Haven't done the math**, but it seems to me that if a moto is too close, intentionally riding outside of the draft area off to the side would put you at a disadvantage because the air there is already turbulent after being displaced. And I think it's pretty stupid to pick the intentional handicap over an advantage when one is offered to you. The drafting of other competitors should have gotten him penalized, but the moto drafting is on the race organizers, because it shouldn't have been there in the first place.

**this makes sense in my head but it's been a long day so please be gentle if I'm wrong

Do you have some time segments to view? I'm not going to sit through the entire bike leg.

Ehh. Regarding the moto I'm of the opinion it needed to speed up or otherwise take any option to draft away. It shouldn't be on the leader to actively avoid what is in front. I'll need to see him race a few more non draft events.

I agree with this. The position of the moto is the fault of whoever was driving it (or the RD for not giving clear instructions). The leader should never have to slow down to avoid drafting the moto.

Drafting other competitors is a different story. I haven't had a chance to watch any of the coverage yet but I saw a lot of comments in the race day thread regarding AB drafting pretty blatantly.

Agreed.

I wouldn't call him classless. But then again I'm not a "real" triathlete...so maybe I'm just less offended by this.

Harsh. I don't think he cares too much on what "we" give license for nor criticize. But I did see some of the moto action and realize there was a draft created at times. Are they also the race level camera crew? I ride to find holes in the air. It's a natural thing to do when you are taxing at the limit.

I thought he might have had a stomach bug brewing judging by his "green" looks starting the run. Great run stride though.

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He was in the lead for almost the entire way in St. George but given the lack of coverage, no one actually saw him...

I don't know about the cheating bit, but jesus - he looks WAY better than Kienle and Sanders while riding. His stability on the saddle is superb.

There is no reason to ride 2 hours at that power sliding around on the saddle. I just don't understand.

This is a bit of a pubesque thread and judging by the first eight responses it seems that most disagree with you.

If he's racing at the front of the field the moto better get out of his way. An athlete shouldn't have to slow down or get out of the way. Drafting off other athletes? Maybe, but I didn't watch the whole race. You don't think Lionel et al 'slighshot' legally by as many riders as they can and make the most of the 'legal draft'?

You're assuming that sliding on the saddle is a bad thing. I have my main, standard position on the saddle, but on false flat uphills that aren't steep enough to come out of aero I'll choke up on the bars to open up my hip angle a bit more, and slide back on the saddle to give me a bit more torque. Don't see anything wrong with this. I don't generate anywhere near the power that Kienle or Sanders do, but my speed to power ratio is among the best that have been posted on the race power thread, so I must be doing something right.

Slingshotting isnt legal in pro-races (while it is in AG, as far as i know).

I'm sure other athletes also will push the limits as far as they can to win, perhaps also moving into certain grey areas, but to take LS and SK as examples (given they were the two chasing AB on saturday), I've never seen any of them blatantly draft like AB did other athletes in the start of Challange. LS and SK both have a tendency to not "sit in", but rather move to the front and push the pace themselves, so they dont have really many "pack-hours" that we can judge them by. Now - certainly - AB does not either, but the few moments he's been behind another competitor hes done so far outside the rules, IMO.

I did sent Aldi a message that i wont go shopping in their super market this week to give a drafting penalty to their sponsored rider.

I think its fine to point out that he wasnt doing great but at the end of the day we also saw that draft officials failed and the driver of the lead moto really needs to be talked too as that was not right what he did.

The only reason we saw it is because it was one of the rare moments it was filmed as the coverage was great , yet this happens all the time so iam not sure why Ali should get all the blame. But a slap on the wrist if warranted.

I think overall this incident is a good chance for the sport to learn from this and think how to make it better and one would hope that alister also thinks about how to make it better the next time.

I saw the race, and totally agree on the assessment of AB. If it warrents the label "classless" I dont know - that could maybe seem a bit harsh. The moto-thing is partly on the race-organizer, but personally my liking of AB dropped many notches when I saw him obviously trying to maximize the (unfair!) advantage he was given by the moto. I agree he rode a different line than he would if there had been no moto. He did not ride the natural/shortest line, he intentionally rode as directly behind the moto as he could.

