I was one of the SAG drivers at IMFL today. This was my first time doing anything more than passing out water at an aid station and I thought I’d share my thoughts. First, I want to tip my hat to the organizers at Ironman for pulling this together. I never really appreciated how much goes on behind the scenes and the volunteer captains were very organized and effective when it came telling volunteers where to be, what to do, and how to do it.
In total I drove about a dozen DNFs in. Of those, about six were having nutrition-related issues, one was general fatigue, and the remainders failed to make time cut offs.
Even though it wasn’t my official job, I repaired about a dozen flat tires. I brought my own pump, some tubes, and a tire lever. Of those, five were Vitoria Corsa Speeds. The very first tire I had to repair was a CS. I heard a call go out over the radio for a bike tech with that athlete’s bib number so I assume he flatted again. The roads were in pretty good shape. One of the CS flats was a tubular and I had to call a bike techs for a new front wheel. One flat was the result of the athlete’s rim tape failing. The balance of flats I saw were either pinch flats or flats that occurred for no obvious reason.
Early on in the first loop there were four separate instances of athletes having issues with their tires rubbing. In all three cases the athletes had new “wide” rims on an older frame.
From what I saw, the front of the race was well behaved in terms of drafting (I’m talking top 20). The rest of the race was a draft fiesta. There’s no other way to put it and, seeing it from the perspective of a volunteer and knowing what resources we had available... it’s impossible to police with course marshals. Either a technology solution is needed or we’ll just have to live with the status quo.
The “fast” crowd seemed to all be rocking Speed Concepts and P5s. There were a handful of IAs and Shivs and, surprisingly, at least four or five Plasmas.
I never fully appreciated the “aero bike but riding on the base bar” meme until today. Holy cow. Don’t take this the wrong way but, normally when I race, I just never see those people. We’re probably looking at 75%+ of the “aero” bikes out there being ridden the majority of the time with the rider out of aero.
That’s all I’ve got.
Edit: I want to add that there are some really bad drivers out there that need to chill out. I saw some drivers blatantly disobey law enforcement turning exactly when and where they weren't supposed to. One athlete was hit by a car leaving a busy Church. Said athlete had to be airlifted. Stay safe people.
In total I drove about a dozen DNFs in. Of those, about six were having nutrition-related issues, one was general fatigue, and the remainders failed to make time cut offs.
Even though it wasn’t my official job, I repaired about a dozen flat tires. I brought my own pump, some tubes, and a tire lever. Of those, five were Vitoria Corsa Speeds. The very first tire I had to repair was a CS. I heard a call go out over the radio for a bike tech with that athlete’s bib number so I assume he flatted again. The roads were in pretty good shape. One of the CS flats was a tubular and I had to call a bike techs for a new front wheel. One flat was the result of the athlete’s rim tape failing. The balance of flats I saw were either pinch flats or flats that occurred for no obvious reason.
Early on in the first loop there were four separate instances of athletes having issues with their tires rubbing. In all three cases the athletes had new “wide” rims on an older frame.
From what I saw, the front of the race was well behaved in terms of drafting (I’m talking top 20). The rest of the race was a draft fiesta. There’s no other way to put it and, seeing it from the perspective of a volunteer and knowing what resources we had available... it’s impossible to police with course marshals. Either a technology solution is needed or we’ll just have to live with the status quo.
The “fast” crowd seemed to all be rocking Speed Concepts and P5s. There were a handful of IAs and Shivs and, surprisingly, at least four or five Plasmas.
I never fully appreciated the “aero bike but riding on the base bar” meme until today. Holy cow. Don’t take this the wrong way but, normally when I race, I just never see those people. We’re probably looking at 75%+ of the “aero” bikes out there being ridden the majority of the time with the rider out of aero.
That’s all I’ve got.
Edit: I want to add that there are some really bad drivers out there that need to chill out. I saw some drivers blatantly disobey law enforcement turning exactly when and where they weren't supposed to. One athlete was hit by a car leaving a busy Church. Said athlete had to be airlifted. Stay safe people.
Last edited by:
GreenPlease: Nov 4, 18 18:19