Insight on Team USA - Pontevedra Roll Down Slot

Triathlon Forum
1

Hi all, first time, long time.

I received an email from USAT offering me an AG Worlds roll down slot recently. At first I thought it was spam.

I didn’t do that well at USA AG Nationals, placed 20s/30s, I was happy with it, but nothing to be competitive at the Worlds level. I also age up this year so I am more competitive in the older bracket.

I am lucky I could jump on this offer if I felt it was worth my time, but like everything else it seems to be another triathlon pyramid scheme. I see the mandatory deposit, there’s going to be race fees, uniform fees, transportation, flights, food, hotel fees, plus any other hidden USAT fees.

I did some googling, found a few decade old threads on this topic here, and almost nothing in the USAT docs. So I am here to ask for some insights on people’s experience and costs with the Team USA roll down slows for AG worlds.

Thanks!

2

Like any big time race halfway across the world, it is likely to be an expensive experience when you add everything up.

I did it when it was in Chicago and I lived within easy driving distance, so it wasn’t terribly expensive.

It was a cool race to do for sure. The roll down slot is no different than a non-roll-down slot. If a vacation to Spain combined with a highly competitive race sounds good to you and you have the money to do it, I’d go for it.

3

Hi all, first time, long time.

I received an email from USAT offering me an AG Worlds roll down slot recently. At first I thought it was spam.

I didn’t do that well at USA AG Nationals, placed 20s/30s, I was happy with it, but nothing to be competitive at the Worlds level. I also age up this year so I am more competitive in the older bracket.

I am lucky I could jump on this offer if I felt it was worth my time, but like everything else it seems to be another triathlon pyramid scheme. I see the mandatory deposit, there’s going to be race fees, uniform fees, transportation, flights, food, hotel fees, plus any other hidden USAT fees.

I did some googling, found a few decade old threads on this topic here, and almost nothing in the USAT docs. So I am here to ask for some insights on people’s experience and costs with the Team USA roll down slows for AG worlds.

Thanks!

Ya…I see your point with all the fees and cost. I have not been on Team USA, but did qualify last year with a 2nd place AG finish at Duathlon Nationals at the Standard Distance. I was interested in doing the World event. My mentor and team mate had done World a few times. She said that the first year on the Team had a lot of stuff to get, but after that you didn’t need to get any new uniforms, etc. so it wasn’t that bad after that.

Others who have been on Team USA can give you more information on that. I am responding to comment on the your 20/30 placing and not feeling competitive at the World level. My AG only had 17 people at the event I qualified in. Since the top 18 qualify for worlds, everyone who finished the race qualified. Yes, there were some really fast guys at that race. Half a dozen of them had done worlds previously and were back to qualify to go again, but only those who finished in the top three and made the podium felt like they had accomplished what they came there to do and everyone else felt like they had come up short. I felt that it only made sense to have the top three qualify for Worlds. I was wishing that they would offer a free trip with a +1 to Worlds for the overall male and female at Nationals, a free trip for the top AG winners, and cover all the uniforms, fees, and team equipment for 2nd and 3rd place winners. Place 4-18 could do the pyramid scheme. We don’t need 18 people to complete at Worlds. I looked up past results and for duathlon, Team USA is lucky to get 2-3 people to travel to Worlds and some of those Worlds events also have 17 people or (less) in the event. So…people who were placing 3-4 place at national were placing 2-3 at Worlds. I figure that if they make Nationals an event where you can not only get a roll down slot for being 20-30 but where you can actually win a trip to world if you win that it would bring out a lot more of the top tier athletes and that the size of the fields would increase from 17 people to hundreds of people. The increase in the size of the event might be enough to pay the way to Worlds for the winners. The cost of the national meet might look more like Ironman prices than your local tri club event, but there would not be people asking themselves if there is any value in Team USA or competing at Worlds. Nationals would be a big thing and even if we only get 3-4 people from each ag to Worlds we would have a more competitive 3-4 than what USAT get to the World events now, and it would be an great event for the team USA member that go. If there can be hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money for the pro’s at big evens I would think that they would be able to put a few hundred thousand up place spots to Team USA and Worlds from a big National event?

4

I didn’t do that well at USA AG Nationals, placed 20s/30s, I was happy with it, but nothing to be competitive at the Worlds level. I also age up this year so I am more competitive in the older bracket.

I am lucky I could jump on this offer if I felt it was worth my time, but like everything else it seems to be another triathlon pyramid scheme. I see the mandatory deposit, there’s going to be race fees, uniform fees, transportation, flights, food, hotel fees, plus any other hidden USAT fees.

First of all congrats, I’d do it if you’re remotely interested. I’ve never seen a full squad in an AG ever… generally if you’re in a roll down slot, you’re going to get an invite eventually.

At Worlds if you go, check your ego… there will 2/3 athletes from each country that will be really good, but there will also be a bunch of people in your range you will be racing against as well. My point is you’ll be even further from the podium but you willl most likely be middle of the field I’d say from my experiences.

You nailed the money part. The $75 deposit fee to secure your spot, you’ll have to buy a Zoot (current official kit) TeamUSA race kit, a parade kit if you want one… there’s a parade of nations before the events at Worlds that is pretty cool that they like everyone to match somewhat. Then there’s the actual race entry… the Standard tends to be around $300-$400 but that’s just my best guess with what I’ve paid over the years.

TeamUSA does provide some services but I’ve never really used them… team doctor, masseusse, bike mechanic. Generally there is a meeting or two and they’ll go over some course stuff, some odd rules they may be enforcing, generally a pre-ride of the bike course if its possible… if you qualified I say give it a go if you can afford it.

I bailed on Spain because my wife up and decided she wants to do a triathlon… probably Cozumel this fall and I’m a little done with TeamUSA racing.

