I did a sprint race this weekend and had the 2nd fastest bike against some pretty fast people; in fact I would say a crushing bike, and this from someone who is generally a terrible biker and in a local race would have the fastest swim and run but maybe the 30th place bike, at best. The only difference between now and last year is a bit of time on the turbotrainer over the winter and a time trial bike with aero wheels and an aero helmet. If I can be so much faster after shelling out $2500 on equipment, that is kind of lame.
Draft legal racing makes this kind of stuff not even matter, and makes the sport a bit more accessible to people with $$$$ to throw away, and actually forces people to learn how to swim so they can stay competitive. The sport should be about fitness and training, not about about how much money one can spend on fancy equipment.
I did a sprint race this weekend and had the 2nd fastest bike against some pretty fast people; in fact I would say a crushing bike, and this from someone who is generally a terrible biker and in a local race would have the fastest swim and run but maybe the 30th place bike, at best. The only difference between now and last year is a bit of time on the turbotrainer over the winter and a time trial bike with aero wheels and an aero helmet. If I can be so much faster after shelling out $2500 on equipment, that is kind of lame.
Draft legal racing makes this kind of stuff not even matter, and makes the sport a bit more accessible to people with $$$$ to throw away?, and actually forces people to learn how to swim so they can stay competitive. The sport should be about fitness and training, not about about how much money one can spend on fancy equipment.
I agree there should be more draft legal racing. You should start a series.
And I was going to say good job on the bike split, but its obvious it was just your equipment. People can still be extremely competitive with just a few hundred dollars. ESPECIALLY INA SPRINT RACE for just a couple hundred dollars. I know, I used to do it all the time. And at least wherre I’m from, most of the sprint races are reverse tri’s anyways, so swimming isnt that big of a deal. ESPECIALLY FOR A SPRINT
But I do agree that most of the time the swim is underaprecciated, but its good for me cause im still drowning.
I wish I could start a series- I think it would be a bit hard to set up though for lots of amateurs- certainly it would tough to have more than 150 people per start group. As someone else suggested a while back, doing it like bike races might be most effective:
elite wave
intermediate
beginner (no drafting, but no penalties either)
It would certainly mess up the age divisions, but on the other hand in local races if you are a top masters guy, you know that and you are still gunning for a top overall spot because you are a badass. Alternatively you could have a Masters wave too, but all the competitive people would probably end up in the elite wave.
Another alternative would be for USAT to start encouraging as many local races as possible to have a draft-legal elite wave that starts ahead of everybody else, and this would self-select people who want to this while keeping the regular part of the triathlon a little less crazy for the everyman.
yeah, you should not do an age division in a draft legal race. It is an even more stupid division then it currently is.
Best format around that i know is to do 3x a bike ride with short runs in between. That makes it easy to break up the packs a little, and it gets the better triathletes to the front automatically. Real hilly courses, sidewind or cobblestones would do the same.
The biggest problem of draft legal racing would be the road closure (you can never do a race like this on roads with cars), and the need for one loop courses if there are many participants. You get big accidents if a big fast pack is going to lap a little slower big pack with cars on the roads.
In most competitive sports where loops are the problem you are simply taken out of the race if you someone puts you on one lap. That mentality would destroy triathlon. I think that non draft racing is still the best formula, cause the above criteria do not even apply to our world championships.
Draft legal racing makes this kind of stuff not even matter, and makes the sport a bit more accessible to people with $$$$ to throw away, and actually forces people to learn how to swim so they can stay competitive. The sport should be about fitness and training, not about about how much money one can spend on fancy equipment.
You are going to have a tough time convincing this crowd. Clear out your in box and put on the anti-flame suit!
However, I agree with you. If all triathlon were draft legal, the swim would really matter, the bike would be overall of slightly less importance, but more importantly you would need to be a better overall cyclist. The run, despite what everyone says, has always been and always will be, regardless of format or distance, of importance, if for no other reason than it’s what you do last! It’s what get’s you to the finish line!
I’d love to see some draft legal races for regular people, but it will never happen. This biggest thing keeping newbies out of tri is fear of the swim. Add in fear of riding in a pack and you’ve drastically cut the number of new tri athletes that will enter.
I think draft legal racing is a great thing, but your argument is flawed.
You can be faster from training.
You can be more aero, which if you’re smart you can do for a couple hundred bucks.
