There’s been talk on Facebook about ex pros racing in AG…Why not have an ex pro group that would race against each other ???
I see nothing wrong with an ex pro racing AG. They started as an AGer, and end as an AGer.
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There’s been talk on Facebook about ex pros racing in AG…Why not have an ex pro group that would race against each other ???
Or you can take away the pro class like cross country skiing and road racing (outside of USA). If you are fast you will win money and start first no matter what card you carry.
There’s been talk on Facebook about ex pros racing in AG…Why not have an ex pro group that would race against each other ???
because once they are EX Pros, they are EX Pros. as in, no longer professional, as in age groupers.
or as others have stated, no age categories, no Pro - AG division, first to the post gets the glory
in my local Masters swimming I come up against a guy called Steve Holland, who by the time he arrived at Montreal for the '76 Olympics had set 12 world records…
let’s just say, we are in the same age group, but I’m not even in the same race… or even the same universe.
Why not? Matt Bindi swims masters. Same deal.
Every time this question comes up I wonder the same thing:
I am operating under the assumption that people have an issue with former elite license holders racing as amateurs because they believe that elite license holders somehow have an unfair advantage of some sort, otherwise it really makes no sense whatsoever to cry foul
I then have to wonder why or how somebody would feel that such am automatic unfair advantage exists solely because an athlete former held an elite license. The fact that somebody’s card says “ELITE” instead of “ADULT” and that their USAT number is different has no immediate impact on their ability to race and train. There are quite a few elite license holders who have other jobs, while on the flip side, there are a number of AGers who have varying degrees of a lack of a job due to triathlon. An elite license does not automatically confer anything onto an athlete except the ability to start in a different wave
I don’t think it’s really about people missing out on Kona due to ex pros. Triathlon seems to a bit unique whereby expros tend to hang about the sport, this causes issues with:
- Most other sports pros do it retire and if they stay involved it is through broadcasting coaching etc.
- Ex pros continue on and this annoys some people as they feel this is robbing them of an opportunity.
- Some of these ex pros are like the high school jock trying to relive the glory days.
For most people it has neither positve or negative impact, but the odd whinger or I love me expro who are all tiny minorities leave a bad taste in the mouth
There’s been talk on Facebook about ex pros racing in AG…Why not have an ex pro group that would race against each other ???
Why should it be a problem if they don’t have a Pro card? If there is an elite wave they should race in it to avoid sandbagging.
Road racing as in cycling I assume? So no categories, do they just have smaller capped fields then? How does that work?
if you want a race with so many classes that almost everyone can trophy I suggest the Tour du Gruene in texas.
Road racing as in cycling I assume? So no categories, do they just have smaller capped fields then? How does that work?
The whole pro vs AG is a very USA in general and triathlon world wide special divide between athletes.
If you are a fast skier, you are a fast skier no matter what. Then you can start with other fast skiers and fight for the overall prize. So you have results overall and after age group. You will see the same in running.
Just check the results from Vasaloppet http://results.vasaloppet.se/2014/?lang=SE&pid=leaderboard
I really do not see why we have a pro category. The fastest racers should get the prize for overall results and then you have AG results also. It is working in other sports.
Hey, I think every age group under 45 is a bit fake in that the best athletes in those age groups are racing pro (like Halvard said). 40-44 has Cam Brown he just ran a 2:44. Once you get to 45-49 all the best athletes are truly racing age group. Or actually in W45-49 Natasha Badmann is still racing pro…so maybe you have to wait till 50. In any case, the ex pros deserve to race. My friend Dave Harju at the age of 49 finally came back to racing age group. He won the age group at St. Croix and Eagleman. Good for him. He has a full plate in life like most age groupers. In any case, the world is not fair. As Scott Molina once said something along the lines of, “I spent my entire adult life being a pro triathlete, so don’t blame me for having all this base. If you want you guys can give throw in your MBAs and Medical degrees and associated incomes and we’ll call it even”…which I feel is totally valid.
I also agree that ex pros who are still competing after racing professional, should be able to race in AG…
Calling all ex-pros in the m40-44 AG. Please sign up for all of the races that I have on my calendar. Right now I am apparently losing to the second string, yet awesome, athletes and I would love to lose against the very best in the field. Further, I would enjoy learning more about the trade in which we call sport. See you in transition.
If you need a new category for ex pro athletes because it’s unfair, then what about AG’ers who don’t have a job, that’s also unfair. Or AG’ers who don’t have a wife and family that takes up part of their free time, isn’t that also unfair? What about people that live in better climates, also unfair? Maybe a category for high budget and low budget athletes because otherwise it’s not fair either, right?
Life will always be unfair if you want to see it that way. I’m OK with that, after all I race to challenge myself to be the best I can be with the time, budget, and priorities that I have. Whether others that are faster or better are now ranked ahead of me or in a different category doesn’t matter.
Ya, sure throwing all the pros into the regular wave starts with the other age groupers, especially women, would be a great idea.
I think you’d still need to have an open elite category with a qualifying time.
Or maybe open up the standards for the elite license and have larger elite waves. Make it 1 races at 10% or top 10 amateur at any race with a purse over 10k, top 5 with purse over $5k. You could have some nice swim packs and it would reduce course congestion quite a bit. SO elite would then encompass the FOP age group athletes, but those fast AG’rs won’t lose the quality of racing they would if they went pro now.
Then just pull those that win money (top 3, 5, 10, etc.) out of the age group awards.
It would eliminate the ambiguity of how you really performed. So did I finish 16th overall or 5th overall? I like to think I finished 16th overall and I’m more proud of that than 5th amateur.
Since USAT has no mandatory category system as USCF (cycling) does, going from “amateur” to “elite” is an elective decision. Some amateurs out there could enter into the “elite” division if they choose to upgrade, but have made decisions not to based on personal factors. Other amateurs chose to race at the next level when it is not absolutely in their benefit either monetarily or otherwise and only do it to see how they stack up against the best. Since it’s a choice to become an “elite” or not, I don’t think it’s a big deal if an athletes chooses to downgrade and follow the USAT rules regarding the drop down.
Personally, I found that many of the athletes who raced at the top level kind of take the sport less seriously once they downgraded. I think the issue that affects more people are those on the cusp of being “elite” and should upgrade but choose not to, not the other way around.
There’s another topic board for this type of post…are you worried about not getting another ribbon or something?
Get used to it… I have a feeling in the next two years that number is really going to climn