Originally published at: 5 Triathlon Rules I Wish Would Change - Slowtwitch News
“Smokey, this is not ‘Nam. This is bowling. There are rules.“ So says John Goodman’s character, Walter Sobchak, as Smokey commits the cardinal sin of going over the line while bowling in The Big Lebowski. Smokey doubles down, claiming innocence, and then we move to the ludicrousness of Walter, pulling a gun out, threatening a “world of pain,” before exclaiming:
“Has the whole world gone crazy? Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules? Mark it zero!”
This is, pretty much, how I feel about triathlon rules most of the time. Words have meaning. If we’re going to have rules, follow them. This naturally erupted during this week’s controversy over Hayden Wilde’s running shoes at T100 French Riviera. To recap: Wilde wore the production version of ASICS MetaSpeed Ray, the newest member of the MetaSpeed family which claims to be the lightest super shoe on the market. It is under 40 millimeters of stack height and has a single carbon plate, making it compliant with World Athletics limits (and therefore legal for triathlon). Just one problem: the shoe was not technically legal for competition until September 11th, so it could “debut” at the World Athletics World Championships next week in Tokyo.
A forum thread erupted (and is still going), questioning Wilde’s decision making, why officials didn’t perform shoe checks beforehand to ensure compliance, and the validity of the rule itself. Wilde wound up issuing an apology on Instagram. And we’re still discussing it as of this morning.
All because a shoe, which to be clear, will be fully legal in three days, was worn “too early.” That’s just a bad rule. This should be simple: either it is compliant with the stack and plate limits or it’s not. If it is, wear it. If it’s not, don’t.
Given that we’ve had plenty of rules controversy in 2025, it’s my opinion that we clean these up. Here are four other triathlon rules that I’d make modifications to.
Enforce the Fairing Rules on Aerobars
Look. I’m not here to ban all of the forearm length aerobars. There’s an ergonomic reason for that to have developed. But to get to the point where we now have these floating around out here?
That’s about a clear as day violation of Rule 5.03(b), which reads, “Protective screens, fuselages, fairings, or any other devices or materials (including duct tape) added or blended into the structure with the intent to reduce (or having the effect of reducing) resistance to air penetration are prohibited.” (Emphasis added).
The modified ruleset should require that aerobars be just that: bars (plural). Require a minimum gap between the two of them, so we don’t have someone with a millimeter sized gap in the bar above and say, “look, it complies.” And while we’re at it, require that the forearm support must end at a certain distance prior to the grips / bar ends.
I am pro innovation. I am anti solutions that fly in the face of the spirit and intent of the rule. This is the latter.
More Limits on Hydration
Ah, yes. The great debate of 2025, that resulted in no fewer than 10 different articles about the modifications to the hydration rule set. If you haven’t relived that drama enough, here’s the Cliff’s Notes edition: World Triathlon initially came out with hydration rules; the German triathlon federation decided to get very draconian with the ruleset; IRONMAN and World Triathlon scrambled to get to where we are today. That includes certain measurements on where bottle positions can and should be and the infamous “30 x 30” box for rear hydration and storage.
There’s just a small problem with these rules: athletes are still finding creative solutions around them. A professional during a recent race was spotted moving an aero bottle from one position on their bike to another; that move technically would have turned the bike from legal to illegal under the current ruleset, had someone measured at the time.
The problem with the existing rules is that, well, measurement can really only occur during check-in or post-race; there’s no good way to ensure enforcement out on the course. So, let’s make officials jobs easy again: you get one bottle on the front. It can either be the vertical style bottle that was the rage 10-15 years ago, or a single horizontally mounted bottle that can’t cover arms; can’t be mounted on top or behind the stem, and can’t be moved to another position on board the bike once in motion.
The rear rules are thankfully, mostly, on point. Standardized maximum of two liters of fluid, max bottle size of one liter, and then just allow frames with their storage boxes. Done.
Reduce the Draft Zone to 8 Meters
Hear me out: the current sized draft zone and associated penalty (which, don’t worry, we’ll get to that next) is the worst of both worlds. Especially at large races, like this weekend’s IRONMAN World Championships, it requires a near-Herculean effort to start changing positions on the bike. Once you enter one athlete’s draft zone, you have to keep going until you get to the head of the line, as there’s no slotting in. It means unless you have the bike prowess of the elite riders in the sport, you’re going to sit at 12 meters (or thereabouts).
Because of that, officials, even with RaceRanger technology aiding them, are seemingly reticent to give someone a bike position foul. And then we have online chatter post-race about who rode where, whether a pack was fully riding at 12 meters each, etc. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. Same story for 15 years.
More often than not, the ask is for longer draft zones; 20 meters is often cited. Here’s the problem, though: it would make the racing worse, not better, to watch. For the most part, it just becomes a bike race and who the best individual time trialist could be. There’d be less passing; larger time gaps; and ultimately, less dramatic finishes. That’s not a product that sells to a broader audience.
An 8 meter draft zone, theoretically, solves some of these issues. First, it makes the packs themselves smaller, meaning if you need to pass, it should be a shorter effort to make it happen. It also means that, because the gaps are smaller, it’s much easier to determine whether you have a place that you can move into, or if you’ll need to go the whole way around. In theory, it should also mean more athletes getting onto runs closer together, making for more late-race theatrics and drama.
But that only works hand in hand with…
Increase the Penalty for Drafting
Look. No warnings. Throw the flag. Four minutes for 70.3/T100, eight minutes for a full. Make the penalty hurt. And use the tech at your fingertips: don’t rely on RaceRanger alone, but if you see those lights flashing, you know someone is at risk of a penalty. Keep an eye on them.
That makes tactics a bigger point of the race: do I dare ride that close to the athlete in front of me, and chance that large of a penalty? At most races, that length penalty will take you out of the running near entirely. Or do I ride more conservatively, knowing that I could be giving something up? Ultimately, I’m not interested in who the best athlete was. I’m interested in who the best racer was. And those may not be the same thing. Race savvy and gamesmanship should be just as important as how big of an engine you have.
