Hi-- I am a cyclist and always like to do a ride on the day of IM WI and will stop and spectate.
Today there was a bad bump on the road and one guys chain dropped. He was struggling to get it back on because it was weirdly bent up.
In my full cycling gear I ran up and quickly fixed it for him in like 10 seconds without even asking. (Instinct I guess??). He was very thankful and asked for my number since he assumed I was an IM participant. I instead gave him my name and only then did he realize I wasn’t a participant.
My wife subsequently told me that is against the rules (she is a former IM competitor). I didn’t know.
I don’t think anyone saw us, but if he self reports will he DQ himself? I would feel pretty bad!
My wife subsequently told me that is against the rules (she is a former IM competitor). I didn’t know.
I don’t think anyone saw us, but if he self reports will he DQ himself? I would feel pretty bad!
It is ‘against the rules’. But triathlon is not golf, you know (self DQing). What happens on the road, stays on the road; except where stuff is left on the road (eg just ditching a punctured tube - ask Joe Skipper). Accidentally taking a route which results in an advantage is a self-reporting matter, though. I guess nations and their tri-populations differ in these matters - I’m offering a UK view. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/wtcs-montreal-and-long-distance-racing/id1559781865?i=1000532432151
A few years ago I was watching my wife do her first ironman. She told me that about 130km into the bike course there was a guy say on the side of the road with a broken bike. I went to find him and turned out his derailleur hanger had snapped. I had a spare hanger for a different bike in my toolbox that was in my van so I jimmied it together and made it work so he could finish the race with a few gears. Was that against the rules - technically, yes, but it allowed him to finish his day and I’d be pretty disappointed if IM chose to do anything about it (they didn’t!).
I think the reason for the rule of outside assistance is because it’s not available to everybody. Your assistance is, so I’m not sure how the ref would react. I can tell you that every year I’ve done Ironman Florida there have been families outside with water hoses, blasting music, handing out beer and water, etc… The entire Ironman group knows this. It’s part of the race excitement I assume. I guess they allow it because it’s available to every athlete?
Hi-- I am a cyclist and always like to do a ride on the day of IM WI and will stop and spectate.
Today there was a bad bump on the road and one guys chain dropped. He was struggling to get it back on because it was weirdly bent up.
In my full cycling gear I ran up and quickly fixed it for him in like 10 seconds without even asking. (Instinct I guess??). He was very thankful and asked for my number since he assumed I was an IM participant. I instead gave him my name and only then did he realize I wasn’t a participant.
My wife subsequently told me that is against the rules (she is a former IM competitor). I didn’t know.
I don’t think anyone saw us, but if he self reports will he DQ himself? I would feel pretty bad!
What about the Christmas time cyclocross warm hotdog handout or mini cup of beer? Haha.
I think the reason for the rule of outside assistance is because it’s not available to everybody. Your assistance is, so I’m not sure how the ref would react. I can tell you that every year I’ve done Ironman Florida there have been families outside with water hoses, blasting music, handing out beer and water, etc… The entire Ironman group knows this. It’s part of the race excitement I assume. I guess they allow it because it’s available to every athlete?
Yep, you are right. If you stop to get help from a spectator / team mate / coach you know, that’s not allowed. If you get assistance from something / somewhere that is open to all then it’s not unfair (by definition, it’s available to all). My memory is struggling, but 20 years back Spencer Smith got a penalty for discarding equipment when he dropped his sunglasses with his family/coach. He’d have been fine to drop in a bin, but by dropping with spectators he had an advantage over other competitors that may not have had supporters on course. Ok, that was at the very pointy end of field, but the principal is there.
Same as grabbing jet planes from your clubmates is risky, but taking sweeties from random strangers is fine (that’s not a rule to teach your young kids…).
When marshalling at a national long distance (half) event, a multiple time previous winner came through at the half way point screaming for help with her bike. Her chain had slipped off the jockey wheel and she’d not got the composure to have worked out how simple a fix it was. I sorted it surrounded by half of the TRI NZ refs that day. Luckily it was me that got to it before her coach so she wasn’t penalized.
