I agree with this interpretation.

---

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Lew, not to get off on a tangent, but since you may be soon be on the USAT board (I hope) and you probably want to understand your constituency, I will try to clarify here why so many think the draft-legal format of triathlon "stinks." First, I think that if one did a poll of all active triathletes (not race directors, spectators, or sponsors, mind you) including both pros and amateurs, by far the vast majority of them would prefer the non-drafting format of triathlon to compete in.

And I don't want to state the obvious here, but in my view there are at least two very, very important differences between the "revered draft-legal format" of the Tour and draft legal tri racing:

For one, the Tour and bike racing in general STARTED out in the very beginning as a draft legal format (so it has had that tradition and tactics from day one). And I think one reason the Tour is so 'revered' is that the high no. of total stages and the many days of difficult climbing stages tend to NEGATE a lot of the advantage of drafting on the final result of the entire Tour--typically, the best and fastest overall rider wins the race.

In contrast, draft legal tri racing was "cobbled on" to the sport by 'external' demands (such as logistics, spectators, sponsors' desires, etc.--you know these factors far better than me) well after the sport of triathlon initially developed as an individual sport. Draft legal racing WASN'T developed by the majority of triathletes themselves wanting to improve the sport.

Second, drafting on the bike of a triathlon has a highly inconsistent impact on the finish results (unlike drafting's effect on the final finish results of a cycling stage race like the Tour). To explain this, imagine if we were to in an experiment take 100 fast triathletes and have them race the two formats of triathlon (drafting and non-drafting), say, 50 times each. This is what would likely happen: a slightly different group of athletes would consistently place well in the two different formats (fairly obvious), but less obvious is that the non-drafting format would generally have the same top finishers time after time, but the draft legal tri would have far less consistency of places within the group of top finishers.

It is this inconsistency (many times I have heard athletes refer to it as a crap-shoot) that makes many dislike the draft-legal format of triathlon. Triathletes (but perhaps not sponsors, the media, or spectators) seem to like it when the "best" athlete wins the race, not when a damn good one (but not the best) who was also damn lucky that day wins the race. And then in addition to that, in the US, amateurs race the non-drafting format and "pros" race the drafting format (but only in some races, not all). It all begins to seem a bit neurotic and that's why I think it drives athletes and some spectators quite batty.

Your thoughts?

Any word on the USAT election?

---

---

Where would you want to swim ?

Don't forget that cycling is a team sport - hence team tactics. Triathlon is an individual sport - why throw in team tactics?

There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games. - Ernest Hemingway. ...

---

Relax2dmax

"Just remember there is only 2 letters difference between STUD and STUPID." Heard on the course of the 1998 Lost Boys Ultramarathon

Hello there,

Cycling is a team sport because of drafting. Otherwise every race would just be a time trial. The problem with draft-legal triathlon is that it doesn't really have an identity. Is it a team sport or an individual sport? I still can't believe some country out there hasn't figured out that their three man team should be made up of three good swimmers, two really good cyclists and one lightning-fast runner. These guys swim together, the "runner" drafts the other two to arrive at the run near the front with fresh legs and then blows everyone away.

Draft-legal triathlon right now can only be compared to a Tour de France in which 189 riders all start the race thinking they can win. How different would that be than the race we know and love today?

Also, the United States is about the only country that hasn't embraced drafting in triathlons. From listening to friends and reading what others write, I think that in Europe and Australia "every" race is draft-legal. They probably find it hilarious that we make such a big deal out of it.

Chad

P.S. For the record, I think draft-legal racing is silly. In America many people don't touch a bike from age 16 until they find a trendy sport like triathlon, so draft-legal racing isn't even possible without a bloodbath.

The "coaches" aren't really coaches in the personal sense, they're not the one who helped Victor get where he is.

Not being stoopid in the least, Victor probably knows full well that:
a) he has no realistic chance for a medal without the aid of one horrific pile-up or terrorist action
b) this is his one and only Olympics, and
c) other than friendship or bribery, he has no obligation to assist Kemper's quest for a medal.

