Anyone watch the British Mixed Relay champs on the BBC yesterday?
Interesting comments from AB on Moto drafting. He was part of the commentary team (he’s a pretty good analyst by the way).
“That’s part of racing and you use it if it’s there”
Comments?
Anyone watch the British Mixed Relay champs on the BBC yesterday?
Interesting comments from AB on Moto drafting. He was part of the commentary team (he’s a pretty good analyst by the way).
“That’s part of racing and you use it if it’s there”
Comments?
If you watch the Leeds coverage closely there was one point early on when the moto cut over to a parallel street so it wouldn’t be giving a tow. Alistair who was leading the break at that time nearly swung over to follow it and had to work hard to swing back on course. The ITU rules state it’s the athlete’s obligation to avoid the draft but we know boys will be boys;)
Hugh
Anyone watch the British Mixed Relay champs on the BBC yesterday?
Interesting comments from AB on Moto drafting. He was part of the commentary team (he’s a pretty good analyst by the way).
“That’s part of racing and you use it if it’s there”
Comments?
Bringing attention to the subject is positive as it makes people aware of the issue, however, just because it is part of racing, doesn’t mean it should be.
This whole “athlete responsibility” is BS. It is a cop out in my opinion to make it on the athlete. To me simply accept it as part of racing and media/safety requirements for today’s races.
This whole “athlete responsibility” is BS. It is a cop out in my opinion to make it on the athlete. To me simply accept it as part of racing and media/safety requirements for today’s races.[/quot
That I agree on a not just in regards to moto drafting. Lots of examples were RD could do a better job.
Yes and that’s what bugs me…“we can do better but you athletes it’s your fault if you take advantage of it”…but we aren’t going to get out of the way because we don’t have too nor want too…
So I give it a shoulder shrug when ppl complain about it. Sure it sucks but what’s the answer? Oh that’s right, “dont do it athletes”.
Eta: so with this particular issue I don’t give a shit about the “sporting” thing to do.
If the moto is affiliated with the race (ref, press, etc.) then I feel it’s their responsibility to not provide an advantage; the athlete shouldn’t have to adjust their race.
If the moto is unaffiliated (ex. drivers on a non-closed course) then I feel it does fall to the athlete.
If the moto is affiliated with the race (ref, press, etc.) then I feel it’s their responsibility to not provide an advantage; the athlete shouldn’t have to adjust their race.
If the moto is unaffiliated (ex. drivers on a non-closed course) then I feel it does fall to the athlete.’
x2 on this post.
If the race provided vehicles don’t have enough horsepower to get beyond an athlete’s puny half horsepower, it’s not the athlete’s fault and I cannot fault any leader of any race for using the moto (I am pretty certain that I made it clear in the Tim Don IM Brazil thread that it’s not Don’t problem that the motos can’t get out of his way).
Did he comment on his hip surgery?
Yes and that’s what bugs me…“we can do better but you athletes it’s your fault if you take advantage of it”…but we aren’t going to get out of the way because we don’t have too nor want too…
So I give it a shoulder shrug when ppl complain about it. Sure it sucks but what’s the answer? Oh that’s right, “dont do it athletes”.
Eta: so with this particular issue I don’t give a shit about the “sporting” thing to do.
Did you watch Challenge’s “the championship”? The issue isn’t the Moro not getting out of the way. The problem is Brownlee blatantly chasing the moto’s slip stream.
In the race footage, you can see the moto driver trying to get out to the side of Brownlee and then AB consistently just darts behind the moto again.
Funny enough AB blew up badly on the run for that race right?
I heard and watched some of it. In those type of instances yeah foul on AB. Race was trying to keep it clean. I don’t know how often the motos do that and athletes “dart” after it in those instances.
If a race is doing it’s proper thing, and athlete races like that…shame them.
If a race “sits” there doing no evasive actions, I’m not going to cry foul on the athlete.
If the moto is affiliated with the race (ref, press, etc.) then I feel it’s their responsibility to not provide an advantage; the athlete shouldn’t have to adjust their race.
If the moto is unaffiliated (ex. drivers on a non-closed course) then I feel it does fall to the athlete.’
x2 on this post.
If the race provided vehicles don’t have enough horsepower to get beyond an athlete’s puny half horsepower, it’s not the athlete’s fault and I cannot fault any leader of any race for using the moto (I am pretty certain that I made it clear in the Tim Don IM Brazil thread that it’s not Don’t problem that the motos can’t get out of his way).
What if, as trineuropa points out, the moto attempts to get out of the way be driving far left, so that they are not providing a slipstream but can still get the camera shot, but the athlete moves far left to keep the draft?
Anyone watch the British Mixed Relay champs on the BBC yesterday?
Interesting comments from AB on Moto drafting. He was part of the commentary team (he’s a pretty good analyst by the way).
“That’s part of racing and you use it if it’s there”
Comments?
I understand there will be some situations where vehicle/moto drivers interfere with the race and the best racing line results in the racer getting an advantage. That said, IMO, Alistar’s behavior at the challenge race was cheating.
He looses credibility points in my book. I have less confidence in him as a clean and honest sporting competitor.
edit:remove comment about a failed clen test in mexico never proven to be alistar, only rumors.
Anyone watch the British Mixed Relay champs on the BBC yesterday?
Interesting comments from AB on Moto drafting. He was part of the commentary team (he’s a pretty good analyst by the way).