Technically its against the rules. I have always viewed this kind of assistance as being OK on the basis that its not affecting anybody elses race, and IM competitors are often just wanting to complete, rather than compete. If the athlete was not affecting anybody elses race or results turn a blind eye - lets be honest its a first world problem we don’t need to stress too much about. Outside assistanc with the sole purpose of gaining an advantage over your fellow competitors however - I would be happy to dob somebody in if that were the case.
Trivium: Macca got disqualified in Poznań, Poland in 2014 for accepting a tube and a pump from another race participant.
This caused great controversy. The decision was seen as unreasonable by many, especially that the rules expressly prohibited getting help fixing the bike but not necessarily accepting bike parts / accessories. Also, Macca was by then semi-retired, racing to promote triathlon more than to compete. He was there on special invitation by the race organizer.
On the other hand, Macca was at the time riding in second position and he was reported to look very angry and close to tossing his bike when he caught the flat.
Hi-- I am a cyclist and always like to do a ride on the day of IM WI and will stop and spectate.
Today there was a bad bump on the road and one guys chain dropped. He was struggling to get it back on because it was weirdly bent up.
In my full cycling gear I ran up and quickly fixed it for him in like 10 seconds without even asking. (Instinct I guess??). He was very thankful and asked for my number since he assumed I was an IM participant. I instead gave him my name and only then did he realize I wasn’t a participant.
My wife subsequently told me that is against the rules (she is a former IM competitor). I didn’t know.
I don’t think anyone saw us, but if he self reports will he DQ himself? I would feel pretty bad!
It’s actually pretty simple. If it’s something where you would do it for anyone they generally won’t call it especially if the person isn’t in the lead or close to the lead. If you gave them water or something then you would be called. Helping with a chain problem no one would care.
If it was a pro racing I probably wouldn’t have. Anyone else I would have.
Let’s also go over Ironman is a business first. They’re not going to piss people off by telling them they should have figured it out themself and DSQ them. Unless like I said they were at the pointy end of the field. Then it’s a judgement call.
It’s actually pretty simple. If it’s something where you would do it for anyone they generally won’t call it especially if the person isn’t in the lead or close to the lead. If you gave them water or something then you would be called. Helping with a chain problem no one would care.
If it was a pro racing I probably wouldn’t have. Anyone else I would have.
Let’s also go over Ironman is a business first. They’re not going to piss people off by telling them they should have figured it out themself and DSQ them. Unless like I said they were at the pointy end of the field. Then it’s a judgement call.
Well said.
I have these experiences.
People set up a tent and handed out Fireball(liquor). I don’t drink at all, so I didn’t take but I was wondering how the rules apply.
I saw a husband riding a bike right next his wife during the run and handed out water and whatnot. I told them it’s against the rule and she can be DQed if referees see them in a nice way. He stopped following her.
Considering all of the blatant disregard for the drafting rules in the middle of the pack, I would think this would be regarded as pretty minor, especially considering it was unsolicited. Also, it hasn’t been mentioned that there are lots of other options i.e. time penalties that are short of a DQ. So, even if the participant told an official they might not have been sanctioned at all or they could have been given a small time penalty. Interesting situation, thanks for posting.
I rode around the course quite a bit yesterday as well. I believe the drafting was simply due to numbers and the 70.3 mixed in. It was crazy. Even on the return stick the pelotons were still there. Getting cars across intersections between bikes was very challenging for law enforcement. It was a solid string of bikes from start to finish from what I could see. Crazy.
Indeed crazy on the solid string of bikes from start-to-finish!
But this is the last hurrah. The move of IMWI to June for next year is the death knell for the event and kind of a tragedy IMHO. A lot of participants I know have mentioned they won’t do it anymore because getting ready for a June IM for upper-Midwesterners means far too much indoor cycling. Not to mention the impact it will have on all the other local events used for training checkpoints (like the Horribly Hilly Hundreds and Door County Half). And the vibe in June will still be great, but no match for early September when you have 40,000+ students in session cheering on the runners.
People set up a tent and handed out Fireball(liquor). I don’t drink at all, so I didn’t take but I was wondering how the rules apply.
Let me assure you that if you don’t drink, Fireball is absolutely NOT the place to start, and you were wise to pass on by.
Also, while beer or even vodka can (arguably) have some beneficial effects during racing, I cannot imagine any situation at all that was ever made better by ingesting Fireball.