I think spots roll down quite far for the 70.3 worlds

70.3 worlds roll down slots are known to go incredibly deep--even when/if the race is in the USA.

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Toro Performance

Got that right - I've been to a few roll downs where the announcer basically gives up calling names and asks the AG in question if anyone wants to go!

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Swim. Overbike. Walk.

I wonder if a few years of overseas will change that. Hopefully not, as I'd love to go! M35-39 is tough, but Steelhead is the same weekend as Nationals and perhaps late enough that plenty of the fast dudes have already qualified.

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

I think it is to easy to qualify for a 70.3. Now that they are moving it to 2 day event in 2017, they will be just handing them out if you finish. It's a world championship, it should be the best of the best there!

I hear ya. That being said, how watered down can it really get? I assume it is harder to get into than Nationals, not as hard as Kona. I wonder how it might compare to Worlds in Chicago.

I guess the only way to really know will be to revisit this thread next year.

How about you Dan? Are you doing the Nationals/ Steelhead double again, or does the move to Omaha mess that up?

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

Further, don't discount the fact that many people aren't ready to commit to a World's slot a full year in advance.

I qualified for Olympic distance age group Nationals in my first ever olympic distance race last year. I'm considering going because I have never raced in a national championship race for any sport. I probably have no shot at qualifying for worlds but I find racing fun so why not give it a shot.

I'm also doing my first 70.3 this year in April. If I have a good day I might have a shot at going sub 5. I doubt that would get me a spot to worlds. Even If I did somehow get a roll down to worlds I would pass because I've already decided to do 106 west in September.

I'm not doing nationals this year. Omaha is a little far to do the double this year. So Steelhead I will be fully rested and ready to fly.

I have been to a few with very few rolldowns. At Silverman 2014 you pretty well had to be on the podium or close to get a rolldown. At Tremblant70.3 2015, you had to be close to podium. There was 1 age group where it really rolled far. Then 2 weeks later at Muskoka 70.3 the slots basically rolled through the field. All for the same race in Austria.

In any case what is the definition of "best of the best". You actually need some canon fodder guys for the WC podium guys to beat up on, which happen to be the podium guys at the local race who beat up on the almost podium guys at the local race. As it stands, age groups 20-39 don't even have the best of the best competing in those age groups because they are racing pro. The guys that were the fastest in your age group at Kona were guys like Andreas Ralaert (I understand they don't have full time jobs outside of tri, but where do you draw the line) ?

At the end of the day, there are criteria to get to the WC. If you want a field of say 20 athletes per age group, then just take the winners in each age group of 20 pre determined races and no rolldowns. You'll basically be competing against the same 5 guys who you compete against anyway, but positions 15-20 who usually beat guys like me will have no one to beat up on at the WC's. Probably not as fun if the event is a small event with only a few athletes per age group....thus the need for more slots and having rolldowns. Don't discount the value of more slots overall. It keeps more people in the sport excited and it has zero bearing on the absolute pointy end of each age group podium.

You should go! No idea about Omaha, but the energy and excitement is pretty special.

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

Dan, one more thought. Years ago we have to run sub 2:50 to make it to Boston. I never tried for Boston back then but my buddies who were 2:2x guys when we were Armed Forces athletes were kind of pissed off when they lowered the Boston standards initially to three hours and then it got easier and easier. I said I would not race Boston unless I ran sub 2:50 (which I did). But at the end of the day, it was all stupid. The best of the best were running sub 2:0x. My 2:2x buddies were fodder for the 2:0x guys. At the local marathon, running 2:4x I was fodder for the 2:2x guys and so on and so on. It really does not matter how many slots they give out, because you just end up racing the people around you. I'd almost say for the 2:0x marathoner it is much cooler that you have 35,000 people racing Boston vs 5000 in a bygone era. The only thing stopping Kona and 70.3 WC getting bigger is course density. If not, why not make them bigger. There is zero impact on the pointy end of the field.

