changes coming to ITU AG worlds

A change both great and terrible.  

Should make for a very different kind of race for most of us.  I think it'll be fun, but could be worse than a Cat 5 crit safety-wise for the first few… umm… decades (?).

Any know why the change at this distance only, or even why at all, and not at the "standard distance"?

Matt

Then I guess we'll see the same rule change in all WTC events, apparently.  

Matt

Get your game on......there is a legion of fast draft legal racers in this country coming up.....most people have no idea.

I love it!  Hopefully next year our own AG sprint national championship will be draft legal in anticipation.....time for some racing!

Does draft legal mean road bikes only?

If they are using ITU draft legal rules.....which is almost a given....than yes, only road bikes.  Shorty bars that don't extend past the handlebars/hoods would be legal.

I agree it should be fun, although I just don't think at all about the whippersnappers that are coming up (other than in a "gee whiz" kind of way).  Heck, I think anyone a year below me in my AG is young!  So, Jr. and his crazy colleagues will be nothing more than the those racers going with the first horn - any more so than the Pro/Elite wave is for me now.  I won't even get to see them race, except maybe as they cross the line while I'm getting on to my bike…  

You've said before (IIRC - don't want to put words in your mouth, so please correct as needed) that this format will be good for the sport from a spectating standpoint, but I'm not sure it will matter.  Maybe if the courses themselves change to lots of mini-laps?  

The difference in the race experience will matter - for good or bad - to the AG competitors/completers, for sure, but I don't get to watch many races as it is.  As we're already what we are, I don't think the level of competition that MOST of us experience will change that much.

The approach to training and racing will definitely have to change, even for a "completer" and not just at the pointy end, and I personally would like to race this way (but I do have some concerns about a scrum on the bike).

At least I won't feel like I have to bag group rides for long, boring, solo training slogs anymore!!

Matt

I am a fan of triathlon.  I have been for 30 years.  It's great that I have kids who race this type of format and excel at it, but I'd be cheering it on no mater what.  It's the absolute best of triathlon racing.  I get that most people in this country only care about the sport as far as they can see in front of their face.....it is my hope that it changes...this would be a start.

Oh....you'll get to see them.  if they start the 16-19 AG last like they do now they will be the pack passing you at 30+ mph.

I agree it'll be fun, and perhaps even better "racing" than the current time-trial setup.  

The format we race now, though, does have great pros/elites and drama in the race.  Out of curiosity, what about this format do you think will make the majority of the participants in the sport (and maybe even NEW people - gasp!) start to want to watch it more than now?  

I didn't get the sense that the event in the Olympics (draft legal, of course) really drove a lot of new folks or viewership, but I admit that is a hunch and not based in any data...

Oh, and they wouldn't be the first pack to pass me during a race!  

Matt

It's going to take time, and truly, the self-centric culture in this country may never embrace it like it is around the world.  At Chicago, the crowd was dismal....even though there were places on the course where you could see the athletes 40-50 times during the race,

The next generation of triathletes in this country don't view the sport like you and I do/did. They play at triathlon like you and I played baseall, football, etc.  Hell, my kid is in a fantasy ITU triathlon league the same as our generation does with baseball and football.  Draft legal triathlon is coming to college as an emerging sport for women.  Even at the club level there is a collegiate draft legal championship.

The change won't happen tomorrow, or even in the next few years.....but these are all great baby steps for triathlon in this country.

Like I said, hopefully our own AG nationals changes the format......trust me, the future of triathlon in this country will absolutely cheer it!!!

Yep.....your points, as you already know, are great ones.  I'm just glad that the discussion will be started.  Baby steps.

LB,

I have to admit that I haven't watched enough ITU or other draft legal racing to get a sense, but one of Macca's comments from a couple of years ago really sticks in my head. It's a rinse, blow dry, followed by a foot race. It seems that if you make it into the main pack on the bike out of T1, you're likely to be with the main pack coming into T2 and the race comes down to how fast you are on the run. At least amongst the pros, the top 10 to even 20 finishing times are only separated by their run time (ie, they came into T2 together). There is obviously going to be considerable spread in the swim in AG racing, but won't it still largely turn into a foot race? If someone is a slower swimmer but can catch onto a fast train of cyclists, I would think this could drag them up towards the front of the race, and the native cycling ability (other than the ability to safely ride in a pack) becomes irrelevant. I would think multi-lap courses would become a big mess with lapped traffic. after all of my rambling, I realize I don't really have a question relevant to the AG draft legal racing... what was my point? Does it work well in other areas (europe, australia, etc.)? Does it engender more enthusiasm? There are probably 2-3 races/month in the Twin Cities that have at least 1500 racers throughout the summer (maybe it's pent-up demand from our long winters). Would draft legal racing really bring in that many more people? Or is it the spectator aspect, which you highlighted above, and I tend to agree with, that makes it more interesting. That's the nice thing about courses like IMWI and IMAZ, where it's relatively easy to see a runner 6 or even 10 times during the course of the race.

Agree also with your points.  

Imagine how long the podium ceremonies would be with AG's and ALSO by Category!   

As for viewership, I meant since the Olympics (sorry - I wasn't clear - that event happily did do well during the Olympics).  I admit that's not an apples to apples, as what little tri programming is on is mostly time trial and not draft legal cycling, and I'm judging by the imperfect measure of how many events are "watchable" on TV as totted up by what my DVR records.  Not much change and no appreciable difference from before the Olympics, as far as I can tell.

**I think the crux of my question is really asking what it is about this different format that will change the sport.**

I guess I just don't see what is so different about adding the draft legal bike that will make people want to "play" at it in a fundamentally different way than we have (I feel very much like this is a sport at which I play - and feel the same way about running, fishing, etc., but I admittedly don't do fantasy leagues in any sport).

I also don't think that it's a result, necessarily, of most of us being self-centered or such.  I just don't get that connection, without regard to what the format change might do (but maybe it's cuz I'm too self-concerned!).  

So, I think this type of race will be fun (even with some of the challenges mentioned), and I look forward to trying it, but I'm really struggling to understand what specifically about adding the draft legal bike portion that will change the sport.  

Help me out!  I really do want to understand your point (I'm a tri fan from way back, too).

Matt

More good points.  Yes, to be competitive you will have to swim more...a lot more.  Maybe more/expanded swim programs?  You will have to learn to ride a pack.  Maybe more/expanded local "C" and "B" crit cycling races?  I can envision all kinds of opportunity to expand swim/bike/run training opportunities on individual and group levels.....all good for our lifestyle, right?  All good for the industry.

I have no idea how the format will work with a field of 1000, or even if it can.  The races I spend the season attending are limited to 70-80 in the field. The discussion and ideas will be awesome. 

I just don't see a downside for people who are fans of the sport.

You will have to train differently to be competitive....see my post above.  Someone will provide those opportunities if there is a market......our sport will grow, the industry will grow.  At least that's my hope.

I agree, but it certainly looks like it's gong somewhere at worlds, and then it should follow that it's going somewhere at nationals.

The equipment won't be much of an issue, most have a road bike (but you won't be ale to use your FLO wheels if they follow the UCI book like they do at ITU Jr. Elite), but the skill sets and training to be competitive sure will be, as you said.

If it's only a one loop course it may not be as hard to manage as we think from a biking standpoint......but here's where it gets weird.  A slow swimmer in an early wave latches on to a fast bike pack from a later wave.....now it's not REALLY age group racing.  Agree, the details will be really interesting.

Is that posted somewhere?

30 is not approved......25mm and less is considered standard wheels from what we dealt wit this year at Jr. Elite races.  I saw FLO 30 turned away.