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Legalized draft

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Triathlon
Published
1 April 2005
Last activity
6 June 2005
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Harold Buck
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  1. In article <[email hidden]>,

    Silver0l said:


    Did you look at the Olympics. Do you question the value of the athletes
    here?

    No, I question the value of the format under which they competed. And
    for the Olympics, when safety is not such an issue, why not let them
    ride draft-legal first, then swim, then run. That way the drafting
    doesn't negate a superior swimmer's lead.

    Quoted message said:

    The fact that bad swimmers and good swimmers can both potentially get
    screwed just mean that nobody get screwed. The rule is just different. You
    have to swim fast, get in the right pack, and hold your place in it.

    I can tell you when I got screwed.

    This is when draft was declared illegal, and when I got passed by numerous
    bike packs. You get screwed when somebody takes an unfair, illegal advantage
    to beat you.

    A valid complaint, but one that should be directed at race organizers to
    enforce the rules.

    Quoted message said:

    Illegal drafting is what is happening in real life, every time, everywhere.

    And this is what is making people bitter, and ruins the good spirit in so
    many triathlons.

    Legalizing drafting is the only way to solve the problem.

    At the expense of huge bike pileups because you have idiots drafting
    without any clue? I don't think so.

    --Harold Buck

    "I used to rock and roll all night,
    and party every day.
    Then it was every other day. . . ."
    -Homer J. Simpson

  2. John Forrest Tomlinson <[email hidden]> wrote in
    news:[email hidden]:

    Quoted message said:
    Triathlete said:

    drafting causes triathlon to change from an
    individual sport to a group sport.

    This is to me the essence of the whole drafting/non-drafting argument.
    The triathlon I believe should be a test of an individuals unaided
    athletic ability. How fast can you swim, without flippers. How fast can
    you bike, without a sail. How fast can you run, without some newfangled
    shoe with springs.
    When we get in a pack we are faster than we would be individually.
    The result is that a guy who can average 22 MPH individually could get in
    the right pack and average 24 MPH or higher. The results are higher than
    he could individually perform. That simple, no longer individual results.
    Dale

    --
    Take out my bike to e-mail.

  3. "John Forrest Tomlinson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Triathlete said:

    drafting causes triathlon to change from an
    individual sport to a group sport.

    What does this mean? Does one group beat another group? I've heard of
    team sports -- that;s where a team can beat another team. What is a
    group sport?

    JT

    I'll take an (off-topic) opportunity to rant here. IMO we (triathletes)
    started heading down this road when we allowed wetsuits & aerobars.

    Wetsuits: With apologies to triathletes in northern, colder areas, I realize
    that westuits make it possible to extend your season. However, sometimes
    where you live has a natural disadvantage to your aspirations. Can southern
    skiers complain about the nature of the sport because of the natural lack of
    opportunity - - snow?

    Let's not play coy. The prevalence of wetsuits has always had more to do
    with a broad lack of individual initiative/willingness to hone the craft
    (swimming) than safety or comfort.

    Aerobars: Same thing. Why not a faring, recumbants, etc.? In the early
    growth days of the sport, everyone was ridng more-or-less the same
    configuration/bike. The fastest cyclist truly prevailed.

    Advancing the sport doesn't mean advancing the tools or changing the rules.
    The greatest sports got that way by having very stable rules and equipment;
    that makes it possible to compare performances and careers across
    generations. It is hard to measure the spirit of the athlete when the
    gadgets become central.

    Would you still love the sport if it weren't for all the [censored]? I think the
    days of being able to fit your race & transition stuff in your jersey
    pockets are nearly over for good.

    Remember the guy whose bike was shattered in the Ironman, so he picked it up
    and ran it back (several miles) to T2? That kind of will is an anachronism.

    rsquared

  4. Quoted message said:

    Remember the guy whose bike was shattered in the Ironman, so he picked it


    up

    Quoted message said:

    and ran it back (several miles) to T2? That kind of will is an


    anachronism.

    Wasn't that the same race where Simon Lessing threw in the towel at, what?
    Mile 30?
    Hmmmm...

    "rsquared" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    "John Forrest Tomlinson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Triathlete said:

    drafting causes triathlon to change from an
    individual sport to a group sport.

    What does this mean? Does one group beat another group? I've heard of
    team sports -- that;s where a team can beat another team. What is a
    group sport?

    JT

    I'll take an (off-topic) opportunity to rant here. IMO we (triathletes)
    started heading down this road when we allowed wetsuits & aerobars.

