Train wreck you could make the argumentabout F1 being the only car racing allowed. PaulF I think you missed the point. Drafting is allowed and therefore if you and some of your mates work together and ride half the field off your wheels it allowed.
Age groupers are not allowed to draft except when passing and then you only have 15 seconds to get past the person in front.
I’m surprised at how few times countries could have athletes work together to ensure an extra spot in the olympic field by winning Pan Am’s or a few other races and did not.
The team aspect only goes so far though. To get into the olympics you have to be ranked in the top 100 or so in the world and your country might only have 1 or 2 slots. If I was selecting athletes and knew athlete X always finished top ten b/c he had 2 or 3 pull him up to the front and those others were not in the olympics neither would he be.
Like the ITU racing or not, those are some phenomenal athletes who can go to ANY short course race anywhere in the world drafting or not and finish in the front.
My only experience with draft legal racing is at the Military World Championships, but I suspect that these races might present the greatest examples of team racing. I’ve been retired from the Air Force for a couple of years now, but the last three military world championships in which I competed had similar dynamics.
The French always had two or three incredible swimmers and the first pack would be a small one dominated by the French. The main pack would usually trail the super-fish by about a minute. The French members of the main pack would ride to the front to “take their turns,” but it became clear that their main interest was in slowing the chase pack. I think it was an example of team racing at its best. The French team members all knew their roles and the ones who blocked in the main pack were somewhat effective. If they could keep the second pack at bay, then the French-dominated first pack would get a healthy head start on the run and set up a victory for the French team (which was based on the total time for the top three finishers from each country.)
It never worked. Everyone in the main pack (at least those at the front) figured out what was going on and we stopped letting the French go to the front. (Communications in the main pack were always interesting with people speaking so many different languages.) The years I did those races, the main pack always caught the front guys before T2. After they were swallowed up, the pace would always slow noticeably, as the runners got ready for their showdown.
As a strong swimmer/strong biker/weak runner, I’m predictably against draft legal races, but I have to admit that those military races were really great experiences. Being a strong cyclist, I had no problem handling the pace of the pack, but there were times when I was scared to death. When it came to bike handling skills, I was totally outclassed by the European riders–especially on the descents. The pace of the pack could change at any instant, like any bike race I suppose. Sometimes the pack grew swallowing up everyone, and sometimes it split up depending upon the pace and the terrain. But typically the first group into T2 would be 40+ strong within a few seconds of one another. Those races were so exciting I almost forgot that I hate draft legal racing!