Fleck wrote:
I've said this before and it always causes a bit of a furor. In these longer triathlons, honestly for over half of the field perhaps even 2/3's, it's really a sportif, if that. It's not a race. Now where you draw the line on this is trick, because, now you are judging and categorizing people, and that's always a challenge.
Do the drafting rules matter down to the centimetre for those at the front racing for the money, age-group wins podiums, and Kona qualifying spots . . darn right! For the one-and-done dude, coming in at 15 hours . . . not so much, if at all really!
I generally agree. Don't give the 15hr guy a drafting penalty - just warn him and make him back off. BUT, two areas where I think the rules should be strictly enforced. 1 - Safety - If this guy had a camera mounted to his bike and was passively recoding I wouldn't care but riding along distracted with one hand on the bars while trying to create his own personal documentary poses a danger to those around him. I'm all in favor of handing out Darwin awards - by all means lets weed out the weak and stupid from the population. If you want to ride around the parking lot without a helmet before or after the race go for it, but don't do something that could endanger me or others. 2 - Littering - this is disrespectful to the towns and citizens that allow us to race on their streets. Have a little respect and shove your trash down your jersey until you get to a designated zone to dispose of it.
On a different note - this thread demonstrates the important distinction between a dumb-ass and a douche. The idiot filing the race is a dumb-ass. The guy who decided to make a big deal about it on the internes is a douche :) It's not about giving the guy a DQ. It's about ensuring safety on the course. I couldn't care less that he's allowed to finish the race or given an official finish time.