    Wetsuits: With apologies to triathletes in northern, colder areas, I


    realize

    Quoted message said:

    that westuits make it possible to extend your season. However, sometimes
    where you live has a natural disadvantage to your aspirations. Can


    southern

    Quoted message said:

    skiers complain about the nature of the sport because of the natural lack


    of

    Quoted message said:

    opportunity - - snow?

    Let's not play coy. The prevalence of wetsuits has always had more to do
    with a broad lack of individual initiative/willingness to hone the craft
    (swimming) than safety or comfort.

    Aerobars: Same thing. Why not a faring, recumbants, etc.? In the early
    growth days of the sport, everyone was ridng more-or-less the same
    configuration/bike. The fastest cyclist truly prevailed.

    Advancing the sport doesn't mean advancing the tools or changing the


    rules.

    Quoted message said:

    The greatest sports got that way by having very stable rules and


    equipment;

    Quoted message said:

    that makes it possible to compare performances and careers across
    generations. It is hard to measure the spirit of the athlete when the
    gadgets become central.

    Would you still love the sport if it weren't for all the [censored]? I think


    the

    Quoted message said:

    days of being able to fit your race & transition stuff in your jersey
    pockets are nearly over for good.

    Remember the guy whose bike was shattered in the Ironman, so he picked it


    up

    Quoted message said:

    and ran it back (several miles) to T2? That kind of will is an


    anachronism.

    Quoted message said:


    rsquared

  5. John Forrest Tomlinson said:
    Triathlete said:

    drafting causes triathlon to change from an
    individual sport to a group sport.

    What does this mean? Does one group beat another group? I've heard of
    team sports -- that;s where a team can beat another team. What is a
    group sport?

    Drafting allows for triathlon to become a team sport because when
    drafting is allowed then you can "pay?" someone to ride infront of you
    when you are tired, or circle around you to pull you forward with less
    effort, and then you can speed ahead in the end.

    If you knew that drafting could help you win, then would it be worth
    splitting this win with others who could help you to win the race?

  6. Dale said:

    John Forrest Tomlinson <[email hidden]> wrote in
    news:[email hidden]:

    Quoted message said:
    Triathlete said:

    drafting causes triathlon to change from an
    individual sport to a group sport.

    This is to me the essence of the whole drafting/non-drafting argument.
    The triathlon I believe should be a test of an individuals unaided
    athletic ability. How fast can you swim, without flippers. How fast can
    you bike, without a sail. How fast can you run, without some newfangled
    shoe with springs.
    When we get in a pack we are faster than we would be individually.
    The result is that a guy who can average 22 MPH individually could get in
    the right pack and average 24 MPH or higher. The results are higher than
    he could individually perform. That simple, no longer individual results.
    Dale

    Right, I agree. Drafting is a sort of "outside assistance". Outside
    meaning in this case, outside the individuals "unaided" athletic
    ability. But then again, so is having Gatorade on the course. However,
    Gatorade would be available to all participants.

    Yes, drafting is an ability, but it takes away from the original intent
    that I think the other "unaided" athletic ability rules tend to enforce.

    Drafting changes the bike geometry that athletes would use, it changes
    how people travel from individually to packs. I am a bit worried that it
    may also increase injury, especially for newcomers to triathlon. I also
    don't like to see practiced drafters sucking the life out of triathletes
    who have different goals that don't include drafting.

    I am not against having draft legal races, however I would like to see
    races without drafting, as well.

    But then again, I also don't think that the races where women start
    first are sexist, even though they were deemed so by USAT*. I think they
    can be great fun, and a nice change of pace.

    *I believe it was USAT which deemed these sort of races sexist, and also
    did not like how one race in particular was also draft free.

  7. Dale said:

    John Forrest Tomlinson <[email hidden]> wrote in
    news:[email hidden]:

    Quoted message said:
    Triathlete said:

    drafting causes triathlon to change from an
    individual sport to a group sport.

    This is to me the essence of the whole drafting/non-drafting argument.
    The triathlon I believe should be a test of an individuals unaided
    athletic ability. How fast can you swim, without flippers. How fast can
    you bike, without a sail. How fast can you run, without some newfangled
    shoe with springs.
    When we get in a pack we are faster than we would be individually.
    The result is that a guy who can average 22 MPH individually could get in
    the right pack and average 24 MPH or higher. The results are higher than
    he could individually perform. That simple, no longer individual results.
    Dale

    Right, I agree. Drafting is a sort of "outside assistance". Outside
    meaning in this case, outside the individuals "unaided" athletic
    ability. But then again, so is having Gatorade on the course. However,
    Gatorade would be available to all participants.

