Yes, let there be drafting. You seem to be too focused on the pros and what they do. I once had to wait to get on the bike, because we were that many people getting up from the water at about the same time. So when we came out of T1, we were about 20 people getting ready to ride. Marchalls were there, so it took almost forever before we all got on our bikes. It was all chaos. That is really annoying and unnecessary time consuming. Less annoying rules to adhere to is better. Especially for amateur athletes, who have a hard time keeping the legal distance on the bike because the athletes clump together - mostly because a lot of events have so many participants. Fx 2000 participants are equal to a spread of 24 to 40 km depending on the draft distance used at the event. No tri bars however - like in draft legal races. Though let the pros have non-draft if that is the thing. But change amateur rules. It could also make the event a little faster and spectator friendly. And friends tackling the race, could do it together without breaking the rules.
@@Choedron That’s a really good point about doing the race with a friend. I was considering doing one with my son, but thought it would be nice if we could actually ride together.
At least follow uci TT rules. Crazy that some elite riders must have two similar but costly bikes. The real problem is that training is done on open roads.
Here in the states where women's tri is becoming an official collegiate sport, it is draft legal, no tri bikes allowed. I think it increases the team dynamic of the collegiate sport, but it also creates a bigger gap between experienced teams and the newbies.
Love the idea of draft legal zones on certain courses, that could be really exciting making people surge into them and out of them etc.! Also would love to see a proper ITT style race with no drafting, so triathletes set off every 2 minutes or so and do a proper individual time trial to see who completes the course in the fastest time… could be interesting to see if it changed anything and dynamics of racing. Maybe as a PTO race with a limited amount of people so it didn’t last too long
In the men's race in Tokyo 51 athletes came out of the water within 1 minute. So a string of athletes a kilometer long at 20m draft rule. Nobody will have the power to get around this whole line so there is potential scenario of two lines of 500m going up and over🙄 Qualification system. Presumably you'd need all world cup, wts and continental cup to be non drafting. Many of these races take place in countries which may not have the infrastructure to support non drafting races, indeed non drafting is a particularly English speaking part of the sport, head to Spain or Portugal to see some real age group racing. If you want change why not leave the bike alone and make the swim non drafting, minimum distance 2 body lengths perhaps.
Another aspect to consider should be the kind of bikes used. How fast you are on the bike course at a non-drafting race depends on your bike and as I have experienced you don’t have any chance against someone on a TT when you are racing with a road bike. For Age Group athletes this makes the sport far more expensive and less attractive for new ones to join because there is this big money-barrier …
Yeah, I had to compete with an arrow road bike and would use the prayer UCI rider position 11k, basically invisible aerobars. I think I really liked the cross country triathlons a lot more becuase if felt more fair, and drafting is legal in that discipline.
No draft for me! I remember watching my first Olympic Triathlon and just thinking, that the bike doesn't really matter. At that point, just skip the bike and let them run. Or I'll go watch something else during the bike and come back for the run. I get the space problem. But no draft is definitely more exciting for me.
So you are telling me that you would go see something else during the bike leg of Olympic tri? Do you stay watching the bike leg in ironman distances? In ironman distances everyone can just go away for 2 hours, come back and see that maybe 1 or 2 positions changed.
Time trial triathlon is a good alternative. No bike packs, you got to keep pushing forward all the time. You’ll use the live race excitement like a cycling TT.
I can’t imagine biking in a mass of people that tired with the fear of crashing. At least for your safety I shouldn’t be allowed to join as a safety hazard on long distance drafting legal events. Also if tt bars are banned for this reason then good luck resting on your numb palms for that amount of time. It’s only more exciting to watch because there’s a higher risk of people getting seriously hurt.
In ironman distances the draft is not allowed only on the bike. Are you going to fight for "draft free swim" and "draft free run"? Olympic triathlon is the only one where the rule is consistent through the whole event.
I’ve raced in both legal legal and non drafting. I feel it’s harder to compete in draft legal races sprint races, as you have to be in the front pack to be competitive. Although saying that, it’s amazing fun to be in a pack racing! 🙂
Great points on both sides! I lean towards no drafting. I think it makes it each section of the race more exciting, and therefore the race as a whole Keeps exciting. Cheers!
The bit that confuses me is if Olympic distance triathlon is a combination of the three standard distances, why isn't the bike a time trial? Cycling at the Olympics doesn't include a crit, so the bike leg of triathlon shouldn't be crit style racing; it should be a ITT. Or, to spice up the bike leg (because I don't find it that exciting), maybe include a few primes that knock a couple seconds off your finish time. That way athletes have to balance their effort on the bike to win some extra time and not blow up their legs.