“That’s part of racing and you use it if it’s there”
Comments?
I understand there will be some situations where vehicle/moto drivers interfere with the race and the best racing line results in the racer getting an advantage. That said, IMO, Alistar’s behavior at the challenge race was cheating.
He looses credibility points in my book. I have less confidence that his long rumored and covered up clen positive in Mexico was an accident now.
Hey let’s not confuse good steak and drafting motos.
Seriously though, responding to this thread in general, and watching some of the coverage at the Vuelta, it almost seems like the pro cyclists and the camera motos all have some kind of a gentleman’s agreement. The drivers and camera guys try to get close enough to the race without impacting it to send good coverage back home. The riders in turn expect the motos to stay out of the way, and among each other, it “feel” like they don’t zig zag across the road just to latch on to the moto draft when in a breakaway, and the rider tends to stay on his side of the road and not try to get an unfair benefit on peers in the peloton who may not have the moto near them. Maybe I am not seeing enough of cameras of the cameras, but every time I see a camera moto in the protour it is largely no interfering with the outcome of the race and the riders seem to also try to not keep chasing across the road to get the moto draft. Maybe I am not seeing enough, but I am certain that if any rider had an Alistair Brownlee reputation on moto drafting the other athletes would be all over the organizers on it. It’s funny because pro tour riders might be the biggest dopers out there, but there are other aspects of how riders behave on the tarmac with each other that seems to be cast in concrete between them. I am yet to hear for a protour rider who has a reputation as a moto drafter!
To me that’s culture and the setup of each sport. Cycling is a “group” sport. You are one of 200 people in the peloton where Froome is no better than his 4th domestique and if Froome crosses some competitive line, he’ll have 20 guys in that peloton give him the business.
Triathlon pro side is so individual focused that there is no singular common goal. No one can bond the group together to say hey “you know this zig zagging to moto pace off the moto looks like shit”. AB will shrug his shoulders when some pro on the Internet calls him out or even there at a race. That’s triathlons problem. We as a sport don’t even care enough to fix this problem, we put it on other group to fix it themselves.
Pro peloton is really a well oiled working machine. 20 different teams all trying to beat each other up but also playing by gentlemen rules that if aren’t followed, you’ll note that athlete won’t do it again.
So as I said earlier if a race moto is maneuvering to stay clear and we have athlete zig zagging to catch the draft, that’s a selfish asshole move. If your race moto is doing nothing to keep it clean and racer has no real choice but to just sit there, then I have no issue with it.
With regards to the hip operation, he said he is just off crutches. The aim was to basically reattach his hamstring to his hip. The timing was essentially to allow him to be good to go next year but he did mention 6-8 months recovery. I have a feeling from this and other comments his Full Ironman debut is on hold for now.
This whole “athlete responsibility” is BS. It is a cop out in my opinion to make it on the athlete. To me simply accept it as part of racing and media/safety requirements for today’s races.
For future reference, comments like this should be put in pink, otherwise people would think you were actually serious, and not just pretending to be a tool who supports cheating
Edited to add: for clarification, what irritates me about your statement is the fact that you say that athletes shouldn’t be blamed for cheating when everybody does it, or it’s something that’s low-hanging fruit at a race.
Based on what you read here, anywhere from 10 to 50% of the dudes in my age group take supplemental testosterone, and from my own personal experience probably about another 50% of them draft. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve heard people say exactly what you say: that it’s the fault of the race director for not… testing, in the case of dopers, or setting up the course in a manner that drafting wouldn’t occur, and doing any and every thing they can do to avoid blaming the athlete, yey when it comes right down to it, it’s a choice the athlete makes to dope, to draft, or to Moto draft…
It doesn’t matter if the course is set up badly. It doesn’t matter if the Moto is right there. It doesn’t matter if the others in your age group are taking t, it’s still the athletes fault if they choose to do something illegal.
He looses credibility points in my book. I have less confidence that his long rumored and covered up clen positive in Mexico was an accident now.
Do you have any credible sources for this?
Comments like this really annoy me. It’s not the topic at hand, so if you want to discuss it you should start a new thread on it where it can be addressed and demonstrated to be complete bollocks.
It’s like doing a turd in a swimming pool just as you’re getting out, when really you should do it whilst you’re rolling around in a pig sty.
He looses credibility points in my book. I have less confidence that his long rumored and covered up clen positive in Mexico was an accident now.
Do you have any credible sources for this?
Comments like this really annoy me. It’s not the topic at hand, so if you want to discuss it you should start a new thread on it where it can be addressed and demonstrated to be complete bollocks.
It’s like doing a turd in a swimming pool just as you’re getting out, when really you should do it whilst you’re rolling around in a pig sty.
Fair enough, edited my comment to be a reflection on his character and not attribute the failed clen test to Alistair far beyond what the known evidence states.
I understand there will be some situations where vehicle/moto drivers interfere with the race and the best racing line results in the racer getting an advantage. That said, IMO, Alistar’s behavior at the challenge race was cheating.
He looses credibility points in my book. I have less confidence in him as a clean and honest sporting competitor.
edit:remove comment about a failed clen test in mexico never proven to be alistar, only rumors.
Hah, not more of these conspiracy theories again.
Last time these were posted I recall it was tied into his supposed shift from ITU to long course as a way to ‘cover’ it up. I guess his appearance at Leeds roundly laughed those out of the house.
British Triathlon categorically stated that it was not one of their elite performance athletes.