    Yes, drafting is an ability, but it takes away from the original intent
    that I think the other "unaided" athletic ability rules tend to enforce.

    Drafting changes the bike geometry that athletes would use, it changes
    how people travel from individually to packs. I am a bit worried that it
    may also increase injury, especially for newcomers to triathlon. I also
    don't like to see practiced drafters sucking the life out of triathletes
    who have different goals that don't include drafting.

    I am not against having draft legal races, however I would like to see
    races without drafting, as well.

    But then again, I also don't think that the races where women start
    first are sexist, even though they were deemed so by USAT*. I think they
    can be great fun, and a nice change of pace.

    *I believe it was USAT which deemed these sort of races sexist, and also
    did not like how one race in particular was also draft free.

  8. required said:

    "John Forrest Tomlinson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Triathlete said:

    drafting causes triathlon to change from an
    individual sport to a group sport.

    What does this mean? Does one group beat another group? I've heard of
    team sports -- that;s where a team can beat another team. What is a
    group sport?

    JT

    I'll take an (off-topic) opportunity to rant here. IMO we (triathletes)
    started heading down this road when we allowed wetsuits & aerobars.

    Wetsuits: With apologies to triathletes in northern, colder areas, I realize
    that westuits make it possible to extend your season. However, sometimes
    where you live has a natural disadvantage to your aspirations. Can southern
    skiers complain about the nature of the sport because of the natural lack of
    opportunity - - snow?

    Let's not play coy. The prevalence of wetsuits has always had more to do
    with a broad lack of individual initiative/willingness to hone the craft
    (swimming) than safety or comfort.

    Aerobars: Same thing. Why not a faring, recumbants, etc.? In the early
    growth days of the sport, everyone was ridng more-or-less the same
    configuration/bike. The fastest cyclist truly prevailed.

    Advancing the sport doesn't mean advancing the tools or changing the rules.
    The greatest sports got that way by having very stable rules and equipment;
    that makes it possible to compare performances and careers across
    generations. It is hard to measure the spirit of the athlete when the
    gadgets become central.

    Would you still love the sport if it weren't for all the [censored]? I think the
    days of being able to fit your race & transition stuff in your jersey
    pockets are nearly over for good.

    Remember the guy whose bike was shattered in the Ironman, so he picked it up
    and ran it back (several miles) to T2? That kind of will is an anachronism.

    It is true, I like new triathlon toys.
    Wouldn't there be fewer aerobars if drafting became prevalent?

  9. In article <[email hidden]>,

    rsquared said:
    Quoted message said:
    Triathlete said:

    drafting causes triathlon to change from an
    individual sport to a group sport.

    What does this mean? Does one group beat another group? I've heard of
    team sports -- that;s where a team can beat another team. What is a
    group sport?

    JT

    I'll take an (off-topic) opportunity to rant here. IMO we (triathletes)
    started heading down this road when we allowed wetsuits & aerobars.

    Wetsuits: With apologies to triathletes in northern, colder areas, I realize
    that westuits make it possible to extend your season. However, sometimes
    where you live has a natural disadvantage to your aspirations. Can southern
    skiers complain about the nature of the sport because of the natural lack of
    opportunity - - snow?

    Let's not play coy. The prevalence of wetsuits has always had more to do
    with a broad lack of individual initiative/willingness to hone the craft
    (swimming) than safety or comfort.

    Aerobars: Same thing. Why not a faring, recumbants, etc.? In the early
    growth days of the sport, everyone was ridng more-or-less the same
    configuration/bike. The fastest cyclist truly prevailed.

    There's a proposal on the table to allow inline skates on the run.

    --Harold Buck

    "I used to rock and roll all night,
    and party every day.
    Then it was every other day. . . ."
    -Homer J. Simpson

  10. Dale said:
    John Forrest Tomlinson said:
    Triathlete said:

    drafting causes triathlon to change from an
    individual sport to a group sport.

