I think most triathletes (at least in the US) would agree with you. Might as well just line up and run a 10K.

Jack,

I could go on and on here, but it's way harder and more challenging than it looks.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I think most triathletes (at least in the US) would agree with you.

You are right, it is pretty much only in the U.S. that this sentiment is this strong.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I made no reference to the difficulty, merely the format.

Having set time aside to watch on-line, 5 minutes into the bike I actually went and did chores for the next half hour, and guess what, not a damn thing that mattered had happened.

except pure 10k runners would have no chance, they'd get weeded out in the 1st 100 metres of the swim.

Your comment is kinda like why do they bother to run the 1st 9600 metres of the 10,000, or the 1st 46 minutes of an NBA game. It just comes down to a last lap kick or the final 2 minutes anyway...

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You know, you're right.

While they're at it, they should only play the last 5 minutes of all NFL games, the 9th inning of every baseball game, the last 3 minutes+stoppage time in the world cup, only run the last 5 miles of the marathon, and only run the first 40m of the 100m sprint, because that was the only time anything interesting happened.

I believe you're looking for the "Whine like a little biatch" thread.

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Much like cricket, table tennis and football (soccer), ITU racing is simply not understood by the majority of North Americans.

I don't understand dressage - and have no desire to. But I don't question why they do things and make uninformed suggestions on how to make it better.

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I was thinking the same thing. It could be a great sport to watch, but it really isn't. I don't know how I would fix it but until the halfway point of the run it was pretty boring. At least I got to finish my book.

This is a three part event where the first 2 really dont matter. Not comparable, and even in the 10,000 or basketball there is a lot more movement throughout the event than I saw here.

I have watched several world class events, same distance, no drafting and they were completely different and far more exciting as racers were able to make tactical moves as 30 secs head start out of the water can actually be meaningful.

Having set time aside to watch on-line, 5 minutes into the bike I actually went and did chores for the next half hour, and guess what, not a damn thing that mattered had happened.

So I guess you don't watch stages of the Tour de France and only tune in for the field sprints. Same with 5K and 10k on the track - you only watch the last couple of laps. Ditto for the longer distance swims in the pool - just the last two laps.

Part of the problem is people want to break the event into seperate silos, when the reality regardless of the format is that you need to put swim/bike/run together on race day and the first across the line wins. In some respects the ITU racing is simplier and purer than any other format, because it's swim/bike/run however you want, and the first across the line wins. Contrast that with the other tri format and it's swim - then bike with these complicated and complex drafting rules, that few understand - then run, then wait to see who won/placed after the DQ's are figured out! :)

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I sit in between. I think the bike needs to be 60K to allow for sufficient time for a break to put ~ 2 min gap. With 40K there is not enough time. Then it boils down to a race of wet runners (as Sutton says...)...but it is still an interesting race...make the bike 60 and the swim 2-3K and then you have a bit more excitement.

What part am I missing, ready to be enlightened.

If they don't matter, then why aren't the Kenyans and Ethiopians dominating triathlon?

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[I don't know how I would fix it but until the halfway point of the run it was pretty boring.]
There are a lots of sports that are pretty boring to watch wether:
* The first 70-90% is only about eliminating the weaks, wearing down your oponents so they explode later on,
* or that sport is somewhat boring throughout and has some spikes of creativity/genius/beauty.

Some people find soccer (i.e. football) boring but it is not much or less boring than American Football. But once you have played that sport or grow with that sport you also starts to appreciate the little things that the average Joes would not understand.

Fred.

jacknine, you're so right. And to the point of the US not appreciating it, it's not the sport we started, so that's ok. We also don't love cricket, badminton, Jai-lai, and countless other sports the world loves. Doesn't make us wrong, just puts our focus elsewhere. But what we DO focus on, we tend to dominate. I doubt anyone will differ with that opinion. It's just sad that the efforts of Les MacD took the sport in this direction, and bastardized it in a made for the Olympic TV way. It's ok, just not the sport most of us in the US love.

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Truth be told, the first 3 hours of a tour de france stage, unless a mountain stage, is pretty mind numbing.

So yes, other sports can be boring as well, and yes, no drafting is simpler but neither is that relevant to whether the event as designed is interesting.

There is really no need to draw comparisons to other sports anyway, since this is open to a straight forward A/B test format.

In no draft events, every leg offers a risk vs reward opportunity and therefore is far more exciting to watch.

In ITU, it seems to me, the only smart play is not to take chances in the swim and bike and stay with the pack, far more uneventful, aka boring.

Other ITU events may turn out differently, I only saw my first yesterday.

Maybe we americans will grow to love curling as well......enlighten us.

I greatly admire the talent and the level of training that is required to race in the Olympics and I know the bike is harder than it looks, but I was thinking while watching - why not make the race shorter, i.e. sprint distance, if it's going to come down to the run anyway? It would be better for TV coverage and likely more fun for spectators on site.

I understand the reasoning behind the Olympic distance - traditional stand-alone race distances combined into a tri. I guess I would be more for maintaining that tradition if the bike was more like a time trial. If it's draft legal to make it more spectator friendly, why not drop the distances too for that reason.

Still it was a tremendous finish.

To check your theory, why aren't any Kenian and Ethiopian runners competing if it was only about the run?

Also why bother with the first half or 3 quarters of most ball sports ince they are usually decided at the end?

The key phrase in your post is "first time I had watched an ITU event." It's fine that you found it boring, but you'd have to watch a few in order to understand and criticize such races in an informed manner. Most people in the US think soccer, for example, makes for boring TV, while the rest of the world sits glued to their TV sets for entire weekends watching soccer matches. It's because the rest of the world understands the sport and appreciates it. No one can help you appreciate ITU-style racing in a post or two. You'd have to get into it, learn the names, learn the tactics, learn the sport from the bottom up, and go from there.

I can tell you that I watched the entire thing, every minute of it, was exchanging dozens of emails and IMs with friends while it was going on, sharing comments, etc. It was an excellent race.

I have been to a lot of races and I find ITU by far the most exciting. If you can't swim, goodbye. If you get dropped on the bike- c-ya. And then you have to back it up. ITU requires immense talent in all 3 disciplines and it is MUCH more spectator friendly than non-draft legal races, IMO. Go to one, you'll see.

Jodi

Other ITU events may turn out differently, I only saw my first yesterday.

Bingo! Every race is a bit different.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I bet it's more challenging than it looks, but from a viewing perspective, I find it way more interesting watching with the Hawaii Ironman than the Olympic ITU race on television, and I don't really know why. The ITU speeds are way faster compared to the average Ironman takes place, but for some reason it seems more fun to watch individuals suffering in a slow burn than watching a mediocre bike race (as far as bike races go) and a 10K that looks like any other 10K.

I know I'm not the majority of the people in what triathletes/general public wants to watch, but what I do feel is that if all racing in the US was ITU style, the sport probably wont be as big as it is now because not very many people would be comfortable/competitive in an event like that.