A so-called “crushing” bike split at a local sprint does not make you the man.
Draft legal racing does matter when it comes to aerodynamics… that is why those ITU athletes try to optimize their equipment given the constraints they have.
However you are right, ITU style racing does place a premium on swimming, and sport should be about fitness, not bling.
I would love to see a draft legal division at races, but it’s going to take a brave RD to give a go. I wish we had some of the short draft legal races, like they do in France and Germany, that has a team aspect to it. Check out the bundesliga series they do over in Germany http://www.360magazine.info/en/360-gallery/category/4-triathlon-bundesliga-round-1-gladbeck.html. How fun would that be?
However, I agree with you. If all triathlon were draft legal, the swim would really matter, the bike would be overall of slightly less importance, but more importantly you would need to be a better overall cyclist. The run, despite what everyone says, has always been and always will be, regardless of format or distance, of importance, if for no other reason than it’s what you do last! It’s what get’s you to the finish line!
Why would you need to be a better overall cyclist? It seems that the advantage you would not have from expensive aero equipment (at least better equipment than your competitors) would be more than made up for being able to draft off of the guy in front of you. Doesn’t drafting save you like 30% of your energy?
Why would you need to be a better overall cyclist? It seems that the advantage you would not have from expensive aero equipment (at least better equipment than your competitors) would be more than made up for being able to draft off of the guy in front of you. Doesn’t drafting save you like 30% of your energy?
You are right on your last point. However, until you do a few road races and really hard group rides on technical courses, with lots of hills and corners, you will, with all due respect, not get it. Do that, and then you will understand what I am talking about.
Being a good to great all- around cyclist is not just about pointing the bike straight down the road and being a good time-trialer - that’s a sub discipline of cycling.
Yeah…when these tri folks learn to ride and you need a license to ride with aerobars…then and only then would I consider riding in a pack with a typical Tri rider…and certainly NOT on a multi-loop course.
I’m not against draft legal racing, but I just think the rules should be followed for whatever the event is. If its a draft free race, then no drafting. If it’s a drafting-allowed race, then that’s OK.
What I don’t like is entering a draft-free race and having the people/officials not following or enforcing the rules.
The two types of races of different tactics in order to do well in them. I certainly would not go all out on the swim of non-drafting race to stay with the leader on the swim, but would do so if it meant I could draft him on the bike. If my season involved more draft-legal races, I probably would spend more of my time and effort on the swim/run aspects and a little less time on the bike.
No worries. On the subject of bikes I am not due any respect. I realize cycling only-races are a different beast. I just thought people were discounting the advantage of drafting a little too much.
No worries. On the subject of bikes I am not due any respect. I realize cycling only-races are a different beast. I just thought people were discounting the advantage of drafting a little too much.
Joe,
It’s just that many triathletes think that drafting in a hard group ride or a bike road race is a bit of a laugher. Just sit in and I’ll get sucked along! It’s nothing like that.
A good friend of mine was laying out some crushing bike splits during sprints and Olys on a roadie without aerobars. All he had was the old Rudy aero helmet- which isn’t even that aero. He ran this for a few years, untill he scored a tri bike. Now he sill lays down killer splits, but his run is even faster now.
I remember my first year with my tri bike. I was on the last 3rd of a 15 mile bike course. I was doing fairly well, passing people pretty regular- when this older dude on a an even older steel bike with down tube shifters passes me. He didn’t just pass me- he crushed me. So yeah, at the sprint distance especially, it’s not about the bike. I think your trainer work over the winter is more responsible for your performance. It WOULD be really nice to see draft legal racing around here, though.
Yeah…when these tri folks learn to ride and you need a license to ride with aerobars…then and only then would I consider riding in a pack with a typical Tri rider…and certainly NOT on a multi-loop course.
Chip,
Of course, any draft legal tri would be road bikes only.
As previously mentioned, I have been co-oped to be part of a sponsors relay team for an up-coming triathlon. I will be doing the bike leg and I will be doing it Eddy Merckx style on my road bike. Looking forward to see how that goes!
Steve, TBFracing has been putting on the Golden State Tri for years and it has always been draft legal. We all use tri bikes with aero bars. Never been an issue at that race, which has ability levels from A to Z.
And YES, drafting does NOT mean the bike leg is easy. If anything, I find it much harder.