I have an insane hatred of draft legal racing (Page 2)

My guess would be partially to make it more viewer friendly and allow for shorter looped courses without endangering the athletes.

That was one of the reasons it was adopted, along with it being more exciting to watch, but the biggest reason it's used is probably because it's a better test of who's the best TRIATHLETE, instead of who's the average swimmer, above average cyclist, and running beast who can throw down the fastest time trial.  In DL racing at the competitive level there's no room for any weakness.  If they're not a strong swimmer, they'll miss the lead pack on the bike.  If they're not a strong cyclist (both from a power and handling standpoints), they'll get dropped on the bike (contrary to the poster's thoughts earlier in the thread who implied that it's possible to just cruise through the bike portion being towed along by the pack), and if they can't run with the gazelles, they'll be dropped on the run.  To do well in DL triathlon at anything beyond the AG level, requires a balanced athlete.

I've never been to an AG DL triathlon, because they're so rare in the US, but my understanding is that at the AG level, there's very little of the sort of pack tactics as you see even in weeknight criterion racing.  In part, because there just aren't enough balanced athletes, so they're already really spread out coming out of the water, rather than coming out in a pack.

Read my post again.  I've highlighted some parts for emphasis.

have you watched DL racing?   #1, if I don't want you on my wheel, i'll drop your sorry butt unless you're strong enough to not let me.  #2 it makes all 3 sports more important.  If I lose 2 minutes to you in NDL, I can easily make that up. In DL you're basically done.  Then, if you can't keep up with the surges of the pack, you're dropped and out of the race. Finally, if you are a stud swimmer and cyclist, but can't run.  You almost can't win unless you pull off an insane breakaway.  It requires eliteness in all 3 sports.

I won a NDL race this year. I was 11th out of the water, and 7th on the run.  I won because I crushed them on the bike and held on just enough on the run to win.  In a DL race this would never have happened. I was able to win by being ok in 2 sports, and killing them in 1.  DL racing requires you to be a stud in all 3.

so bike racing is stupid?

I much rather watch DL from a spectator perspective.  Probably not want to race it too much as I wouldn't be good at it as I suck at swimming...but if I was an elite triathlete I would absolutely want to do DL.

Draft legal isn't for everyone.  I can easily see how a MOP'er and a decent biker could be dragging a bunch of people on the bike and be turned off by it.  But when you get a bunch of elite and well rounded triathletes, or triathletes of similar ability, it really mixes the pot and forces athletes to race outside their comfort zones and take risks.

She wasn't as strong as the three that beat her while they were working together.  Once Van Vleuten crashed out, it was a matter of if Abbot could hold on.  Had Van Vleuten backed off a bit on the descent and worked with Abbot they very well could have gone 1-2 and that chase pack would have been sprinting for bronze.

Drafting changes everything in bicycle racing.

Dave's right.

What I don't think you're seeing is that your scenario of the lead bikers riding 23, and you ride 26 to catch them doesn't happen.  If you're strong enough to ride 26, a group of equally fast triathletes will be able to ride 28.  (These numbers are all arbitrary, but the point is more about how they're relative to each other).  Nobody is just cruising if they're in the lead pack on the bike.  They're all riding just as hard as they would be solo, only they need to be thinking about strategy too.  Do they attack repeatedly, trying to break the strongest runners so they can hang on the run?  Do they try to avoid pulling, so they avoid being broken for the run?  Is there a second pack of athletes who's gaining on them, and forcing them to work together?  In short, in DL racing, there isn't much room for weakness, because it's not possible to fully compensate for it the way someone can in NDL racing.

In NDL racing, it's possible for someone like Josh Beck to turn in a performance like he did at IMLOU a few years ago:  1,139th out of the water (1:20 swim), pass over 1,100 people on the bike, then go on to run a 3:02 marathon, and finish 7th overall.  He was one of the best duathletes in the world, but not a great triathlete, and would have had his a$$ handed to him in DL racing, even racing against juniors.

nc452010  - you're killing me. 

This will help.......you can take the top 10 JUNIOR (16-19 year old) elite racers to the AG sprint nationals and they will take nearly every top 10 spot.(overall, not just in their AG) Why?  Because they do all 5 events REALLY well (I'm adding transitions).  The only reason you don't see it is that they really don't even bother racing AG once they get to be 18-19 years old....but when they go....they win.  Not a local race......AG nationals.  My kid was top 5 two years in a row at age 16 and 17 and couldn't crack the top 15 in the Jr. Elite standings at the time.

The very best triathletes are DL racers.  You don't have to follow the logic......you can just follow them on a triathlon course.

I think this is why you don't see it.  You seem to think they're racing less hard because of the drafting.  The truth is, they're racing just as hard, if not harder, because they don't have the luxury of riding their own race.  They're hammering the whole time.  Drafting doesn't allow them to ride any easier on the bike.  All it does is make the whole field go faster.

Look at it this way...ignoring the tactics and surges present in DL racing for a moment...if you can ride an Oly at 220 watts, and still run well,  whether the entire race was in calm conditions, you were "penalized" by a 5 mph headwind the whole way, or "aided" by a 5 mph tailwind the whole way, the ride was just as hard for you.  If you choose to back off when you had the tailwind, you turn in a slower time than you were capable of.  If you ride harder in response to the headwind, you're more likely to blow up, and turn in a slower time than you were capable of.  The point is, regardless of any perceived benefit of drafting, there really isn't one, because everyone has it, so no one is riding easier than they would under NDL rules.

They're all relying on their own power the whole way, only now, as I and others said earlier, there's no room for weakness.  The best balanced triathletes win most of the time.

Ok.  I did, and the problem with your scenario is that it's so rare that it may as well be described as something that never happens.  If someone isn't a strong enough swimmer to come out of the water with the lead swimmers, it doesn't matter how great of a cyclist or runner they are.  They've already lost, because everyone else in the race is also a great cyclist and runner, AND swimmer.  DL racing makes the swim much more important than it is in NDL racing.  In NDL racing, even pros can come out of the water with the faster than average AGers, then bike and run their way up onto the podium.  They can be a gifted duathlete, yet still do very well in NDL triathlon.  That simply doesn't happen in DL racing.