    This is to me the essence of the whole drafting/non-drafting argument.
    The triathlon I believe should be a test of an individuals unaided
    athletic ability. How fast can you swim, without flippers. How fast can
    you bike, without a sail. How fast can you run, without some newfangled
    shoe with springs.
    When we get in a pack we are faster than we would be individually.
    The result is that a guy who can average 22 MPH individually could get in
    the right pack and average 24 MPH or higher. The results are higher than
    he could individually perform. That simple, no longer individual results.
    Dale

    The issue that hasn't been mentioned (much) in this whole thread is that of
    safety. In spite of all the altruistic reasoning about triathlon being an
    individual vs. team sport (which I agree with BTW), triathlon is also a
    sport where people of all abilities - first timer to pro - compete on the
    same course, on the same day, at the same time.

    (As a side note, this is a point that was rammed home for me when I found
    myself standing next to an Olympic hopeful while waiting for the starting
    gun of my first tri. I recognized him from a local newspaper).

    With the above being a given, I don't want some guy who just bought his
    first road bike and has only done one "ride for a cure" attempting to draft
    behind me. Heck, I don't want ME drafting behind an Olympic hopeful, I'm
    just not that good and I value both my skin and theirs too much. Period.

    If someone wants to allow drafting in an event that is open only to Pros, I
    have no problem with that. That situation is nothing more than a bunch of
    people, who are very good at what they do, opting to participate in a
    variation of their sport. But as soon as you open the event to all, I have
    yet to hear any valid argument that would override safety and dictate that
    people have any business drafting.

    John

  11. John Hardt said:

    With the above being a given, I don't want some guy who just bought his
    first road bike and has only done one "ride for a cure" attempting to draft
    behind me. Heck, I don't want ME drafting behind an Olympic hopeful, I'm
    just not that good and I value both my skin and theirs too much. Period.

    If someone wants to allow drafting in an event that is open only to Pros, I
    have no problem with that. That situation is nothing more than a bunch of
    people, who are very good at what they do, opting to participate in a
    variation of their sport. But as soon as you open the event to all, I have
    yet to hear any valid argument that would override safety and dictate that
    people have any business drafting.

    Watch the re-runs of the 2000 Olympic triathlon. Crashes everywhere
    on a not-too-technical course. If Olympic-caliber athletes crash into
    each other trying to draft on time trial bikes, what does that
    indicate about the chances all the weekend warriors have of staying
    upright?

    What I'd like to see is a dedicated group of misfits band together and
    blatantly announce they are going to dictate a given race, and
    announce who the winner will be. They'll come out of the water
    together, then ride in a group, blocking and sprinting and using other
    tried and true road racing techniques to shed any "non-team members"
    from the pack, pulling their chosen "winner" to an easy victory by
    putting him or her at the start of the run minutes in the lead.

    Better yet, all but the winner should abandon the race at T2 to make
    it even more blatant. Better still if they can find team members who
    openly acknowledge they don't ever run at all.

    This would point out the absurdity of a draft-legal race better than
    anything else I can imagine.

    Mark Hickey
    Habanero Cycles
    http://www.habcycles.com
    Home of the $695 ti frame

  12. Mark Hickey said:
    John Hardt said:

    With the above being a given, I don't want some guy who just bought his
    first road bike and has only done one "ride for a cure" attempting to draft
    behind me. Heck, I don't want ME drafting behind an Olympic hopeful, I'm
    just not that good and I value both my skin and theirs too much. Period.

    If someone wants to allow drafting in an event that is open only to Pros, I
    have no problem with that. That situation is nothing more than a bunch of
    people, who are very good at what they do, opting to participate in a
    variation of their sport. But as soon as you open the event to all, I have
    yet to hear any valid argument that would override safety and dictate that
    people have any business drafting.

    Watch the re-runs of the 2000 Olympic triathlon. Crashes everywhere
    on a not-too-technical course. If Olympic-caliber athletes crash into
    each other trying to draft on time trial bikes, what does that
    indicate about the chances all the weekend warriors have of staying
    upright?

    What I'd like to see is a dedicated group of misfits band together and
    blatantly announce they are going to dictate a given race, and
    announce who the winner will be. They'll come out of the water
    together, then ride in a group, blocking and sprinting and using other
    tried and true road racing techniques to shed any "non-team members"
    from the pack, pulling their chosen "winner" to an easy victory by
    putting him or her at the start of the run minutes in the lead.

    Better yet, all but the winner should abandon the race at T2 to make
    it even more blatant. Better still if they can find team members who
    openly acknowledge they don't ever run at all.

    This would point out the absurdity of a draft-legal race better than
    anything else I can imagine.

