Ireland's Cheating Triathletes - Kilkee Draftfest. What to do?

jamescantwell

doin fermoy tri last wk, i was about 8 or 9 metres from the guy in front of me and he had literally just overtaken me and was pulling away...then this absolute IDIOT who is a prominent young triathlete on the scene winning races all year passed me and shouted into my face "no drafting...no drafting!" i felt like clocking him because 1) i wasnt drafting( the guy was still pulling out of my 'box')
2) its up to T.I. officials to warn of the rules, not some arrogant fool, who's streets ahead of most of the competitors in terms of talent.

i completely understand that its in the rules but its virtually impossible to remain 100% draft free during a race. i agree with some comments that the rules are too soft but i think people are going way over the top re. this issue...its like diving in soccer and pulling and dragging in gaelic football, its always been there and always will until T.I. gets v tough on it and sorts out mass starts.

Huff n Puff

jamescantwell wrote: »

doin fermoy tri last wk, i was about 8 or 9 metres from the guy in front of me and he had literally just overtaken me and was pulling away...then this absolute IDIOT who is a prominent young triathlete on the scene winning races all year passed me and shouted into my face "no drafting...no drafting!" i felt like clocking him because 1) i wasnt drafting( the guy was still pulling out of my 'box')
2) its up to T.I. officials to warn of the rules, not some arrogant fool, who's streets ahead of most of the competitors in terms of talent.

Bit harsh no?! You might need to chill out a little.

Think we all know who you are talking about. You have done everything bar name him.

I let drafting roars out of me the whole time too, but sure I am probably an absolute IDIOT and arrogant fool too. Usually when you are about to overtake people you can see them from a long distance away so you get a good idea of what is going on up ahead. He may or may not have been right but either way you should probably lighten up a bit.

jamescantwell

TBH i reckon its the lads who shout at other triathletes are the ones that need to chill out..but yea maybe i need to lighten up too, and ill take ur advice on board huff and puff i generally try to go around tri in good humour and encourage other triathletes at all levels so i dont like to see lads shouting on the course....its up to motorbike officials to enforce the rules, not other triathletes.

Solobally8

Huff n Puff wrote: »

I let drafting roars out of me the whole time too, but sure I am probably an absolute IDIOT and arrogant fool too.

Probably?








joking, I swear

Huff n Puff

jamescantwell wrote: »

TBH i reckon its the lads who shout at other triathletes are the ones that need to chill out..but yea maybe i need to lighten up too, and ill take ur advice on board huff and puff i generally try to go around tri in good humour and encourage other triathletes at all levels so i dont like to see lads shouting on the course....its up to motorbike officials to enforce the rules, not other triathletes.

Strangely enough, I always regret shouting out on the course. But it is so easy to lose the cool when you are bursting a gut to catch people in a 'pace line' ahead of you. If a shout might get them to cop on then I am going to do it, especially when they blatanly jump on your wheel - this happens very often.

sconhome

jamescantwell wrote: »

doin fermoy tri last wk, i was about 8 or 9 metres from the guy in front of me and he had literally just overtaken me and was pulling away..

The overtake is deemed to have been completed once your front wheel gets ahead of the other cyclist who is now obliged to drop back out of the draft zone within 5 seconds.

If you didn't make a move to drop back rather than waiting for the overtaker to pull away, technically you are drafting.

jamescantwell wrote: »

2) its up to T.I. officials to warn of the rules, not some arrogant fool, who's streets ahead of most of the competitors in terms of talent.

It is up to TI officials to enforce the rules, it is incumbent on all participants in tri to practise the rules. From ITU rules:

I
nternational Triathlon Union
ITU Competition Rules
22-02-2011
19
b.)
Draft-Illegal Races:
(i)
Drafting from another athlete or motor vehicle is forbidden. Athletes must
reject attempts by others to draft;

I don't see anything wrong with what this guy did or said.

I also reject the comparisons between triathlon and filed ot team sports. Tri is all about challenging yourself. If you can't challenge yourself without breaking rules you are cheating yourself.

jamescantwell

fair enough!

Bambaata

Huff n Puff wrote: »

Strangely enough, I always regret shouting out on the course. But it is so easy to lose the cool when you are bursting a gut to catch people in a 'pace line' ahead of you. If a shout might get them to cop on then I am going to do it, especially when they blatanly jump on your wheel - this happens very often.

I shout out people too and i think its only gonna get solved if the athletes ard those shouting about it on course.

Mr Tango

Bambaata wrote: »

I shout out people too and i think its only gonna get solved if the athletes ard those shouting about it on course.

Me too and if it is that blatant it wont be as polite as shouting 'drafting' either.

bryangiggsy

Left pondering the question after Dublin this weekend and other races this year....

The real problem and were i see the biggest advantages being gained in both kilkee and dublin ..is the 4 or 5 guys working together..the small packs that blow by you riding not in a draft..but spread accross the road....moving up and down in and out...Coming out in the top 8% of the swim and being a weaker 21% rider..i see this a lot

Also another thing annoys the fook out of me..is when i guy busts a guy to get up past you then pulls directly in front of you and slows down as hes fooked.....

sconhome

bryangiggsy wrote: »

Also another thing annoys the fook out of me..is when i guy busts a guy to get up past you then pulls directly in front of you and slows down as hes fooked.....