Regarding drafting the other riders in the start though - I think he was WAY out of line. This was pure cheating, and I'm actually quite concerned why he was not penalized. Was it because Challenge for some reason didn't want to penalize their big star? Was it because they were afraid to NOT get the epic duel between AB and the long course athletes they wanted? I dont know, but I think someone should really challenge Challenge (do-oh!) on why AB wasn't penalized. I don't think I've ever seen that kind of drafting in a pro field without penalties - kinda makes their "flagship-rule" of 20m- draft-zone kinda pointless..

In summary my personal opinion is he showed very poor sportsmanship, but I'll hold on for a race or two before i permanently label him classless. To me his drafting in this race is first and foremost a sign of fear - I can see him as someone who STRONGLY dislikes loosing, and I think he can / could see and feel that beating SK/LS on such a power-course as Samorin was very difficult. Hence - he maximized every advantage - legally and illegally. Will be exiting to follow him going forward though - I'm sure he eventually will adapt to long course also on the non-drafting- issue. No doubt he has the potential to be a dominant force - especially in 70.3 (I'm holding on abit for 140.6 - judging on his merits he could well be a top contender for this aswell but I think the step from 70.3 to 140.6 is double that of olympic to 70.3).

F.ex go to 1:16/1:17 of the video and watch for 5-10 mins. 1:21-1:22 is one good shot. When Dreitz passes 1:26-1:27 another.

I find click bait thread titles lacking in class.


I don't think anybody believes that do they? Please explain the races they would of seen where he drafted to the extent that they needed to change the rules specifically for him. Which is what you are suggesting. It seems pretty obvious to me that he goes straight to the front.

I don't know AB personally but a friend used to train on the same track as him in Leeds. Lets say that sometimes his natural confidence, and super competitiveness, can sometimes drive him to make unwise decisions.

As for drafting in races. This isn't cricket, where you stop in the afternoon for some sandwiches, competitors will use every advantage to them. Didn't seem to make much difference in this race.

I've never seen any of them blatantly draft like AB did other athletes in the start of Challange.
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That's probably because the coverage of most races sucks so badly that we don't really get to see anything other than the lead rider, maybe 2nd and 3rd place. In general, I have no idea what's happening and how the pros are racing a bit further back in the race and/ or what advantages the pros take (legal or otherwise).

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I think kiley is saying that there's no doubt that he was in the draft-zone here because at this race the zone was 20m; if it had been the usual 12m then there might have been a bit more debate as to whether he was violating the distance or not, but under the new rules he clearly was. I don't think kiley's intended inference was that the rules were changed with respect to ABs behaviour past or present, although the wording is somewhat open to (mis)interpretation.

It's beacuse he did not draft, they watched reffed and they determined he was legal. The guy starting this has admitted to being penalised and calls out one of the best in the world. Pathetic behaviour from Pubic hair

You have obviously not watched the coverage then;) He sat back in ~3rd until he saw what a huge draft the leader was getting off the photomoto. I believe part of the problem is how great the coverage is of ITU races where the lead moto is often very close and directly in front of the lead group. I just rewatched last years Leeds and was frustrated at the advantage given in both the women's and men's races on the first couple of laps. ITU rules state there is to be at least 15 meters between the lead moto and racers. This on its own is too short a distance to actually really eliminate a good advantage when you have a huge motorcycle with two guys on it but then they creep in way closer especially right at the beginning when the break away is happening. This gives the greatest possible advantage to the front. You can see a huge s#it eating grin on
Alistair's face every time he's right up against the lead moto. No wonder AB and JB race the way they do. The front of the race almost always gets a tow from the camera man. The ITU rules state it's the athlete's responsibility to avoid entering the draft of a lead vehicle but I would agree that in that case it's hard to fault the athlete for using it as much as possible.

Anyone thinking the motor bikes don't make a wonderful draft when ahead and to the side has not ridden around them.

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Oh I see. I'm sure you are right. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

So this is 20 meters? Alistair actually moved up closer than this before he finally dropped back. Go watch it yourself.

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

It's pretty bad the entire race. He would/should have been given a penalty even if it was a 12m draft some. He free wheels 3rd wheel for the majority of the race.

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