No

+1

I don't think we need to change the rules for the vast majority of athletes who will never participate in the Olympics to help the few that will. There are ITU races all year long all over the world. There are lots of local crit events. Plenty of opportunity to learn to draft. Frankly, triathlon is one of a dozen or more sports that probably didn't need to be added to the Olympics. I love triathlon but not every sport needs to be an Olympic sport to legitimize it.

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Pete Githens
Reading, PA

1) First off I think this is a troll post.

2) Drafting when 80% of the field is in their aerobars with no brakes? See #1.

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Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

Then ban aerobars.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/...eoesophageal_fistula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy
2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)

realAlbertan wrote:

Then ban aerobars.

They have draft legal format racing with aerobars banned (with exceptions) for trained, proven cyclists. It's called ITU.

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Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

You would have to quadruple the medical crew at races

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Formely stef32

I'be been in a mass participation bike 'race' with around 10,000 people riding 160km or various other distances and seen no crashes with packs of 50 plus. Are american triathletes just really crap at handling their bikes? Whenever I hear this whole 'unsafe' argument I always wonder this...

Besides the danger of draft-legal, there are two other reasons that it doesn't interest me. First, it can negate what little advantage strong swimmers get. If you exit the water 1-2 min before the main field, but are alone, that advantage will be quickly eaten up by a strong pack. Second, and perhaps more important, I think it could change the vibe of the sport. I've always found bike racing to be rather cut-throat and unfriendly. If you want to succeed, you have to be aggressive in the pack. I don't find that attitude [often] in triathlons and much prefer it that way. It makes for a much more enjoyable racing experience.

There are ways to fix illegal drafting (wave starts, smaller fields, more officials, etc., etc.) I'd rather focus on those efforts than change the rules of the game.

Yes. A good (Kona-qualifying) friend of mine can't even handle a turnaround without unclipping. I would never ride in a pack of triathletes, much less triathletes I don't even know.

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"Go yell at an M&M"

I can't say I entirely understand the pink font in this case. Care to elaborate?

Much of the comments are pessimistically targeted to a "lowest common denominator" mindset. It's thinking that we can't achieve this because the people around us can't ride worth a crap.

I think it was fulla that posted that there are hundreds of rides in this country with thousands of riders and it's not uncommon for a pack of fifty riders to eagerly do a century together.

Poor riders who can't and those who don't want to draft won't have to draft.

Those who want to be on aero bars and alone, could be on aero bars alone.

Those who want to draft could do so without penalty.

How are we going to improve the quality of the sport without making changes? Drafting will separate the good triathletes from the poor triathletes that much sooner.

We are short on tactical experience in this country. The good swimmer will need learn to hold a wheel. The poor swimmer will need learn to swim better so as not to ride alone. The majority of triathletes will probably be off the back riding alone or in twos or threes, which is OK too. Yet, let's not keep able athletes from having an ITU race like experience. Nor punish grandparents who want to ride in together at the back.

Let those who think they can manage the pace start off first. If someone overestimates their ability they will soon be off the back. If you are not interested in your race results or tin trophies, then you can always time trial through your race or go to one of the many non-drafting races.

People, especially those who can afford a true tri bike, probably won't have a great deal of trouble swinging an ITU eligible bike too. And, anyone on the tri bars in the pack could be at the front doing a strong pull or on the uprights with their fingers on the brakes. Or is part of the problem that some triathletes pridefully buy a bike that exceeds their riding ability?

Let's try this in some races where the course lends itself to drafting and let the athletes, after they have had some experience, decide by the races they attend which races they prefer. How are we, especially our younger riders, going to improve without learning new skills and raising the bar?

Let's work towards being the best at developing skill and talent, rather than disparaging others.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

Do we let new car drivers learn by taking their first rides out on the highway? Or do they start in the parking lot with nobody around except their instructor?

I do not want to do a triathlon with people of dubious bike skill either in front of me, behind me, or next to me. I don't want them learning a skill that, until mastered, can take me down. And until someone requires some qualification criteria to demonstrate said skill, I don't know who is in that pack I'm trying to get around, or who is on my wheel. It's horrifying enough to see the bad bike skills in non-drafting races.

No, thank you.

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"Go yell at an M&M"

We are short on tactical experience in this country.

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Yes but the answer isn't to open up just any sprint/Olympic triathlons and turn them into DL events. It's to build a set of draft legal specific races with limited fields which is what is *slowly* happening here in the US.

