Sorry for the little hijack.
Is there a specific rule in the ironman rule book that an agegroup athlete may not receive information about his/her place during the race? I'm reading various blogs of Kona qualifiers in a race which had a rolling start. Also saw coaching providing place and pacing information to athletes on the course.
I think I remember it being mentioned in the race briefing, but I don't read an explicit rule about it in the athlete guide or amongst the rules on the ironman website. Only that one cannot run with an athlete, which these coaches didn't really do, they ran off the course, shouting to the athletes.

This is mildly infuriating.

Wrong, I have a friend in the mid 90's who was hit by a motorcycle near the finish line at Kona which was following the pros. He was a top AG and he DNF'd because of it.

I don't think telling an athlete what place they are in as they run by has ever been interpreted as outside assistance.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

Wrong, I have a friend in the mid 90's who was hit by a motorcycle //

We are talking about bicycles here, not motorcycles. Sorry about your friend, that sucks...

My favorite part of that photo was that people were riding without helmets and taking photos. The world is a much better place when this is not viewed as extraordinary. Unless of course they were taking vertical video which is the worst.

I also wanted to clarify that under USA Triathlon rules (I don’t have WTC rule book handy at the moment) the “receipt of information regarding the progress, split times, or location of other competitors on the race course shall not be considered the acceptance of unauthorized assistance. Any violation of this Section shall result in a variable time penalty.”

This is just another way triathlon is viewed as an eleteist, insider, and not really welcoming sport. The winners, leaders, fastest, and good ole boys get to do one thing while the pack fodder who are the bulk of the field are expected to do another. It’s not too many rules, it’s an uneven and un level playing field of who is expected to follow them.

We are talking about the lead of the professional race, not a random age group racer. Two very different things. We are talking about spectators following the leaders from behind, not about a relative/ wife following their husband. That would be considered pacing as per the rules, but having spectators follow the PRO lead from behind is different.

I’ll see if I can get my mind right on this.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Thank you for some reason here! You are right

Damn, that is so dangerous, I can't even fathom doing something that dangerous. Like jumping off a cliff without a parachute, or doing a triple backflip on your motocross. Lol. Seriously, there was nothing dangerous about what was happening there.

Just my 2 cents

so the pro's wife or coach can't follow? only training buddies or random spectators? what about races that don't have a pro race? If I'm leading that can people follow me?

In this specific run race course, it was two loops, and we were following the leaders for the last 5 miles of the race, we probably passed 6 athletes that entire time, very few AGers were on the course at that time. There was no "safety issue" or bothering other athletes during their race.

If you were 2 mins down in this scenario, that peleton would have been an incentive for you to chase. You could ask Matt Chrabot, he had a solid target just ahead of him to chase. Plus, if he'd caught up to them, he could've passed by in stealth and taken them by surprise. I see what you're getting at, but in this case I think 3rd place didn't have a disadvantage.

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Are you ready to do an Ultraman? | How I calculate Ironman race fueling | Strength Training for Athletes |

10 dudes a few feet away on their bicycle behind you on their phones? Ok dude.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I'm not necessarily against the spectators train behind the leaders, but obviously you know that most of the "spectators" were friends of the athletes. Not just random fans. So that's not the difference. We are definitely talking about allowing different rules for pros than for age groupers.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

I understand and agree, but some are posting that this type of happening should be the norm, which is not possible under the current race structure.

The static picture looks much worse than how it was in reality. We just snapped a quick pic and put our phone back in our pockets. Nothing to worry about.

Please tell me this was supposed to be in pink

I agree, we are talking about "different rules" if you want to label it as rules (because I guess those rules don't really exist for PRO's yet in this case). In any sport, the professionals have it differently. Thousands of spectators, better stadiums, better pools, closed roads for cycling, something that doesn't happen for amateurs in all those sports. The comparison is made in triathlon only because it is one of the very few sports where PRO's and amateurs are on the same course at the same time. So I think that some rules should in fact be different, like it is in other professional sports. And having spectators follow leaders is something that I think should have different rules than for AG ers just because it helps our sport, it makes it more exciting and more accessible. Triathlon is known as an accessible sport in the sense that spectators don't have to pay for an entry ticket/ pass. Anyone can just go spectate a triathlon. Be a fan for free, and you can get very close to the PRO's. So for the good of triathlon, I think that having a "peloton" follow the leaders of the race is a good thing, and should not prohibited.

In what other adult hobby sport would the non pro be subject to (meaning enforcement would be the same) the same exact rules as the pro athlete in that same sport? Seems to me triathlon follows pretty much every other sport in this regard.

You make a good point. But I would say most “adult hobby sports” that include a pro division the rules are usually tougher on the pros than the “hobbyists”.

I’m glad others think the front of the race is so exciting they want to watch via bicycle. My wife thinks my back of the pack race is so exciting she would like to watch me via bicycle.

Why is one allowed and not the other?

I do think it’s telling that mostly everyone that feels this is okay on this thread appears to either be a pro, ex pro, or very front of the packer.

Hey, I get it, you guys/gals at the front are just better than the rest of us and you want an audience.

To the contrary, I’m a local racer who would be MOPer at a big race. I don’t think (necessarily) the same exact rule enforcement should govern my race as the pros—and not just with respect to pacing. I’m sorry, it’s just different and (I think) you know it. I have an audience-other racers; no room for spectators on bikes where I race.

As to your wife’s interest level, You found a winner! My wife gave up attending races years ago and won’t even get out of bed to see the race, let alone have any desire to bike along side it.

I’ll agree there should be different rules.

And for the record my wife could care less about my racing :)

But for the pro dude above saying this is inclusive and good for tri, I just don’t buy it.

If he can follow his buds and snap pics, why can’t the rest of the field.

I know the internet has all but erased the line between official reporting/journalism and everyday people being reporters, but maybe only “official” reporters should be allowed on the course, not just bros riding along for the lolz