so, pre-race many had been eyeing the unprecedentedly large field and speculating that the super-crowded swim and first half of the bike would be crazy, if not dangerous. i have a few friends that raced but aren’t back yet - has anyone heard how things went?
-mike
Here we go again - another anti-Canadian post. 
I don’t think that the swim would have been that bad. I’ve only done the race once and it was in 1999 and there were around 1800 starters that year. The beach start is so wide that I had lots of room to swim and I had the least congested swim of any IM that I’ve ever done. If you add in another 400 swimmers it would be more crowded but not unduly so. It is the first section of the bike through to the base of Richter pass that could be nasty but likely moreso for the racers that swim from 1:05 - 1:25. I love that race and plan on doing it again sometime in the next few years so I hope it doesn’t grow to 2500
…cerveloguy…how is this thread anti canadian ? Its just an observation about a race in Canada.
Personally, having done both IMC and IMLP, the swim course at IMC is a lot more civilized.
"…cerveloguy…how is this thread anti canadian ? "
Duh Dev - did you not notice this sign after my post -
is the computer language sign for a smile, meaning my comment was a joke.
Let me show it again a few times so you won’t forget. - :), :), :), :), :), etc
Got ya this time didn’t I Dev.
:), :), :), :), :), etc
I thought you worked with computers? :), :), :), etc. etc.
"Duh Dev "
But then I shouldn’t be so hard on you.
I finally figured who you are when saw you in Brockville when you took 3rd over all and picked up your bronze ribbon at the awards. I took 3rd in old guy AG and got a similiar looking ribbon. I was going to walk up to you and introduce myself to you and congratulate on your bronze with my ribbon around my neck as a joke, but you had already disappeared by then.
Might see you in Ottawa. I’ll be the guy after finishing the sprint and then sitting at the Royal Oak patio for lunch raising a pint to you and my wife as you both struggle thru the half IM.
remember - :), :),
Aside from the tacks on the bike course?
I know of two people who seriously crashed on the bike, one to the hospital. The other got an ambulance ride but was released. He’s not sure what he hit (bump/hole/something else). Haven’t got the full story on the more serious accident.
clm
I saw packs of up to 50 cyclists all the way to Osoyoos. I was in a car following the action. Drafting… unavoidable.
I’m pretty sure I saw a few stand downs from the draft marshals… but really… who do you stop in a pack of 50? Getting a penalty in that mess, I would have been pissed.
Glad the pro’s got a 15min head start though… they had clear sailing.
I saw packs of up to 50 cyclists all the way to Osoyoos. I was in a car following the action. Drafting… unavoidable.
I’m pretty sure I saw a few stand downs from the draft marshals… but really… who do you stop in a pack of 50? Getting a penalty in that mess, I would have been pissed.
Glad the pro’s got a 15min head start though… they had clear sailing.
Can’t say I like that 15 minute head start idea. I imagine it would be good to provide an opportunity for some kick ass aspiring age-groupers the chance to do battle with the pro’s - it makes the race interesting.
Is the mass start really a problem for the pro’s? If you are a pro, should you not be able to pull ahead of the rest within 400m and certainly be well clear 5 km into the bike?
swim: very wide starting area; i did not feel crowded or beat up at all. i am not a strong swimmer, but came out of the water with 1:10 on my watch. clear water all but eliminated any feelings of claustrophobia.
bike: i saw a few isolated drafters, but no large packs. don’t know if that had anything to do with where i rode relative to the field, but there were enough short to medium climbs to break things up. beautiful ride that i enjoyed thoroughly. did not feel like it was too crowded.
i think the single loop format for both swim and bike make the large field possible. race support was outstanding: plenty of food/drink and great volunteers/crowds. i’d recommend this race to anyone.
Not all pro’s are fast swimmers.
Marilyn Macdondald split 1:10, but ended up finishing 4th overall. She would have had to battle the AG masses.
I think it makes a fairer race for the pro’s… who are going for the money.
.
Is the mass start really a problem for the pro’s?
I think it’s more for the pro women.
I’ve done 5 IM mass starts. I don’t mind the swim congestion and have never had any trouble. What I hate about the mass start is the first hour or so on the bike. It’s too crowded. I will not return to M-dot racing until they start using wave starts.
Whether you have one or two loops, very very few people in either the swim or the bike will get lapped. Top pros swim 48 min, so even with no headstart, they barely lap the 90 min swimmers.
On the bike, the only ones the pros lap are the >8.5 hour cyclists. As such, the 2 loop format does not create congestion.
What does create congestion are:
1500 people leaving the water beteen 58 min at 76 min.
Having an “out and back section” anywhere in the first 70K of the ride.
Dev
“I know of two people who seriously crashed on the bike, one to the hospital.”
are you just everywhere on the west coast? hope your friends are ok
Pardon moi, but if a pro is swimming slower than 56 minutes they deserve to suffer the washing machine action. Even a pro woman should be able to seperate herself from the masses. But that’s just my opinion - although my opinion is the only correct one.
Why do they deserver that?
Why should they train thier asses off to have thier race ended by some overzealous AG athletes? They train insanely hard to win a few bucks and a bit of glory. Get your head out of your ass.
BTW, only 4 out of the 23 women pro’s swam under 56mins.
Why do they deserver that?
Why should they train thier asses off to have thier race ended by some overzealous AG athletes? They train insanely hard to win a few bucks and a bit of glory. Get your head out of your ass.
BTW, only 4 out of the 23 women pro’s swam under 56mins.
Sorry for my delay in answering this post…my head was in my ass.
This is triathlon. SWIM, bike, run. If a person cannot hold their own in the swim, I believe they should not receive preferential treatment to overcome their shortcomings.
School of hard knocks baby! They should spend more time in the pool rather than complain about the mass start.
Sorry for my delay in answering this post…my head was in my ass.
Beautifully played. Well done.
Guess what? Next year, the demand will likely be even greater and they’ll probably allow more people to participate. Chicago will add in hundreds more. IMWI will set out a minute faster than last year. Everyone will complain, and then eventually fork over their money. It’s an annual, growing tradition.
Sorry to jump into your argument… but i think the main reason WTC went to the 15 minute head start isn’t the swim for the pro women - it’s the bike.
Since the pro women are really only racing each other (for money) having to negotiate around 300 to 500 AGers (mostly men) over the first 40 miles was a huge effort for many of them and made the event much more difficult for the women who were strong riders to have any open road to ride with.