Gee, I didn't see that one coming at all.

Ti, I can't confirm whether Elite Am Female 1 and 2 were clean, mostly because they were so friggin' far in front of me, but my guess is that they were. I can confirm that Aunt Em is super-fast, a friend and teammate. I happen to be married to the lady in red and can confirm that on most of our training rides, if she were to have a rear-view mirror on her bike, would see me as only a tiny spec.

Dude...hope your foot is doing better! The story reminded me of what Conrad Stoltz did last month!

http://www.conradstoltz.com/...a-richmond/#more-929

and the aftermath

http://www.conradstoltz.com/...ter-xterra-richmond/

I have gotten to know Adrienne over the past few years that she has been training for triathlons. That is right folks, she just started doing triathlons two years ago so there is going to be big improvements each race. She is one of the most kind hearted people that I know and her big smile can be very contagious as she is just out in the world trying to make it a better place. She is a yoga instructor who is trying to help people find their real self and get away from the BS and judgement from people in our society. Most of you haters on this blog could use some yoga as you obviously have some pent up anger about life.

She organized a spin a thon at her yoga studio earlier this year to raise money for the Blazeman foundation out of the goodness of her heart. If you want to find out what kind of person she is, ask Blazeman's dad, Robert Blais, and he will tell you how good hearted she is. She has personally taken an interest in the Blazeman foundation and is going to race in honor of Blazeman at Kona this year. If you don't know who Blazeman is then you shouldn't even be doing triathlons as you don't even know the history of the sport.

The fact that people are out there claiming she cheated is ridicoulous. She was using Racine as a training race for Kona and that is why she didn't sign up in the elite group b/c she didn't taper at all and thought she may race tired. She woke up Sunday morning feeling amazing and ended up having the best race of her short career. Racine wasn't her A race as she will be doing Kona and Clearwater so she wouldn't cheat to win the race. All you haters just can't handle that she is getting really good and are losing to a better athlete.

I had a conversation with her about her post on here and her words are being taken out of context. What she was trying to say was there may have been a few times, which were literally only for a few seconds, where she caught a draft as she was riding through people. As triathletes you should all understand that for a split second this happens once in awhile as it is hard to avoid when passing other riders especially if those riders can't keep up with the pack and are blocking the road. If you claim that there wasn't a few seconds where you felt a draft on Sunday, then you are lying to yourself b/c the course wasn't wide enough where this wouldn't happen for a few seconds. There was never a point in time where she was doing anything illegal and if you knew her as well as I do you would realize she wouldn't be okay with winning a race unethically. She is too much of a good person to accept a win that isn't real. If you were out riding on Sunday you should realize that there were 250 drafting penalties handed out and she didn't receive one of them. The race officials were very strict handing out penalties and with 250 handed out it is obvious they were on watch. She shouldn't need to apologize for anything b/c it was a well run race and the race officials were watching closely and she told me she saw them out on the course a lot and never once did they write her up. If you have a problem with this then talk to the race director and have them staff more officials. But do you really need more officials if 250 penalties were handed out.

Adrienne did a 2:33 on the bike in steelhead last year when she wasn't even trained well. Doing a 2:22 on the bike in Racine is not a far stretch at all. Look at all the other girls bike times as they aren't far off from hers at all and those were all PRs for them by 30 minutes or more. Did any of you haters ever think that the conditions might have been ideal that day with cooler temps and the wind blowing with the riders. The only reason the finger is being pointed at her is because she won. Adrienne trains her ass off and to have all you haters out there accusing her of cheating is disgusting. If you knew Adrienne personally you wouldn't be making these claims and you would congratulate her on her big victory b/c it was well deserved.

I just can't wait until she kicks some serious booty in Steelhead, Kona, and Clearwater b/c she is in way better shape than last year, which was her first full year of doing triathlons. You will be reading about her a lot this year so get used to it. I am sure the haters are going to claim that Steelhead, Kona, and Clearwater are draft fests as well. To all you haters and jealous bloggers, maybe you should try another sport as it apparently makes you miserable to watch the sucess of other athletes. Maybe one day you will be good enough to have other athletes blog about you in jealous rage. Probably not though as you are too busy on this forum and not out training like the real athletes.