In the past couple of years, there have been roll downs for 70.3 worlds, but not quite as far - at least in the most competitive male age groups (eg, M40-44) - as perhaps has been suggested. I got a slot for 2015 Austria (which I didn't take) by placing 21 at eagleman. I missed the last 2016 Australia slot by 7 seconds by placing 22 at timberman. My guess is that slots won't go past top 10 for US races for 2017 70.3 worlds. Both of the referenced rolls were pretty deep ones. In sum, I think a top 20 placing gives you a decent shot for an overseas worlds slot. I've heard rumors of chile as a possibility in 2018.

As for Olympic nationals, I agree it's fun and inspiring to do. It's also not particularly difficult to qualify if you race a regional championship - the top 1/3 AG get spots.

You should definitely go, but you're going to need a 2:00 oly to qualify for worlds. :)

I will forever chase that number.

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

I got a roll down slot for Austria at Hawaii 70.3 in 35-39 by placing 6th. In years prior there were a lot more slots (like 4 or 5 compared to 2 at hawaii) and I was always placing 15th to 17th and never getting a roll down. The long roll downs are usually in 50+ or under 30 for men. But really anything can happen. Just depends on who shows up for the race and what their plans are.

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
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really?

And this happened exactly how often? once, when the race was in nowhere at notime, correct?

Not at all my experience in M40-44 or M45-49 since Worlds was moved out of Clearwater. I got 3rd in Tahoe, and 1,2 took the Worlds slots for Australia, no rolldown. I would plan on very few roll downs for Chattanooga. Saw a similar story in Raleigh the year before.

Good luck Aaron. Have fun with the longer training this season. The carrot of qualifying for Kona was huge for me for a decade. I loved the challenge. You know how much I wanted to get a Chicago spot last year. No qualifying goals at all this year, which is a relief. :)

I think it depends on the AG. Usually older age groups have a higher percentage of athletes who have the money, family, and job to travel a bit more. Younger age groups, even if they have the money, might have young kids or other obligations that don't allow them to travel. Obviously those don't always ring true but for me I knew I wasn't going to take my slot to Australia after winning my AG at Racine. I was at the awards and I think only like two people in 30-34 showed up and one of them was like 20th. But when I went to Vegas the slot didn't roll down past 5th. I agree that there probably won't be too many roll downs besides the few slots that will roll since many race multiple 70.3s in a year. I also want to know if they will be adding more slots with the 2 day race weekend.

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Twitter - Instagram

At Muskoka 70.3 last year you probably could have got a spot without finishing or starting the race. It's one of the reasons I have almost not interest in the 70.3 worlds. I think the ITU Worlds can be similar.

Ken

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"the trick is to keep losing weight until your friends and family ask you if you've been sick. then you know you're within 10 pounds. if they start whispering to each other, wondering if you've got cancer or aids, you're within 5. when they actually do an intervention, you're at race weight." - Slowman

I got 11th at St George last year in 30-34 and I got a roll down spot to Austria. If I would not have taken it, there were 2 guys right behind me who were 30th+ place and would have taken it. In some age groups, the announcer just asked all interested finishers in that particular age group to come to the podium and give him their finishing times, because he got tired of going through the entire list. Top time got the spot.

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Strava

I am interested in qualifying for Choo 2017 . . . when do those quals begin?

Thanks,

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

Starts near end of July, Racine is first one.

Since it's one of the first qualifiers for 2017 and since worlds is in Choo, don't expect much of a rolldown, except where some top finishers have already qualified at Racine. FWIM, If you in 35-39, I'm planing on taking a slot but I'm not racing Racine. IN comparison, I passed on slots for Australia in both of those races last year. So did the 2 guys that beat me in those races. One ages up this year. The other does not. It rolled fairly deep if I remember in both cases.

I'd guess that you'll need anywhere from a 2:05-2:20 at Steelhead to qualify depending on who shows up and race conditions. One of these years we'll get both a faster swim AND and favorable wind with cooler run conditions. Swim however has never been fast there, but it could happen. Calm morning wind for a glass swim (I've seen it there) that picks up from the North or Northeast after 8:30AM and it would be killer fast. Could see 3-4 guys under 4 hours even, again depending on who shows.

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