew pubs, tons of vineyards (it's always a good sign when a race has a wine sponsor, and produces special vintages for the event (that were tasty too, we brought a bottle of the white home)), lots of waterfront activities for families (there was that obstacle course in the water for the kids, and the canal to tube down), some great trails to explore (the KVR Trail was great for morning runs), etc. There were a few athlete vehicle collisions outside of the races around the traffic detour near the TZone/host hotel, as far as I could tell none were too serious (likely a combination of a high number of athletes, from different countries with different traffic laws, not all behaving the same, and the usual impatient driver/drivers not shoulder checking, I didn't see any of the collisions so I can't speak to them directly, but i did see some near misses for the above mentioned reasons).

The only real disappointment was the sizes of the elite fields, which were smaller than expected. But not unsurprising for a race in North America, where it's a bit pricier for many athletes to travel to (Euro races will always have bigger fields, since you have many countries in close proximity for travel, whereas for north america, it's just Canada and the US that are close, even Mexico is a trek). If they had moved the festival up by a week, so follow immediately after the WTS races in Edmonton and Montreal, they might have gotten a few more elites sticking around for the Du/Cross/Aquathlon events, but with it being the week leading up to WTS Stockholm, that was a tougher sell.

but not a lot there for families.

Never heard of him but I was commenting on his delivery not his knowledge. Perhaps he was having an off day but be was NOT an exciting announcer.

Penticton was nice. I liked Lakeshore, and the surrounding area was pretty. It was not crowded, but not a lot there for families. A lot of folks have stated that Whistler is a superior venue for IM than Penticton with more to do. It's an observation, not a criticism.

Penticton was well worth the visit. The volunteers were great, and overall the LD race was well organized. I'm glad I came, but it's not a repeat venue in my mind.

I was there as well and will add my 02 cents..

US athlete.
M60-64
2nd ITU WC event.

I competed in the LC event on Sunday. Overall, I thought the event was a fantastic experience.

+'s

• Penticton seemed to open it's arms to the athletes and spectators. I didn't experience any negative energy from the locals.
• A+ lake and swim course, It was choppy when the wind was out of the N, but not killer hard.
• Fair, tough and fun bike course. Except for the pavement going up McLean Creek, I thought the course was Championship Caliber.
• Got to represent the USA....some may think it's hoky. I don't. It's an honor
• Stunning scenery around the Penticton area. I never got tired of looking up or across the lake.
• I thought the race organization was very good. Plenty of volunteers. Well marked courses. Up to date and well thought out athlete guides.
• Sportstats is one heck of a timing company...second to none.
• I liked the fact that they combined the Men's and Women's podium. I just struck me as a cool thing and helped speed up the awards.

-'s

• No drug testing at the AG level that I was aware of.
• Not as competitive as I would hope a World Championship could be.

I'd go back in a heart beat. Hopefully, they'll be another one in North America...soon.

first congrats Dave, you did yourself proud. I saw you a couple of times during the run and cheered you on Sunday.
I like your idea about the drug testing, make everyone give a sample at a race like this and then pick and choose some to actually test.

I competed in the LC Aqua Bike and loved everything about the race and venue. This is about my 6th or 7th time going to Penticton and it never gets old. We had a motel room right on Lakeshore and we spent each night after dinner sitting on the balcony watching people and the lake, great scenery. Made a lot of new friends as we had lots of Canadians as well as New Zealand team members staying at our motel (Rochester Motel). The owners of the motel were very knowledgeable and were out on the course cheering the runners on most of the day on Sunday as well.

Loved the course and thought it was very well laid out. Very fair and challenging. At breakfast yesterday morning I heard one of the locals complaining about traffic in town during the race on Sunday and remark that he didn't think they thought out the course very well with regards to traffic but I don't agree with that. I thought the race organizers did a very good job of routing things as best they could to have the least impact possible during the races.

The only bad note was the horrific traffic accident that happened on Friday afternoon on Hwy 97 south of the Yellow Lake turn off. I was out riding the loop around Skaha Lake and came up on it about 15 minutes after it had happened. Had nothing to do with the race as it was on a non race day but was on the same road that we raced two days later.

My only regret for the week was not finding the time to do the tire tube float down the canal.
May have to go do the Challenge race now to get to visit P-town again.

Have not heard Steve, but for my money Paul Kaye is the best in the biz! He does the "hot corner" in Kona and I had never heard a better, more knowledgeable, more exciting guy.

I had a slot but decided the cost and distance was not worth it for ME. Nice, Ibiza, many other spots I'd pony up for without a blink. (and if USAT would make it's fees more reasonable). I had some friends go and like it, but I'm more inclined to go to a place with more to do and more culture to embrace. JMO.

Drug testing. I talked to the Canada crew who runs the canada testing and my inputs is every competitor should have to give a urine sample to be able to race.
Then they can just test the ones they want to. That would scare most of the drug cheats away with spending very little money.

-----

I can tell you one technical issue will be chain of custody. Even if you only actually tested 3,5, 10%, hell even 1%, it would be the actual technical process of taking the samples that would be the issue. It's not just peeing in a cup. It's dividing each sample into 2 cups for A and B samples that would have to be for EVERYONE. And the biggest thing with drug testing? Actually getting the sample from the athlete. It's kinda scary to drop your pants and have some guy or girl watching you pee. Stage fright often occurs so then you have to sit there for 90 mins to get enough fluid in you to actually get a sample.

And you have to have that thorough of a process because this is a big deal. So I'm not anti take sample from everyone and only test a few. I just don't think y'all realize what the actual process is and how daunting of a task that would be. You would have to take every sample, bag up each sample, box up each sample....next person. I'm guessing the avg process likely is 40+ mins because of issues with not being able to pee etc.

No im not making excuses. I'm saying there is a protocol that has to be followed so YOU the athlete and my athletes are protected. I'm in favor of taking as many samples as possible. But I'm for following the correct procedures because my name and reputation is on the line here (just as your name or coaches/athletes on here).

So like I said actual taking a piss sample is very detailed process.

Also if I'm king for day, and I've been saying this from day 1- get rid of AG testing. But I get it and appreciate what they can do. I just think it's a very daunting task! But they are popping people so process is working.



And again I'm not giving you an excuse dave. I'm actually protecting you (the athlete) by making sure the process of sample collection is done properly. And it's not an "easy" process, which was my point. Let's do it, but let's understand fully what is being asked. That's what I'm saying because drug testing and doping is a big deal and careers are on the line.

Totally correct on the chain of custody issue and the time to collect the samples (as an official I've worked with doping control for elite races, and at times it's taken 2+hours for athletes to produce samples, all the while they must be accompanied by a chaperone to make sure nothing shifty happens)... I'd love to see everyone produce a sample, but that's logistically unlikely to occur. Even testing a few AGers at random would have been a good deterrent, and would be a welcome addition. I will note that they had volunteer roles for doping chaperones, primarily during age group race times, when I looked at the volunteer sign-up, but the race organization doesn't know whether or when doping control (in Canada the CCES) will show up... I for one would have been happier with a bit less swag in the swag bags for the event, and taking a few of those dollars in our entry fees that covered those items and paying for some drug tests.

At least they were checking for motors amongst both elite and AG racers, which is a step in the right direction. I was happy to stand by for the 3min or so it took them to go over my bike with the scanner, to help ensure a more level playing field.


I'll also point out that not all Euro stars stayed away, GB had a strong presence as always, but the contingents from many of the other nations were tiny or non-existent. Will be interesting to see how it looks in Fyn...