Muskoka is always scheduled so that it is basically impossible to race there if you are racing at worlds. Therefore virtually all of the best competition and those with interest in going to worlds do not attend and it is the easiest race to qualify at. If you believe that the competition at worlds is not stiff, after my first experience this past year in Austria, I can tell you it is very stiff.

In Hawaii where I qualified in M35-39 with a roll down, I was 25th in the swim, 7th on the bike and 8th on the run in my AG for 6th place, 29th overall (no pros there). At worlds in my AG I was 144th in the swim, 149th on the bike and 136th on the run to place 148th in my AG and 773rd overall. Normally I might get passed by 1 person on the bike the whole race. In Austria heading up the climb a train of uber-bikers was blowing by me continuously like I was standing still. I felt like I had been passed by 1000 people in the course of 13 miles.

Are there some people that get in on massive roll-downs? Yeah, for sure there are some, but they are invisible to you when you are there. I can assure you that there is a world of difference between the level of competition there than at a normal 70.3 race. It is a place where unless you truly are among the best in the world, you will be humbled. On top of that, it was the best organized, most exciting, most beautiful race I have ever done.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
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For the average case I'd say this is not the case. Generally they won't roll down far, but I feel like people's expectation of rolldown can impact the rolldown. If there are 3 slots in a competitive age group, a lot of people will assume little chance of a rolldown and not bother hanging around for hours. In cases like those it can rolldown a lot.

Even in 30-34 I've occasionally seen it roll down a lot (a friend qualified in that AG finishing in 12th), even just a random call out 'who wants to go to the WC' for the less competitive age groups.

I think the allure keeps people coming back to 70.3 races for sure. Once you're inside the 20th place in your AG, you can convince yourself that on the right day you'll finish a bit higher, AND, that you might get lucky at rolldown. There aren't really any statistics on it so you can pretty much tell yourself anything you like. For worlds the qualification criteria (for the US at least) is much more reliable and the required finishing times are much better known, so you can't really hope to go to a competitive age group and luck your way to the WCs.

(Although if you're from a country with a small population, your ability to qualify for worlds is much different! A lot of countries pretty much have no qualification standard if they can't fill up their spots).

Spot on. With strategic race selection and a good day, I've managed to get in on the years I've wanted to race 70.3WC but have not been able to KQ. And I am fodder for the truly fast guys at those races. For what it's worth I've earned roll downs for the following races. Since there is typically only 1 slot for M55 up, you can't be too far off the front and hope to get one. Due to a schedule conflict I won't be trying for Chattanooga but hope to be humbled again at some future events.

5th (50-54) for Clearwater 2009
2nd (55-59) for Las Vegas 2012
3rd (55-59) for Austria 2015

To echo what others have said, if you want a spot at Worlds, you can certainly have it. I have seen them literally start asking if anyone wants to go after so many people have either not shown up at the rolldown or declined.

Kona on the other hand, not the same.

2012 Muskoka qual for Vegas 2013 almost no rolldowns. 2015 Muskoka qual for Austria 2015 and anyone who was around at the end of the day got a slot. I bet you at Muskoka 2016 for Chattanooga 2017 where Muskoka is one of the first qualifiers of the year, there will be very few rolldowns.

You're right - most of the races before Steelhead will be for Gold Coast...most Steelhead folks likely will not have already qualified for Chattanooga. 2:20 is quite a stretch goal!

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

The safest bet is to plan on qual-ing next year. Much easier between April-Jun of 2017 as the first half of the 70.3s will be done and over with for the Choo race. Remember these races will have 50 spots each. That's 5 deep in the big AGs. Not to mention rolldowns.

I'm reviving this thread because I'm getting ready to do my first 70.3 (Madison) and am curious as to my chances of qualifying for the World Championship. I'm a male in the 45-49 age group and am fairly confident I can get inside the top 15-20, maybe top 10. I will never sniff the podium. A couple of things are unclear to me. The first is how far the rolldown typically goes. Does a 15th place finish have even a remote chance? The second is the calendar. My race is in June and it offers slots for South Africa (2018). At what point do races start offering slots for the 2019 championship in Nice?

I'd appreciate anyone who can share their experience/ place qualifying. My apologies if this information is readily available. I poked around Slowtwitch and elsewhere and didn't find much.

Hell yes, top 15 has a chance. I'll guess the majority of people won't want to (or have the resources) travel that far for 70.3 championship.

At St. George 70.3 this past weekend - the NA Championship Race - at roll down/slot allocation the MC looked around the assembled people and said: "Who here is waiting for rolldowns or a slot, raise your hand!"

Most of the crowd raised their hand. He then talked to a couple of IM employees and said, "Ok everybody that raised their hand come forward, keep your hands raised but hold still and be patient, we'll count all of you and if there's fewer than 100 with their hands raised you all get to go."

There were fewer than 100.

So yea, qualifying for 70.3 Worlds isn't always that hard.

To update my old post, I snagged a roll-down to South Africa 70.3 WC with a 3rd M60 last fall and still haven't KQd (I do have a legacy spot for 2019)...so my 4th 70.3 WC is on deck. This late in the year, travel logistics are much tougher for South Africa (e.g., less time to plan, harder to find accommodations, etc) so roll-downs will go deep and depending on the race, timing, and AG, they might not even be able to give them all away. The rule if you want to go is to never pass on the roll-down ceremony. By next month, you could be BOP and probably get a slot.

The cut-off for qualifying location change is always around mid-July but that date is never hard and fast. For example, Edinburgh 70.3 on 1 July has a special deal this year with 50 slots for each WC. And some races on 8 July qualify for Port Elizabeth and some for Nice. But everything on/after 14 Jul is for Nice. Best of luck.

At St. Croix in 2015 they were willing to give the last few spots to anybody any age group. My heatstroke induced 7:20 would have done it.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Take last year (and milkman in 2016) with a grain of salt when looking at results... it was 90+ degrees and humid both years. If we get a good weather year, run times should be significantly faster than last two editions...

I made the roll down for South Africa today at 27th in my AG. No one wanted it, and I didn’t either. It went to a guy who was 48th in the AG.

In 2016 Sunny Coast in Australia held the 70.3 Worlds and it was tougher than a Kona ticket in Australia to get a berth there... I had a friend finish 40 something in 70.3 St George the other day and rolled to him.

What AG?

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

M50-54