I don't blame him at all for wanting to get the most out of this once-in-a-lifetime experience, and do what he thinks is proper to try and maximize that experience.
It's selfish of him, but guess what? this is an individual sport.
Go Vic

-bobo
-

---

"What's good for me ain't necessarily good for the weak-minded."

Greg: Not sure what happened to my first reply to your message, but it seems to have been lost somewhere in the ether(net). Though the issue you raise has been flogged back and forth across the corral more times than anyone can count, there may yet come a time when we can discuss it in a climate of more light and less heat. Before seeing if that time is now, however, I'd like to clear a substantial block of time where I can be close to my computer and free from major distractions (like work). So, if you don't mind, let's put that one off for a while.

As to election results, the decision of the Blue Ribbon Panel says the results shall be announced "as soon as possible and no later than July 7".

---

Lew

Good luck on that--the election, that is. About the drafting issue, I think the hope of changing it for the better is pretty much gone, so no 'heat' on my end. I just wanted to shed some more light on why athletes seem to dislike it so much.

If you do get on the big board, perhaps later I would like to ask you (and anyone else who might be interested) about another issue that I think can be improved and simplified greatly at no financial cost to the federation--the handling of 'elite', 'experienced', 'open' (or whatever) category athletes. But that can wait.

---

---

Where would you want to swim ?

I agree with this interpretation.

Now, if the organizers want to call the kettle black in this case and officially make Olympic Tri a "Team event", then the U.S. powers-that-be should then find and seek out the best domestiques for Kemper, which may or may not be the 2nd and 3rd fastest guys.

Again, regarding the rules "agreed" to by Victor, ADHESION CONTRACT.

What a shame. Give Victor his Games. Why should ANYBODY ELSE decide that he can't live his dream, after he's made the team in an ostensibly INDIVIDUAL sport? (and I suppose the South African coach sees winning at all costs more of a statement of her success as a coach/compensation justification vs. the personal happiness of the 3rd best male on the team). Well, I wish Kemper all the best, but I hope Victor competes in his own race, offering drafting assistance only if it fits in with his own plans.

The jet lag is gonna kill them anyway. Shrinks the frontal lobes.

Good thread.

Hey Lew,

Thanks for the info. Now when I qualify for the olymics i will make sure to pick an event where you gey to compete 4 days after the opening (so I can recover from staying up late), but still leave time for partying after. Also, i need to find an event where talent, genetics, training, money, age etc. aren't a big factor. A coed sport with good looking women would also be nice.

Shawn T

Sailing. Fat, old, ugly, slow . . . doesn't matter. Basically, you just have to get the best equipment (triathletes should identify with this one) and then out-think your competitors. As for the fairer sex, that's what the Olympic Village is for.

---

Lew

Heh, heh... Lew... spoken like a person who's never sailed one of the boats used in the olympics. All of them are very athletic boats to sail. Not necessarily aerobic endurance, but a combination of strength, dexterity, and balance. Note Dennis Connor hasn't sailed in the Olympics in the last 30 years and Paul Cayard will be sailing in the Olympics this year. If you've ever seen the two side by side you'll understand my point.

Anyway, my wife and I used to race one of Olympic Class boats (49ers). We gave it up and picked up triathlons. We found triathlons to be easier. Not to argue the requirements of either, but the strength and balance required to sail a 49er in windy conditions exceeded our ability.

The Laser, Finn, Europe, 49er, and sailboard (all olympic classes) are all perfect examples of where the fitter athlete almost always wins in windy conditions.

Carry on...

How about baseball? I hear fat, old, slow guys can play that game.

---

----------------------------------
Justin in Austin, get it? :)

Cool races:
- Redman
- Desoto American Triple T

Ice skating. Just buy the French/Russian judges.

You are right. I sailed a Snipe as a teenager and later a Morgan 41 Outislander in the Bahamas (and beyond), both sloop-rigged, but never one of the Olympic class boats. I was just trying to leave Shawn with a smidgeon of hope in his declining years.

---

Lew