Raced Vineman 70.3 yesterday, first half of the year and was informed of a "new" rule on Saturday at the race brief. They said at the briefing that you could NOT clip your shoes into the pedals in T1, and that it was a "new" WTC Rule. I thought it was strange so figured I would ask after the brief for some clarification. I believe it was David Latourette who did the race briefing and who I spoke with afterwards. Now he is just the messenger and was just relaying the information, so that is why I am looking for clarification. He made it sound like it was a "safety issue" and that is why you could not do it. So if that is a true statement that it is truly a safety issue then why are the pros allowed to do it? That is what I said to him and his response was "They have different rules, and if you want to race pro then go for it and you can race under the 12m draft rule as well".
So what is the deal with this "new" rule. Of all races, Vineman is a race where in my opinion it is more dangerous to be in your shoes running up that hill out of T1. Not sure if Jimmy is still head referee at WTC, but hoping he can or someone with more knowledge on the subject can chime in. I asked a referee pre race and he didn't even know what the penalty was because that was not "his area" to watch. He asked someone another referee and they said that is was a DQ if you had your shoes attached to your bike leaving T1. Sounds a little extreme to me.............
-Brad Williams
Website | Twitter: @BW_Tri |Instagram: @BW_Tri | Strava | Co-Founder & Coach at: KIS Coaching
Partnered with: Zoot Sports | Precision Fuel &Hydration | ISM
So what is the deal with this "new" rule. Of all races, Vineman is a race where in my opinion it is more dangerous to be in your shoes running up that hill out of T1. Not sure if Jimmy is still head referee at WTC, but hoping he can or someone with more knowledge on the subject can chime in. I asked a referee pre race and he didn't even know what the penalty was because that was not "his area" to watch. He asked someone another referee and they said that is was a DQ if you had your shoes attached to your bike leaving T1. Sounds a little extreme to me.............
-Brad Williams
Website | Twitter: @BW_Tri |Instagram: @BW_Tri | Strava | Co-Founder & Coach at: KIS Coaching
Partnered with: Zoot Sports | Precision Fuel &Hydration | ISM