    Mark Hickey
    Habanero Cycles
    http://www.habcycles.com
    Home of the $695 ti frame

    The only thing better than the scenario you describe would be if that "team"
    of misfits approached the end of the bike leg with a huge multi-minute
    lead... then they all bit the dust in a massive pileup a half-mile before
    T2.

    Then they could all sit on the ground licking their wounds while the "real"
    winner blows past and takes their rightful win. THAT would point out the
    absurdity of draft-legal racing.

    John

    NOTE: No athletes were injured in the making of this fictional scenario.
    The author of this post does not condone the injury of athletes to make a
    point.

  13. "Mark Hickey" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de news:
    [email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Bloody boring, "non-events" that consisted of a swim, a rambling pack
    ride by anyone who had a decent swim leg that served as nothing more
    than a warm-up for the "real event", a 10k run.

    Nonsense.

    I can understand some arguments against drafting, but a draft-legal race is
    much more exciting to watch than a time-trial!

    -- Olivier

  14. "Mark Hickey" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de news:
    [email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    What I'd like to see is a dedicated group of misfits band together and
    blatantly announce they are going to dictate a given race, and
    announce who the winner will be. They'll come out of the water
    together, then ride in a group, blocking and sprinting and using other
    tried and true road racing techniques to shed any "non-team members"
    from the pack, pulling their chosen "winner" to an easy victory by
    putting him or her at the start of the run minutes in the lead.

    Better yet, all but the winner should abandon the race at T2 to make
    it even more blatant. Better still if they can find team members who
    openly acknowledge they don't ever run at all.

    Stop dreaming, come back in the real world.
    There are numerous draft-legal triathlon and this NEVER happen.
    This is simply not the way things happen: it would be so easy to destroy
    this strategy...

    -- Olivier

  15. "John Hardt" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de news:
    [email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    The issue that hasn't been mentioned (much) in this whole thread is that


    of

    Quoted message said:

    safety. In spite of all the altruistic reasoning about triathlon being an
    individual vs. team sport (which I agree with BTW), triathlon is also a
    sport where people of all abilities - first timer to pro - compete on the
    same course, on the same day, at the same time.


    (...)

    Quoted message said:


    With the above being a given, I don't want some guy who just bought his
    first road bike and has only done one "ride for a cure" attempting to


    draft

    Quoted message said:

    behind me. Heck, I don't want ME drafting behind an Olympic hopeful, I'm
    just not that good and I value both my skin and theirs too much. Period.

    Nonsense!

    Come back to Earth.

    If you are like me and 98% of the triathletes, there is not the slightest
    possibility that you will ever be in a position of drafting behind an
    Olympic hopeful!

    This security argument is void.

    I have made some bike races, and I observed the following facts:
    - road races may have much more racers than triathlon (seen some races with
    4000 people!).
    - drafting is allowed
    - the average level of proficiency among road racers is much lower than with
    triathlete. Triathlons are usually done by well trained people (more
    technique / financial investment / fitness is needed), as opposed to road
    bike races, where every weekend warriors thinks he can participate (and so
    it is!).
    - the difference of ability between the first racers and the last is much
    bigger on road races than on triathlons (a consequence of the previous fact)
    - the road racers drive on much more difficult roads than triathletes
    (mountains, sharp curves, whereas most of the triathlons are quite flat)

    And road race bikers or organizers don't consider suicide a better option
    than triathletes...

    -- Olivier

  16. In article <[email hidden]>,

    Silver0l said:

    "Mark Hickey" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de news:
    [email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Bloody boring, "non-events" that consisted of a swim, a rambling pack
    ride by anyone who had a decent swim leg that served as nothing more
    than a warm-up for the "real event", a 10k run.

    Nonsense.

    I can understand some arguments against drafting, but a draft-legal race is
    much more exciting to watch than a time-trial!

    For most people, "exciting" = "closer finishes," which is what
    draft-legal tends to give you, at the expense of fairly weighting the
    other parts of the race. It's almost like they take the score of a
    basketball game with 10 seconds to go and they make it a one-point game
    so that the trailing team can try to win with a buzzer beater. Exciting,
    maybe, but sure as hell not fair.

    --Harold Buck

    "I used to rock and roll all night,
    and party every day.
    Then it was every other day. . . ."
    -Homer J. Simpson

  17. In article <[email hidden]>,

    Silver0l said:

    "Mark Hickey" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de news:
    [email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    What I'd like to see is a dedicated group of misfits band together and
    blatantly announce they are going to dictate a given race, and
    announce who the winner will be. They'll come out of the water
    together, then ride in a group, blocking and sprinting and using other
    tried and true road racing techniques to shed any "non-team members"
    from the pack, pulling their chosen "winner" to an easy victory by
    putting him or her at the start of the run minutes in the lead.

