I think it would be cool if a race (I’m thinking a 70.3) had a start schedule like:
7-8 AM: AG waves
8:45 AM: Pro Women
9:30 AM: Pro Men
Currently, the pros finish while everyone else is on the course. Everyone else finishes, and if they placed they stick around for the awards, but a lot of people grab some food, hang out for a bit, then leave. It would be cool if you finished, grabbed some food and beverages, and then could watch the pro races finish, especially on races that have race day TV coverage. The timing would mean that the Pro women would finish, followed ~20 minutes later by the Pro men.
Having raced a zillion relays that started in the last wave of the day, I can tell you that it’s very dangerous to have very fast riders flying up from behind and having to dart their way through the packs of weaving age group newbies. No matter how far out ahead you start the age groupers, it won’t be enough.
I agree. I wouldn’t wish that on a pro trying to have his best race without outside influences like clueless newbies (I was one so i should know ).
Lots of pros stick around for a long time after they finish. Chrissie and Lisa Bentley always hang around and cheer everyone on.
The later the wave the more traffic one will encounter on the race course. Having the pros start last will only slow them down and increase the risk of injury. Imagine going 30mph having to weave through newbies going 18mph. Not safe.
It is both a safety and fairness issue for the “elites” as they would have to negotiate through slower bike traffic and a lot of potential blocking. Joe will enter an “elite” wave of a race, even though he has no chance of an OA placing, just so he doesn’t have the frustration of fighting though the slower bikers in earlier waves.
We used to have a small local race that started everyone in reverse order of their “expected” finish time. Slowest person went first, and so on. The first across the line was the winner.
Of course this was a small off road race, held on private property. Most everyone knew each other and were honest about their times. It was and unique challenge for the athletes. We had the slowest guy win once, but the fastest guys usually won.
I’m not sure if you guys are accurately portraying what the bike course would look like by the time the pros got to it. You are all acting like I’m suggesting sending the pros out right after the last AG wave. Yes, the pros would catch some of the slower AGers, but not very many of them, and they would all be slow and spread out.
I think, and someone correct me if I’m wrong, the 5430 Boulder people do that with the sprint or oly distance race - but the pros start like 2 hours after the last wave - something like that - so that most everyone is off the course or running when they start the swim, most people are done before the pros get to the finish. Its cool - you actually get to see them transition from bike to run, and check them out on the run course, watch the finish. And they don’t have to worm their way through hundreds of slower bikers out on the course.
I’m not sure if you guys are accurately portraying what the bike course would look like by the time the pros got to it. You are all acting like I’m suggesting sending the pros out right after the last AG wave. Yes, the pros would catch some of the slower AGers, but not very many of them, and they would all be slow and spread out.
Because my swimming is so terrible I’ve been in the position of being just about last out on the roads, (1 or 2 people still playing around in transition) it was a very small race with less than 150 participants, it was light rain, and you can’t imagine how dangerous it is trying to hold 25/27 mph in a stretch with a tail wind with 15 mph newbies going all over the road and no clue as to what it means to ride on your right. Trust me it’s a terrible idea.
Terrible idea. The pros would be riding through the slowest and least experienced bikers by at latest 20 miles into the bike leg, transition would be an absolute nightmare and the finish line would be kaos with the pro men sprinting through the 6:30 finishers from the first wave, let alone the 5:30 finishers from the last age group wave. How would they even know if another pro was up the road or not?
Plus, triathlon is a participatory sport long before it is a spectator sport.
This isn’t a problem at races that are held in communities that REALLY get behind the event. IE Penticton…thousands of people stay right to the midnight deadline.
I’ve raced in sprints with say… 300 racers, and a 2 loop 13mi bike course. Being younger, my AG was often in the first wave. First bike loop is a dream, second lap is a MESS!
people dont know how to signal, dont stay right, dont follow the yellow line rule, ride 3 abrest, pay no attention to riders fore/aft of them…
and I’m averaging say… 23mph- while a pro would be doing 25+ in that situation. not cool
Being an old guy lets me recall when many races had pros start in later waves and work through the “pack” … never seemed to be much of an issue … and with the advantage that MOPers actually cared about pro racers and interacted with them. I rode 3-4 miles with Scott Tinley in a half-IM event that he won and that has always given me a favorable opinion of him … even when he writes strange articles at times. If the “pack” is unsafe for pro’s, then why wouldn’t it be more unsafe for those with poorer bike skills … I think that argument is pretty weak.
The pro wave issue has dissociated so called pro’s from the rest of the participants … who are the focus of what marketing abilities these guys might be able to sell to a sponsor. I would think pro’s who really earn sponsor dollars would want to be more interactive with the “rest of us” who buy things from their sponsors. Those who really want to earn money should rethink what they want … if they have the physical skills they’ll win regardless and be more popular.
Dave
Having the pros start directly after the AG waves is a bad idea for all the reasons listed above. However, there are a small number of races out there where the pros start after the AG waves are almost off the course. Naturally, this is really only feasible for Oly-distance races, although you may be able to pull it off for a HIM.
Chicago is an example, I think the pros line up and start in the early afternoon. Another is the Iceman MTB race, they changed to the late pro start about 3-4 years ago and it’s a huge hit. I like being able to get my race in, then hang out at the beer tent for a few hours and see the pros finish. Mmmmm Bells Two Hearted is great for post-race recovery
At Chicago, I don’t know exactly how long the pros wait after the last AG start, but they catch up to the slower ones on the run. They have a split at the finish line (although some years I’ve seen pros end up in the wrong chute and have to jump a barrier to get to the pro finish line). Other than the finish line, seems like it works okay but it is Chicago we’re talking about, not a “normal” race.
Just another thought, most races want the overall winner to set a low time so they can market the course as a fast one. In most cases, due to heat and other factors mentioned already here, the later start would inhibit faster finishing times.
Also, the pros probably like being able to remove their bikes from transition before 1,000 people get the chance to steal them.
).