Bottles and bladders down your shirt is just goofy. That and big arm rest fairing pad things.

Ban it!

Totally remember the Jet Stream. Had the "zip tie" that held the mouth piece /bite valve break during a race and had the entire contents of Exceed spray all over my bike and face--talk about drinking from a fire hose. It happened a few more times as zip ties (like velcro holding some of our bike parts on these days such as hydration systems), dry out especially in the western USA, and break. Just using XLAB cages these days--great grip and a round bottle--easy to hold & replace at aid stations. Not going to use a Camel Back in a tri--too much weight on the back to support it. Prefer to have it all on the bike.

The solution would be not to put it around your neck until T2. Just keep the loop part down your jersey until then.

That would work too. I'm wouldn't be too worried about a shoelace/bladder necklace stuffed into the skinsuit on a bike ride. Anything forceful enough to hurt you is just going to tear the string off the plastic, and it's already basically tracing the collar of the skinsuit.

👏 Yes. I'm on record as a shirt bottle hater. Have to be some rules to keep humans human-shaped on the bike and the bikes bike-shaped.

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The way to write this rule is a bit like swim rubberized suit rule. Just say that the clothing on body in all three sports has to be fabric on front and back and cannot exceed X mm. Pockets may exist in defined locations not more than Y mm up from waist on the back of body and pockets may be filled with whatever an athlete needs to support herself/himself during race. No carrying anything on front of body other than the X mm fabric. It would eliminate all bottles, fairings, padded bras etc on front of body of you had a max X mm thickness of fabric and storage on athlete inside fabric relegated to traditional zones on the back.

Ofcourse it should be banned, it is uncomfortable, alienates average people and adds complexity where it should not. I think eveyone will be happy this arms race will be stopped.

How does it alienate average people? Literally anyone can shove a bottle down a jersey.

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

So let me get this straight - a $$$$$ custom made carbon fibre fuselage is fine in your view, but a $10 drink bottle stuffed down your top 'alienates average people' and amounts to an 'arms race'? Seriously??Come on!

Seriously, soo many triathletes have a perspective problem!

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B. Sport Coaching and Exercise Science
Triathlon Australia Performance (Level 2) Coach

I don't have an issue with a bottle stuffed down an athlete's top. But sometimes competitors benefit from rules designed to make things sensible, and this issue is one such.
Uncomfortable, unsightly, unnecessary, of little drinking utility.
Upthread I have suggested a draft rule to address this useless trisuit stretching routine, but I'd ease this to allow a bottle of 750ml max to be inserted, to address the issue of cage breakage / Lucy Charles 'can't get it in, I'll drop it' scenarios.
The aero benefit would be minimal and not worth the hassle.
We saw Laidlow waddling to the T1 exit just now, supporting a bladder against his gut. Such a (@MattRnr) 'goofy' look.

Unsightly and goofy? We used to race in scungies and crop tops. We wear helmets straight out of Spaceballs. We regularly expel our stomach contents onto the side of race courses when we overindulge in the rolling buffet, and let's not forget we occasionally empty our bladders to warm up our wetsuits and combat drafting.

Nobody is forced to put a bottle down their top if they don't feel comfortable doing so, but people have been stuffing things down their tops since triathlon began - gels, Ventolin puffers, hats, broken helmet visors and sunglasses, punctured tubular tyres, running sticks, salt sticks,... heck even drink bottles! Nobody seemed to complain about it until someone discovered that it might inadvertently make some people slightly more aerodynamic.

Having coached hundreds of beginner triathletes over the last decade or so, there are enough damn rules in this sport for new entrants to get there heads around already without worrying about whether they'll get penalized for stuffing their nutrition in the wrong part of their suit. Let's prioritise simple, fair and cost-effective over pretty, because triathlon has never been pretty.

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B. Sport Coaching and Exercise Science
Triathlon Australia Performance (Level 2) Coach

Replying in general. Were bottles down the jersey actually banned for 2024?

I have not seen or heard anything regarding bottles in the kit, but based on Ironman competition rules and policies page, "IRONMAN Competition Rules take effect March 1, globally" so maybe we will see something in the coming months.

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Todd Suttor

Working Triathlete Elite Development Team
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https://cdn1.sportngin.com/...AL_March_31_2023.pdf
IM Rule 5.01 [BIKE CONDUCT] (m) Except as set forth below in Section 5.02(b)*, additional equipment that has the effect of reducing wind resistance is prohibited during the bike segment of the Race (whether such equipment is worn under the athlete’s clothing, over the athlete’s clothing, or is otherwise attached to the athlete's body or the athlete’s bike); (DSQ)
* 5.02(b) covers helmets
The issue is: interpretation and enforcement (best and achievable in T1).
https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...st_Results_P7956385/
NB: The 100km Tour races are to be run under World Triathlon rules.
https://www.triathlon.org/...es_2023_20230208.pdf

I totally get the rule - and I hate the bottles...but it's like the only cheap way to get a pretty easy gain across the board for people lol. Like...NO $1.50 waterbottle - but if you can afford a $3000 cockpit that's a fairing...that's ok...seems silly to me. But again - no duct tape!

Not ranting at you - just hate rules that only help if you got money...

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The easy solution is just to put water inside. Presto! Suddenly isn't solely a fairing.

I wonder what it would mean if it was already an integrated part of the suit. Something like what moto gp riders have on their back but in tri case on the chest.

Jeroen

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Owner at TRIPRO, The Netherlands

Yeah it seems pretty straightforward and a god interpretation. Otherwise you open the door for foam pieces being added like in British timetrials.

If they do say that water/nutrition "has the effect of reducing wind resistance is prohibited" that opens the door for lots of weird rulings. A water bottle in the back pocket has been shown to reduce wind resistance and is a pretty common drop bar piece of kit. What about gels in the sleeves? Some cycling pros have experimented with that to fill the gap as well.

On another level, what if you put a full bottle or hydration pack down you kit but don't drink from it? Or don't drink all of it? Where's the line? UCI has flubbed this one with aero bottle by saying they need to be filled to a certain level, now a common sight is straight off the start riders dumping out their bottle.

Ya like a suit with a built in bladder which you can inflate with a quick CO2 inflate button or twist. There's an Emilio DeSoto prototype suit suggestion. Emilio you there? ;-)

Can we use it on the swim too? 😀

While we're at it, don't make it CO2 - make it pure oxygen and develop a way to periodically inhale from it.

After testing many different bottles I've had a lot of success with the Core Hydration 44 oz bottle with the 30 oz cap. I drilled a hole to fit an Xlab bite tube with an additional length of plastic straw to the bottom of the tube to reach the bottom of the bottle.

The bottle is comfortable and fits naturally along the chest. The bottom of the bottle defects air nicely away from the abdomen/groin angle. The smaller cap doesn't create a gap at the neckline of the suit. The bite tube makes drinking very practical.

Does it actually work?