Outside of the travel there really are no hidden TeamUSA fees… I raced in Chicago, Cozumel, Rotterdam, Gold Coast and Laussane.

5

I am Team GB rather than USA but I expect it’s similar.

I would say if you go expecting to fend for yourself (in terms of cost and support) as you would at any other race you will have a better experience.

The first time I went to the European Championships having qualified for Team GB I was pretty disappointed. I naively thought that I’d be part of some great team environment and British Triathlon would be rolling out the red carpet to support us all. The reality was that apart from chatting in passing with other GB athletes who were staying at the same hotel it never felt like I was part of a team. I never met or spoke to the team manager (although I had to pay a fee, something like £10, to cover the cost of them being there) and there was no extra support in terms of logistics, mechanics etc.

The second time I looked at it as a chance to have a holiday somewhere new, test myself against a higher quality field and get some cool pictures of me in my GB trisuit, and I had a very nice time.

6

I didn’t do that well at USA AG Nationals, placed 20s/30s, I was happy with it, but nothing to be competitive at the Worlds level. I also age up this year so I am more competitive in the older bracket.

I am lucky I could jump on this offer if I felt it was worth my time, but like everything else it seems to be another triathlon pyramid scheme. I see the mandatory deposit, there’s going to be race fees, uniform fees, transportation, flights, food, hotel fees, plus any other hidden USAT fees.

First of all congrats, I’d do it if you’re remotely interested. I’ve never seen a full squad in an AG ever… generally if you’re in a roll down slot, you’re going to get an invite eventually.

At Worlds if you go, check your ego… there will 2/3 athletes from each country that will be really good, but there will also be a bunch of people in your range you will be racing against as well. My point is you’ll be even further from the podium but you willl most likely be middle of the field I’d say from my experiences.

You nailed the money part. The $75 deposit fee to secure your spot, you’ll have to buy a Zoot (current official kit) TeamUSA race kit, a parade kit if you want one… there’s a parade of nations before the events at Worlds that is pretty cool that they like everyone to match somewhat. Then there’s the actual race entry… the Standard tends to be around $300-$400 but that’s just my best guess with what I’ve paid over the years.

TeamUSA does provide some services but I’ve never really used them… team doctor, masseusse, bike mechanic. Generally there is a meeting or two and they’ll go over some course stuff, some odd rules they may be enforcing, generally a pre-ride of the bike course if its possible… if you qualified I say give it a go if you can afford it.

I bailed on Spain because my wife up and decided she wants to do a triathlon… probably Cozumel this fall and I’m a little done with TeamUSA racing.

Outside of the travel there really are no hidden TeamUSA fees… I raced in Chicago, Cozumel, Rotterdam, Gold Coast and Laussane.

I echo this - if you are interested in racing and vacationing in and around Pontevedra, go for it. I went for multisport worlds as part of Team USA in 2019, it’s a delightful city, and we also toured Portugal and Madrid while we were there.

I personally find the extra $ I spend on Team USA things to be worth the experience - that usually means the race kit, parade kit (basically shorts and a t shirt) and the team deposit. I’ve used the bike mechanic (always fun when you pull a valve core out of your rear wheel 45 minutes before transition closes) and it is neat to have the Team USA support staff along the course cheering you on.

Don’t go into it expecting to be treated like an elite athlete - we are, after all, amateurs - but it’s a cool experience that I personally find to be worth the money if it’s in a location I’d like to visit, and if the race format is one I’m interested in. Thus why I went to Slovakia but not Abu Dhabi in 2022.

7

I raced for Team USA in Abu Dhabi and it was one of the best sports experiences I ever had and well worth the money I spent. Pontevedra sounds pretty awesome. I wish I had a slot. My advice is to go for it if you are excited to get the uniform, go to the parade, be in a really competitive race, and go to the location. If you are not excited for those things, then it is probably not worth the money for you. But if you are excited for those things, as I was, then you should go for it.

8

If you age up this year it’s likely the roll down was based on that… that’s how I qualified in 2009 :wink:
21 in 45-9AG but 14 in the qualifying group for 50-4.

Costs are relatively high. Both the ITU Worlds I attempted were the most competitive races I’ve done, and terrific experiences, well worth the money. Spain should be a fine race, they are keen on triathlon there…

I used the Team USA mechanic at one race, and got cheered by Team staffers during the race, honestly that was better support than I expected as an AG packfiller… In Lausanne there was a Team party which was fun.

9

Thanks a lot for starting this thread. I also recently received an email letting me know that I got a roll down slot. This thread has spurred me on to sign up! It will be the first year in quite a few that I will be focusing on Olympic distance races. Plus, it will be the first time I’ll be competing in a World Championship of this format. So, while it wasn’t planned, I am excited for it!!

10

If you are not racing for a world podium then it doesn’t matter whether you’re a rolldown or a top nationals finisher, it’s all the same team. I’ve raced worlds a couple of times including Pontevedra 2019. Yes there are Team USA costs to registration, uniform etc. but they are spelled out so you know what exactly you’re getting into. For foreign locations the travel/hotel is the main expense. Only you can decide if the adventure of travel and racing in an international field is worth it for you. It’s an emotional rather than a rational justification and if you have to explain it, you won’t get it (tell my wife). I loved it! Just being around people from all over the world who share your passion is a buzz. It’s up to you how much you want to engage with other Team USA athletes or indeed athletes you bump into from other countries. I hung out with a Japanese athlete I met at my hotel one trip and the only words we mutually understood were “Shimano” and “Di2”. Pontevedra is a beautiful city and they had a fantastic after-party concert in 2019. Also the first time in my life eating pigs’ ears, they were chewy.