Any first-hand observations from this past weekend’s IM CDA relating to the new GTG rules? Did athletes behave any differently? Did pack formation seem about the same? How did the stand down stops work? Just curious if, overall, things looked the same or different.
Peanut,
I was there racing and saw many packs of bikers with
GTG riding by and no stand downs.
My thoughts, a new way of racing and letting everyone have fun and do what you want.
Again, I saw many (officials) ride by packs and
keep on going.
I did not personally see any stand downs or know
of any penalties given. I did see ear phones on the
run and a guy without a shirt on.
maybe someone out there saw some stand downs.
I saw one guy with a red slash on his number and another guy wearing headphones on the run. I saw the GTG motorbike three or four times on the bike and did see them giving out “warnings” a couple of times.
It was my first IM and my first race in the US so I can’t say anything about USAT. I came out of the water at 1:15 so I was pretty much in the middle of the pack for the bike and I wouldn’t say that I saw any blatant drafting. I did see packs and was probably in a couple (for a short period of time), but they were more a function of the number of people on the road, rather than drafting. The packs seemed to me to be pretty transient and it didn’t look like people were trying to draft.
What was missing at IM CDA was crowd control on the stretch up through the main street.
Happened to be right there when an Ironman “team cheer/support/family” member - stepped off the curb - looking away from the bikes coming down hill into town - right into the path of a very unfortunate young lady named Lisa - who hit her at about 40 mph.
She had less than a second to react - just no enough time. At this stage she was 12 miles into the race - she had the wonderful experience of sliding on her back, legs, head and arms for about 60 feet, where we picked her up of the road so she would not get hit or present a problem for the other riders, washed her down using our own water - cleaned her up and fixed her bike for her.
We stayed with her for as long as she was prepared to sit there - to ensure she had all of her senses and was capable of riding on. It was a huge impact.
The pedestrian …still lying on the sidewalk when the ambulance took her away about 30 minutes later.
I am not saying the spectator deserved it - she ended up having a shitty day - but…this is a race folks - educate your family and friends that are attending and please IMNA - impose upon the race directors that a 70 year old woman on her own stopping pedestrian traffic through one of the fastest sections of town - needs support - someone to scream at the spectators to NOT CROSS - rather than ask them politely in a very small voice.
Same applies to the young kids they put on these intersections that aremore interested in watching the race and talking to their friends on the sidewalk.
We train all year - pay a lot of money and simply expect the course to be safely marshalled
I totally agree! Maybe they should rope off that section and only allow people to cross by using the crosswalk! It seems like as much money as all of us pay safety should #1.
I did see some stand downs, however just like last year I was passed by several big packs (6-10 riders) on the bike. Those who draft will draft no matter who is the officials are at the race. It didn’t have any impact on my race and I caught most of them on the run, so for what it’s worth the race officiating was just like last year.
Good job to all who joined the 140.6 club!
I felt a whole lot less concerned than in previous years when the crowd pressure forced me to ride in near-draft or stagger mode (too many bikes on too little road as usual for the first 30 miles or so) thanks to the announced referreeing policy of looking at the overall circumstances. I didn’t see any stand-downs but neither did I see any blatant drafting, and there were quite a few officials passing by on the motorbike. So I like the attitude, which seems to duplicate what I experienced in Almere last year: the criterion for a drafting penalty is whether the rider is seeking to gain an advantage. Subjective, I know, but still the appropriate measure.
Any first-hand observations from this past weekend’s IM CDA relating to the new GTG rules? Did athletes behave any differently? Did pack formation seem about the same? How did the stand down stops work? Just curious if, overall, things looked the same or different.
I was talking to a couple of the officials after and during the race. They did hand out penalties but the key elements are common sense, intent and, advantage. If you are going to finish in 16 hours and in the 30-34 age group it is unlikely you will get a penalty unless someone is pushing you in a wheel chair.