Thanks U.P...it is feeling better. Hopefully, that will be the longest T1 time in my tri career. The worst thing about my foot is that I couldnt water ski this weekend. My 6 stitches seem like a paper cut compared to Stoltz's gash.

Thanks for cheering!! Man, that awards area was such a cluster.

I hope you are correct, and if you are i'll be the first to apologize.

She herself said she crossed the centerline to pass: that is doing something illegal. And dumb. It shows a certain disregard for rules that are established for the safety of all participants, and a certain "me first" attitude.

I guess we should cut her some slack as she is apparently still a newby and can't differentiate between drafting and legally overtaking. Her initial post was pretty clear that she felt she had done something wrong ("can't help but..."), but what you describe is called "smart racing".

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"Go yell at an M&M"

Mideast Elite would like to thank all of the dedicated individuals who have provided much pertinent information in regards to some recent actions by a extremely small portion of our athletes.We have taken the unusual steps to seek out and interview a large number of individuals having first hand knowledge of the events that have recently transpired. We want to ensure the triathlon community that we are dealing with matters and will be fair in our solutions. Our team is very rare in that we REQUIRE all team members to sign a Code of Ethics for inclusion in our stellar group of athletes, and speed is no substitute for character. We stand steadfast in our support of hard, ethical and legal racing for ALL members flying our colors, and will stand for nothing less than the utmost in racing fair and with integrity and class. We apologize if some have failed to stand up to our high standards. We are finalizing our internal investigation, as that is the least we can do in our unwavering support of our loved sport and also to our many loyal and dedicated sponsors and supporters, who are among the best in the business. We are moving forward with our ideals of leading by example. Join us in the mission to bring the sport back to where it needs to be.

Gary
Proud member of Mideast Team Elite.
http://www.mideastelite.com

1. Steelhead last year was a duathlon. See this thread about that:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...t_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;

2. Good, we here on ST can't wait. Keep us updated. We love to listen to bragging, it's so vogue.

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Matt Amman

So what? Is TME going to "suspend" a person from a team, with out an official call from the USAT or in the race results? If a rider claims to have put down a clean race and stands by it...to hell with a "team". If a person is that gifted to win a race like SORT I am quite certain that with out official red marks next to the name it wont be too hard to get a sponsor. Tri is not a "team" sport on race day anyway. A person could quit a team, or a team could ask a person to not wear their shirt - but really there is no teeth to anything and neither has anything really to lose.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

I appreciate your comments Chip, but our team offers MUCH more than simple discounts. And as most of these people need to realize, the sport is much bigger than the individuals. As far as USAT and RDs, we have taken our own course, as they seem to be incapable and incompetent when it comes to anything more than cashing our checks. You would not believe the stories I could tell about certain people in our sport......

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Gary Geiger
http://www.geigerphoto.com Professional photographer

TEAM KiWAMi NORTH AMERICA http://www.kiwamitri.com, Rudy Project http://www.rudyprojectusa.com, GU https://guenergy.com/shop/ ; Salming World Ambassador; https://www.shopsalming.com

And, once again I am back to a database that I think the USAT owes us, and the sport that would track such things......

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

You are missing my point....as they currently exist and due to their director, they ARE the problem, not the solution. They have no interest at this time in your quest. They drum to their own beat and change rules as they work for them. If these race directors have the balls to police their own event, we don't even need USAT, as you have well found out. The pressure needs to be put on the RD and make them put some teeth in the rules at their events. If you build it, they will come.

I guess I am coming in late here, but...

#1 Don't anybody knock indoor tri winners. They are awesome!! There are no words to describe the guy who wins MITCS every year!!
#2 Why so much focus on this one woman? Like all of us there, she went out to do her best. I've been in the sport for 17 years and used to participate in drafting rants on RST, but I've never seen an attack like this. She is an up and coming talent, no doubt. We in the midwest should be proud to have her.
#3 HFP and every event group does everything to make their events as best as possible with what that have to work with. It is an impossible task.
#4 She came close to beating me. Most of the margin was on the swim. That really got to me on a lot of levels, but I'm over it.
#5 It was a super fast day. I did a 2:18 bike with very limited training. That is my "in shape" time. (and I was alone almost the whole time since I was in top 5 of elite wave during the bike, although Blake's wake did extend for about 3 miles so I got a slight pull)

I hope she gets past this stuff quickly because I want to see her continue to get better.

