FYI - IM Bike without shoes

Triathlon Forum
1

This an extract from the race report of IM Australia on xtri.com

What can you say about this guy ? I bet he doesn’t make that mistake again…

Out on the bike course, competitor number 61, Yuji Adachi of Japan, was having a day to forget. A more practical application for the expression ‘S**t Happens’ would be hard to find. Yuji was easy to spot amongst the 1500 other cyclists – he was the one who wasn’t wearing any shoes.

“Where’s your shoes mate?” (Well, you have to ask, don’t you?)
“I left them in my hotel!” was the reply followed, somewhat redundantly, by “I am very unhappy.”

‘Nuff respect to Yuji, however. Not only did he ride the entire 180km with nothing between his feet and his clip-on pedals, but he also recorded a 5:24 split, the 200th fastest of the day! Then, how about this, he tucked his battered plates into his running shoes and knocked out a 3:08 marathon to finish in 9:30 and snag a Hawaii qualification slot. Did anyone ever deserve a ticket to Kona more?

2

Why wouldn’t this guy have worn his running shoes?

By the way, I’d have to see a picture to really believe this. The whole story seems a bit sketchy.

3

There is a picture in the XTRI.com report.

4

Damn good thing he remembered to take off his PCs.

Bob Sigerson

5

Doesn’t that violate the equipment rule? I thought it said you had to wear a shirt and shoes for the bike and run.

6

That sounds so hard to believe that somebody could have biked a 5:30 with no shoes. I just read the story and I guess its true, He should have gotten the Hawaii slot just for that. I couldn’t bike 5:30 with shoes and a tailwind the whole way!!

8

I think April Fool’s Day falls on the 5th in Australia.

9

Why wouldn’t this guy have worn his running shoes?

By the way, I’d have to see a picture to really believe this. The whole story seems a bit sketchy.

Here’s the Pic:

http://www.xtri.com/pic.asp?url=2003/04/903-8.jpg

Does anyone know if T1 and T2 are in different places at OZ? Otherwise, why didn’t he use his running shoes?

11

T1 and T2 are in different places at Forster, at least a few km apart.

And yes it is a legit story. At the awards dinner on the Monday night following the race, Mike Reilly got the guy up on stage. Not only is he a pretty damn good triathlete, but he also entertained the crowd with his story. He was presented with a special award for his efforts.