    Better yet, all but the winner should abandon the race at T2 to make
    it even more blatant. Better still if they can find team members who
    openly acknowledge they don't ever run at all.

    Stop dreaming, come back in the real world.
    There are numerous draft-legal triathlon and this NEVER happen.
    This is simply not the way things happen: it would be so easy to destroy
    this strategy...

    You're wrong. I read about a group of triathletes that was doing just
    that in draft-legal races: they were working together to set up one guy
    for the win, and they'd either won some races or come very close (I
    think I read about it here, but it may have been in Triathlete). I can't
    recall if the teammates bailed out at T2 or if they jogged to the finish.

    --Harold Buck

    "I used to rock and roll all night,
    and party every day.
    Then it was every other day. . . ."
    -Homer J. Simpson

  18. On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 23:55:17 +0200, "Silver0l" <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:

    I have made some bike races, and I observed the following facts:
    - road races may have much more racers than triathlon (seen some races with
    4000 people!).

    Where have you seen a bike race with 4000 people? Do you mean a gran
    fondo, or a bike tour?

    Quoted message said:

    - drafting is allowed
    - the average level of proficiency among road racers is much lower than with
    triathlete. Triathlons are usually done by well trained people (more
    technique / financial investment / fitness is needed), as opposed to road
    bike races, where every weekend warriors thinks he can participate (and so
    it is!).

    What kind of bike race is this? Perhaps you are talking about bike
    tours or something.

    JT

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  19. "Silver0l" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:


    "John Hardt" <[email hidden]>:

    Quoted message said:

    The issue that hasn't been mentioned (much) in this whole thread is that


    of

    Quoted message said:

    safety. In spite of all the altruistic reasoning about triathlon being
    an
    individual vs. team sport (which I agree with BTW), triathlon is also a
    sport where people of all abilities - first timer to pro - compete on the
    same course, on the same day, at the same time.

    With the above being a given, I don't want some guy who just bought his
    first road bike and has only done one "ride for a cure" attempting to


    draft

    Quoted message said:

    behind me. Heck, I don't want ME drafting behind an Olympic hopeful, I'm
    just not that good and I value both my skin and theirs too much. Period.

    Quoted message said:

    Nonsense!

    (....)

    Quoted message said:

    This security argument is void.

    I have made some bike races, and I observed the following facts:
    - road races may have much more racers than triathlon (seen some races
    with
    4000 people!).
    - drafting is allowed
    - the average level of proficiency among road racers is much lower than
    with
    triathlete. Triathlons are usually done by well trained people (more
    technique / financial investment / fitness is needed), as opposed to road
    bike races, where every weekend warriors thinks he can participate (and so
    it is!).
    - the difference of ability between the first racers and the last is much
    bigger on road races than on triathlons (a consequence of the previous
    fact)
    - the road racers drive on much more difficult roads than triathletes
    (mountains, sharp curves, whereas most of the triathlons are quite flat)

    And road race bikers or organizers don't consider suicide a better option
    than triathletes...

    So, your anecdotal observations at a handful of bike races make all of the
    above "fact"? I think not. Come up with statistics from reliable
    third-parties to support the above "facts" and maybe I'll engage in this
    argument. I doubt you can do it.

    John

  20. Silver0l said:

    - the average level of proficiency among road racers is much lower than with
    triathlete.

    If that's not a troll, it's at least an opinion based on some very
    faulty generalizations (and obviously wrong of course). It would be
    ludicrous to expect a triathlete to be "more proficient" at swimming,
    running or cycling than someone who takes only one of those sports
    seriously and spends a similar amount of time practicing it. Of
    course, a triathlete will obvioulsy be more proficient at ALL of the
    three sports than non-triathletes.

    My own personal observations are that to be a decent triathlete, you
    have to train yourself to be a one-trick pony on the bike. Nothing at
    all wrong with that, but the group rides I used to do with half
    triathletes and half roadies would always end up shedding all the
    triathletes by the end, mainly due to the fact that the "jumps"
    required an amount of speed and recovery that the triathletes simply
    didn't need to train for in their "real world riding".

    Mark Hickey
    Habanero Cycles
    http://www.habcycles.com
    Home of the $695 ti frame

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