They're basically begging people to take these slots.....I know Syracuse 70.3...F35-39 went as far as 29th place and M50-54 went to as far as 15th.

They said and I quote "We have 50 slots, so ANYONE who wants to go, regardless of finishing position, raise your hand and if there are less than 50 of you, you got your ticket"

From my rough estimate, there were 20 people who raised their hand. There was no actual rundown.

Well I heard they had 50 spots, and figured they would be hard pressed to find 50 takers.

This is a pretty good indication that 70.3 WCs outside NA and Europe should be kept to a minimum.

By that measure, WCs shouldn't be in the US either because Europeans weren't exactly dying to go to Chattanooga. I know a few friends who passed on the opportunity from ~25th place in their AG.


Maybe just a different distribution of slots on offer, proportional to travel distance from the WC location? If the race is in the southern hemisphere, have Euro/US 70.3s only offer 20 slots in total. I'm pretty sure slots for the 70.3 at Gold Coast were hard fought for in the southern hemisphere, while Euro/US races couldn't give them away. 70.3 WC doesn't have (and never will?) have the appeal of Kona, where people cross the globe just to qualify and then cross the globe again to race the actual event.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

Maybe it’s just because Sth Africa is a hell dangerous country that no one wants to go to? I work with two Sth Africans and after the stories they have told me you couldn’t pay me to go the the place!!

The Sunny Coast WC 70.3 spots were hotter than Kona tickets in Australia in 2016 and will be again in 2020 in Perth or Taupo. Pretty ignorant to say it should be kept outside Europe and the US to a minimum...

Sounds like a good way to keep the status quo.

They could just have regional championships. The 70.3 worlds isn't that important anyway, keep it as a pro race and make the AG races regional.

This makes no sense. it just proves that Quebeckers or those who raced South Africa are not willing to travel to South Africa. Next year when it is in Nice, those slots at Tremblant will be like Gold. Everyone will want to go to France.

Agree with this... I'd also add that even for Chattanooga rolldowns near the race went pretty deep in the US as the race neared. After a certain contingent of athletes locked up their spots early in the year, it wasn't that hard to get a slot... for sure 70.3 is not Kona.

Your blanket statement "no one" is kind of over reaching in the same way a lot of foreigners are scared to go to parts of American cities does not mean no one goes to them. The entire country is not filled with criminals. I biked through the township outside of Port Elizabeth on several rides and stopped for snacks and talked to locals. I told them about life in Canada coming to south Africa straight out of snow storms and minus 15 and talked to them about soccer, South African track stars and cricket players and even the Springboks. Amazingly almost no one in a township are criminals. It is like that everywhere in the world where you have criminals. The majority of the country populatiion are good and peaceful people. They are not trying to steal from you, hurt you, harm you and make you miserable.

All the people I met in Port Elizabeth were beyond fantastic and I would love to go back with my multi racial family (white and brown people).

It basically comes down to the fact that you cannot let what you see on TV or the media affect your perceptions of the country. With all the gun violence in the US, I am not letting that get in the way of the chance of me getting in a crossfire next time I go down to the US. It just makes no sense.

Dev

Dan, WTF are you asking for....you should just be going to South Africa. The venue is awesome. If you passed you missed an opportunity of a lifetime for a life enriching event.

I think it depends on the destination and timing of the event. Just saying it should be in US it not really optimal either as i have seen plenty of leftover spots for Chattanooga last year at EU races (where you could also just go if you finished the race). But i bet France next year will be super popular, everyone likes a destination like that!

Also the timing of the 70.3 WC is not optimal either, close to kona for the pros, and many people schedule a full IM late summer to accumulate training over the summer. But putting it in june would ofcourse ruin Challenge Championship.

My 2 cents was that WTC should have put it in Kona in April. You qualify the year before, everyone can train for a half IM on a trainer through the winter if you are Northern Hemisphere and southern hemisphere you train through the summer. Everyone wants to go to Kona for sentimental reasons.

I think WTC missed the boat with rotating this thing. Kona is the goose that laid the golden egg. Just get it to lay another egg. Everyone will go.

personally I am glad it is in South Africa. Those who go will have a trip of a lifetime. I am not racing triathlon (well, I am doing nothing now after being run over by a bus), but if I was, South Africa would be my delayed vacation.

I find it hard to believe that there are really so few takers for South Africa.

So basically, if I wanted to snag a slot for Worlds, I'm hearing that I should sign up for a WTC 70.3 ASAP, right?
(just got an email that there are slots open for IMLP 70.3, and it got me thinking)

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Cheers,
Sam

Maybe also has to do with expense, not just a dislike for the location.

When the race director made the announcement of 50 slots, he also made a point of saying that folks should be aware that a plane ticket to SA will run you about 3k....

When I went I went for ~$1300. I just plugged in some dates in Expedia from Montreal and found a few $1900 fares (all in CAD) and sub $1600 CAD from JFK airport. Take 30% off those for USD.

It's funny that people won't even blink about spending $8K on a superbike yet they can get a second hand old P3 for $1000 with ultegra AND and go to South Africa and back and come out $4000 ahead, and still have a bike that is almost as fast....with the remaining $4000, take spouse out to 40 weekends of dinners.

I think cost is a major component for most people. Then at that point it is a cost benefit analysis.

• what are the odds of me being competitive at this race?
• what else could I do with the money I would spend?
• would I rather spend my money going to France next year if I qualify?
• is this how I want to spend my vacation days?
• do I really want to go to a county where triathletes have their legs hacked off?

^Ohh yeah, that really happened^

This ^^^

BUT I would go again on vacation

Bit the above is the perception many have

I have few hundred thousand airmiles, and there are some mixed class flights there and back for ~120K per person. Only a little more than what I will use to take the family to Ireland for a few day bike tour this summer.

Of course, this would require a) placing high enough in a very soon IM70.3, and b) convincing the wife that SA is a better family destination than Ireland.

I've raced Israman a few times, and lived/worked in Israel, so the thought of going to SA is not that much of a leap.
Gears are turning.

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Cheers,
Sam

No. It would require just finishing.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

What is the purpose of a WC race? Bring the best athletes together at an appropriately challenging venue to settle the question of who is the best.

If pros and top AGers alike aren’t going to bother showing up, then it isn’t a meaningful championship.

Where are most of the top triathletes? Europe, America and ANZ. Because of the inconvenience of ANZ for the others, that should be de-emphasized a bit.

My solution: three year rotation.
Y1: Europe
Y2: North America (yes, Canada and Mexico included)
Y3: somewhere else (ANZ, Asia, South America, etc.)

Y3 will yield an inferior field, but such is the price for fairness and growing the sport.

What about holding the championship in Africa...say Morocco or Egypt? Those locations are MUCH more centralized than trying to get all the way to South Africa.

Looks like you are out of luck. Last race to qualify for SA is in Finland and it is sold out.
July 1 on events are qualifying for Nice.