I was at a local sprint race a week ago that was sanctioned by USAT. Small race, one official there in the black and white striped shirt with official USAT emblem and ball cap on. The official stated to the RD that there is a new USAT rule to be implemented very soon stating that bike shoes are NO longer allowed to be attached to the pedals on the bike in T1. The official says this is no longer a call to be made by the RD, but will be a hard and fast rule set by USAT now moving forward.
Has anyone heard or read of this impending new rule???
Interesting… I’ve not heard that one, wonder if it is really the case?
A specific ref that works some races I’ve done this year is telling athletes they have to their races number on the back of their hands if they wear long sleeved suits.
That would be a new for me as well… if its really a new “rule”.
No…but, if it’s true…most triathletes will get some free speed.
I’m sure it’s not what you meant, but some of those athletes that thought they were gaining time with shoes clipped in but lack the requisite technique will be gaining some free speed…
I know it’s faster if you know what you’re doing but from the couple of times I’ve watched races, a lot of people were just losing time with their attempts to gain speed in T1 & T2 through fancy shoe tricks. The worst was a race with a bit of an uphill right before the dismount line, I’d estimate that about half of those that tried to get out of their shoes before dismounting just messed it up and lost time. They hadn’t scoped out the finish carefully enough to realize if you’re going to get out of your shoes on the fly, do it before the hill.
Personally though, if true I think this rule is a bit of overreach and folks should be able to leave shoes clipped in if they want to.
I am for anything that makes races safer even if a bunch of grumpy change resistant triathletes complain.
However in this case, I cannot see the benefit. You either have to run across a variety of surfaces in slick biking shoes with a big clip on the bottom of it and then wobble around after jumping on the bike as you try to clip or you run barefoot across a variety of surfaces and then jump on the bike and wobble trying to get your feet in your shoes. I have seen a lot of nervous volunteers at the exit of T1, but I have never seen a safety problem from barefoot vs shoes.
Frankly, the biggest danger I see out of T1 is pretty steep hills right as you are supposed to mount your bike. As much as I hate to say it, I would rather have T1 be longer and you have to run your bike up the hill rather than have a bunch of people mounting at the bottom of a hill as this is what creates accidents and safety risk. For example, I would like it to be that there has to be 20 yards of ground that is -3% to 1% grade immediately following a bike mount line.
If this is true, it’s only incentive for more races to drop USAT. This is stupid.
amen to this. to me this is another iteration of the “guilty until proven innocent” (you’re not skilled enough to do this) mindset that makes a sweeping rule for all because of a problem with well under 50% of the field.
peggy
Interesting… I’ve not heard that one, wonder if it is really the case?
A specific ref that works some races I’ve done this year is telling athletes they have to their races number on the back of their hands if they wear long sleeved suits.
That would be a new for me as well… if its really a new “rule”.
there is no rule regarding body marking being required at all. i don’t even mess with it at races anymore.
Interesting… I’ve not heard that one, wonder if it is really the case?
A specific ref that works some races I’ve done this year is telling athletes they have to their races number on the back of their hands if they wear long sleeved suits.
That would be a new for me as well… if its really a new “rule”.
there is no rule regarding body marking being required at all. i don’t even mess with it at races anymore.
I’m going to go in the opposite direction and say this is unsafe. People will try and run with bike shoes and fall all over the place especially if it’s wet.
Or, that this is a stupid rule and I hope it’s not true.
there is no rule regarding body marking being required at all. i don’t even mess with it at races anymore.
You should at least bring a marker to races and mark yourself up. Having those numbers is helpful to the race organizers, especially for backup timing and announcing. I know this first hand working at local triathlons.
I was at a local sprint race a week ago that was sanctioned by USAT. Small race, one official there in the black and white striped shirt with official USAT emblem and ball cap on. The official stated to the RD that there is a new USAT rule to be implemented very soon stating that bike shoes are NO longer allowed to be attached to the pedals on the bike in T1. The official says this is no longer a call to be made by the RD, but will be a hard and fast rule set by USAT now moving forward.
Has anyone heard or read of this impending new rule???