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com

Agreed. Cheating is for losers who can't hack it on their own. As for legalizing drafting... What's the point? If there were CAT TRI races maybe but that kind of goes against the "anyone can participate" vibe of triathlon that makes it so appealing to people who enjoy cycling but don't want to crit or road race. I have only been riding for 3 years and this year will be the first year I am not too afraid to do crit. I will be racing cat 5 and will admit I am nervous. I don't want people less experienced than me trying to suck my wheel and catch some free speed. I had 2 guys suck my wheel today while I was out on a zone 2 ride. I didn't appreciate it and I went out of zone 2 to drop them. If I don't know you and your ability I don't want to risk you making me crash.

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"4 wheels move the body, 2 wheels move the soul"

I don't want people less experienced than me trying to suck my wheel and catch some free speed.

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Then don't do bike racing, especially crit racing. That's what bike racing essentially is, it's not an "best man for themselves". It's who can position themselves in the best tactical spot to spend the least amount of energy to be able to then expand the most amount of energy when the time of that winning move is needed.

Your going about bike racing entirely the wrong way if your worried about people catching free speed.

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com

You either didn't understand my sentiment in that post or are twisting my words. I don't mind people sucking my wheel in a race, be it crit or road. People that show up to those events are generally prepared for the event. I also don't mind it in a group ride where I know (for the most part) everyone there is competent in handling skills. My anecdote about people sucking my wheel today was out on the road during a training ride, where people decided to hop on and ride my wheel for a few miles. I have been rear ended by a rider while coming to a stop out on the road. He was mad at me for stopping at a stop sign at a 4 way stop.I was pretty surprised because I didn't even know he was there.

If all triathlons were draft legal I think it would change the sport as whole and make it more like crit or road races where your average rider wouldn't show up. If there were both draft legal and non draft legal people could chose what event they wanted to do, and that would be fine with me.

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"4 wheels move the body, 2 wheels move the soul"

Ah gotcha, you it made it seem like you signed up to race and don't want wheel suckers because you didn't know their skill level and backed it up with the story about dropping them on a zone 2 ride. If your good with them sucking wheels in a race, good to know. Just be always be prepared because Cat 5 is always sorta a crap shoot. There are some very good skilled riders and there are some guys that don't have the skill development but think they do. Just feel out the race, try and keep your nose clean for as much as you can and see what kind of legs you have at the end. Crits can be damn fun racing, good luck this season.

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com

Sorry, I'll be blunt here. Your posts show a 100% lack of understanding of how development works in Olympic sport. Draft legal racing for all participants isn't going to do anything to increase the success of triathletes in any country. Having specific development races for juniors will help. Someone at 20 or 25yrs old isn't going to do a local draft legal race and suddenly decide to enter the ITU circuit. They need to start way earlier and should be racing events that are appropriate, ie sprints tris and crit races.

To your other points. You would have to restrict bikes and equipment like they do in ITU racing. Comparing to a 10,000 person bike ride isn't even remotely close. If euros were so good at bike handling they would use TT bikes in the road stages and they wouldn't have so many crashes in races like the tour.

How would this work and how would it make the sport better? What have you identified as the gap in current triathlons thaw oils require a change to TT bikes and a 1m draft zone??

Bike handling skills by triathletes in the US are horrible, draft legal races are a bad idea for sprints/Olympics in the US.

Unless for those races the triathletes have some amount if race under their belt/experience

Wait, you're proposing to change to draft legal racing when you train indoors? Surely this must be a troll.

If you're serious, pitch your idea to some local RD's. Maybe someone will bite and be able to get insurance. I'd be very curious (1) how many would sign up and (2) if safety would be an issue or not. I suppose it would depend on the number of participants and size / composition / order of the swim waves. Sounds like a great experiment, and I'd pay money to be an a motorbike to watch the bike unfold.

ehm....have you actually raced an olympic with say 2000+ racers? even 3000+?

no matter how you do it, 3000 people on a course of 40 km is drafting regardless. and if you notice the handling of some of the triathletes its just absolutely awful. some of these people are out there for the first time, they dont have a clue how to handle their bike.

It isn't really clear what problem you are trying to solve here. Adding more intimidation to the sport WON'T grow triathlon. I can't how few people would sign up for a sprint triathlon if it was draft legal.

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Pete Githens
Reading, PA

The lack of draft experience is not the reason USA does not do well in the Olympics or the ITU World Triathlon Series.

jaretj