Pet hate of mine too. You have to sit up and drop back before going past him again, meantime someone who's been sitting on his wheel drops in front of you too :mad: :mad:

tunney

bryangiggsy wrote: »

Also another thing annoys the fook out of me..is when i guy busts a guy to get up past you then pulls directly in front of you and slows down as hes fooked.....

Its called blocking and there are rules for it, however they of course are not enforced either

BTH

tunney wrote: »

Its called blocking and there are rules for it, however they of course are not enforced either

I know a guy who got a penalty in DCT for blocking.

tunney

BTH wrote: »

I know a guy who got a penalty in DCT for blocking.

Impressive, surprised.

speedyj

BTH wrote: »

I know a guy who got a penalty in DCT for blocking.

Naughty

pgibbo

I saw some at DCT at the weekend. In the past I used to shout or give out but I found it had a negative effect on me so I've stopped and just say fcuk them if they want to cheat.

One guy was stuck to someones wheel for 2 laps and wasn't pinged at all. I checked the results and no penalty. I overtook him and the person he was drafting off only for him to jump on my wheel. He had some cheek. He even commented on how touchy the other person was about him being so close to them. :eek: This happened a couple of times until he latched on to someone else that was moving faster for the last lap.

The second one showed me how effective drafting can be. On my last time going up the Kyber there was no-one around me when 5 lads came by like a train and left me for dead. Even going uphill there was a benefit.

I did notice groups gathering on the Kyber at times but it's very hard to drop back the 10m on an uphill section if someone overtakes you and isn't strong enough to keep going. They tended to disperse at the top though as most people were making an effort not to draft.

SlowMe

pgibbo wrote: »

I found it had a negative effect on me so I've stopped and just say fcuk them if they want to cheat

same as that for me but I'm not a "contender" - I'm not sure I'd take it as passively if I was challenging for a place

pgibbo

SlowMe wrote: »

same as that for me but I'm not a "contender" - I'm not sure I'd take it as passively if I was challenging for a place

I think the reality is that there are only about 20 or 30 athletes that are contenders at these races - if even that many. The rest of us are there for our own personal reasons

SlowMe

pgibbo wrote: »

I think the reality is that there are only about 20 or 30 athletes that are contenders at these races - if even that many. The rest of us are there for our own personal reasons

agreed. makes drafting all the more ridiculous...

fluboy

Not sure on the ruling on this one myself, but today in Hook or by Crook two lads sped past me, drafting, not off each other but drafting off the back of a tractor and trailer.

Is this a breach of the drafting rule?

sconhome

Yes it is!

From ITU Rule Book
•• • Vehicle draft zone will be a rectangle thirty-five (35) metres long by five (5) metres wide, which surrounds every vehicle on the bike segment. The front edge of the vehicle will define the center of the leading 5 metre edge of the rectangle.

fluboy

Taught as much. Dangerous as well.

Kurt Godel

amphkingwest wrote: »

Yes it is!

From ITU Rule Book
•• • Vehicle draft zone will be a rectangle thirty-five (35) metres long by five (5) metres wide, which surrounds every vehicle on the bike segment. The front edge of the vehicle will define the center of the leading 5 metre edge of the rectangle.

Good luck dropping back 35 meters from an overtaking vehicle today!:D
If there was any gap between groups of bikers, a car would invariably overtake to fill it. I was passed by a group of four bikes (looked to be drafting to me), and so dropped back the required number of meters. Straight away a car overtook (blind corner, solid line) to fill the space, and I could feel an instant benefit from riding behind it. I dropped back to get out of this, but that just meant another car tried its best to overtake me to fill the gap:rolleyes: In the end I undertook the first car and hammered it to get past the group of four.

I'm starting to see why some are calling for either draft-legal, or TT races.

sconhome

Kurt Godel wrote: »

I'm starting to see why some are calling for either draft-legal, or TT races.

Just closed roads would be ideal!

That and considerate drivers who realise they are going to be stopped ahead anyway and just leave you room on the inside, though technically you should be hammering down the outside (without crossing the white line )

Jupiter36

Lots of DQ's for failure to use the drafting penalty box at Mourne today.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

I dont know what was worse, Banbridge CC not sitting out until the race past or the 4 "in the race" sitting in the group of said riders getting a nice draft into a solid headwind. Even passing those drafting and shouting "cheating fcker" done nothing to split the wheel suckers up.
Have the race numbers, half tempted to name & shame but should not be up to competitors!! Even cheating on the swim, just don't understand people that do that.

RacoonQueen

Would love to know how many regular drafters are reading this thread...

jamescantwell

saw zero drafting in brian boru yesterday....has to be the toughest tri in ireland??

Jupiter36

Maximo Bald Bee wrote: »

I dont know what was worse, Banbridge CC not sitting out until the race past or the 4 "in the race" sitting in the group of said riders getting a nice draft into a solid headwind. Even passing those drafting and shouting "cheating fcker" done nothing to split the wheel suckers up.
Have the race numbers, half tempted to name & shame but should not be up to competitors!! Even cheating on the swim, just don't understand people that do that.

How did they cheat in the swim?

mossym

Jupiter36 wrote: »

How did they cheat in the swim?