-Greg Thompson

I have never singled out anyone on this or any other thread...my posts other than a reply to Gary have been "in general" - just wanted to be clear on that.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

Chip, the only way I know how to post is to reply to the last post. I was commenting on the whole thread that I skimmed through...

It's clear that many eyes will be watching results for a long time. Perhaps anyone who breaks the rules make their own punishment by having to continually improve those standards and justify their previous results. Could be a bad place to be........

You realize Steelhead bike was at least 2 miles short last year, right? Assuming a pace of 21.5mph, you can add almost 6 minutes to that time. So her time would have been almost 2:40.

alternatively it could provide great motivation.

only time will tell.

True. But when the monkey is on your own back and there are doubts, it's a sad place to be.

I was not at this race, but do know what it is like to be caught in small packs usually because age group men refuse to let a girl pass. I am a slower swimmer and stronger biker so I am constantly fightining the "age group guys". It sucks and it is super frustrating. I pass them and then they see me pass them and then they lay out a surge to repass me and then they slow down enough that I have to brake. Not only that, but they'll bring 5 guys with them so I have to brake to get behind all of them! It is ridiculous and the reason why I don't do many local races anymore. It is becoming a huge problem as age group girls are getting faster and it makes for a very torturous bike leg, no matter what the distance of the race. Adrienne is an extremely talented girl and she deserves every bit of this win. It is not her fault, but that of the race organizers for not allowing enough time between heats to accomodate the bike course traffic.
I will say, that I do brake and follow the rules, but it makes for a very nasty attitude on my part and this growing problem (of people not understanding the rules) needs to be addressed by USAT. I shouldn't have to skip out on my favorite local events because I don't want to be stressed out on the bike course.
In addition, it is ridiculous that you all have nothing better to do than to take something away from this girl who obviously trains her ass off and is very talented. Yes, she should have braked to get out of the packs...but I think a simple time penalty would do, not this tramautic hurrassment by her peers. If you have a problem, it should be addressed only to the race director who can then make the appropriate course changes for next year.
Adrienne, you rock girl and good luck with the rest of your season. There are tons of people on your side of this and we'll be cheering for you all the way through Kona.

ITU solved this issue a long time ago, just allow drafting, since it is happening anyways.

Dave

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

You do know that Gary is a member of her team yes? This will be the first comment I put in this thread about Adrienne.....

SHE ADMITTED SHE DRAFTED AT TIMES

Now, do I think that the RD should do what it takes to get more open road and or a single loop bike? Sure I do.

Do I think that the USAT does a terrible job with penalties and how they are handled? Sure I do.

Do I think that far too many folks just dont care to follow the rules? Yep.

Now, granted there was no money at SORT this year for prizes....it is what it is. But, I think that we can all rest assured that if there was some coin on the table there would be some other top finishers screaming out their lungs on a soap box. While I understand how and why you and other top women get stuck in the bafoonary of the MOP men getting their testosterone fix trying to not be "chicked" on the bike...I guess I would not have posted on a public forum about it. It sometimes is not what you say, it is how you say it. For instance - she "could" have said "at times there were packs of men that overtook and surrounded me, it was terrible to see the rules so blatantly broken". I would quote her directly but it seems all of her replies to this thread are gone...

And good on you for defending your friend. It is what it is and the situation is only going to get worse if we as participants and those of us who are RD's let the rules slide for anyone on the course - especially the MOP and BOP folks who DO alter the results and even more so on multi-loop courses.



I can see into the future....and I see coming up many threads about rampant drafting and a slug fest swim at IMLP this Sunday......

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

A very wise, and intelligent reply, and a true solution to the issue. If the RD's faced the issues and spread them out, USAT puts teeth in the rules and makes it not worth the risk, our issue is GREATLY reduced. The simple fact is that many fail at policing themselves or this discussion is moot. As with society now days, we have to control those who won't control themselves. We need to bring back some responsibility, but I doubt I'll see that in my lifetime. Society's lack of desire in making everyone accountable has taken away our freedoms where we need these restrictions. When I started in tri, these rules were seldom enforced, because it was a given that you competed the correct way. I' sad to see our team member and team caught up in this, as no one is winning here. That said, talent will eventually rise to the top.

Hi Dave. Good to hear from you, but I can't go that far. I'm an old purist.
glad life is good with you.