The Olympics committee said that for triathlon to be included in Olympics it had to be draft legal becuase it makes better television. I have done several xc triathlons and drafting is always allowed, but bike skills and power really play an important role.
Oh I really really like the idea of drafting zones and non drafting zones, you could have red, yellow, green zones on course, which could make it safer even. IM Happy Valley 70.3 had speed limit zones, don't see why we couldn't test that out for drafting.
I personally have mixed feelings about this: On one hand bike is my worst leg so being able to draft helps me a lot to compete and to go harder on the swim which is my stronger one, but on the other hand I usually train cycling alone so it’s hard for me to keep up with the bunch sometimes and I tend to loose the wheel and have to sprint to try to catch them and if I fail then it’s over normally
I tend to lean towards James' point of view...non drafting. Plus, for me, watching pros moving on TT bikes is way more exciting. The problem with non drafting in shorter distances tho, as Heather mentioned, is the issue of the space on the course. Would be interested to hear about more possible solutions for that issue.
Asking a question of whether full distance should be “draft legal” Have you ever watched Ironman Barcelona or Italy where it’s harder to find someone who DOESN’T draft.
I'd prefer non-drafting but with tougher bike courses, which would make it exciting to watch and less predictable. As someone who races Olympic distance as an age grouper I'd also really enjoy seeing professionals race in the same format that I do.
A big part of bike racing is drafting and how you use it. My first triathlon was draft legal, and was absolutly awesome, my 2nd was non-drafting and was also awesome. The speed and the skill I needed to keep with my pack added a lot to my race experience, the thill of the speed, when (if) to take a turn up front, made it what it was. Knowing it is me alone who has to get round the course also added a lot to my race experience, each person I overtook on the bike was a small victory! I would not say they were different sports, maybe at the top level, but for me its just different things that make it exciting.
I think if the question were posed to the general public and not other triathletes, I think the answers would move toward what’s more exciting. Unless you are a cyclist or triathlete, most of the general public has limited understanding of drafting. That’s said, I think keeping Olympic rules separate, does better to grow the popularity of the sport and bring more growth to the sport.
The benefits to non-drafting is it would emphasize the swim and lesson the importance of the bike. I always thought that the sport should weight all disciplines equally. Getting in the right group on a 112 mile bike is such an advantage.
Non-drafting would lessen the importance of the bike leg??? Au contraire, it would highlight the benefit of a strong cyclist and eliminate the motivation to be a wheelsucker. Drafting makes no sense in triathlon. ITT or just eliminate the bike leg and make it a swim/run event.
I’ve done 3 draft legal races. AG sprint world champ, AG sprint national champ, du sprint national champ. World was so big always a place to latch on and others moving up. Nex sprint was perfect, I was in the second wave 5 min back, with a 10 min bike lap, I lost 5 min on the swim, and hooked up with a pack because of that 10 min lap. I wasn’t stranded, but only had one other person to work with on the final lap. And the du was great, I made second pack, but got dropped. Gave back 2 plus minutes I gained on the first run from the group I finished the bike with. But that’s the style of racing it is. I like doing it even though AG National and world champs are the only opportunities.
It sold its Soul and has now sold the Sprint Distance too. A true triathlon is about the athletes' ability, not for spectators. They are dumbing down the core of Triathlon. It's supposed to be a time trial ..not a suck on someone's wheel and then change it into a run race.
NO, drafting should never be a part of triathlon. The fundamental idea at triathlon's inception was that it was you against the clock. Now the pro short course races amount to do a decent swim, ride in a pack then run for the result. Why even bother with the swim and bike? Staggered starts by a minute or 30 seconds would an alternative worth trying with no drafting on the bike.
Decent debate, one which James massively LOST 🤣 As a competitor, I much prefer draft legal short course racing. If you've ever been in a 20+ bike pack inches from each other, you know its the purest form of racing, no room for error. As a spectator, draft legal racing is still more exciting. However, long course should stay non-drafting.
Triathlon should be 30sec-1min start gaps like xc ski and time trial cycling and 30m m draft zone. Then it would be most interesting to follow and for racers.
I feel like the Arena Games format combined the best of both worlds: no drafting in any of the disciplines, and still it was easy and exciting to follow the race dynamics because everyone still started at the same time and didn't need to keep gaps. Hard to reproduce in the real world and with significantly more athletes though 🙃
I think non-drafting in the Olympics would make for even more excitement. In a condensed multi-loop course it would force riders to attack on the bike. Viewers could also focus on their athletes instead of the pack. That said, the strongest bikers would probably have an advantage as the shorter run (compared to long distance) would make overtaking harder. Personally, I like the pure fitness aspect of non-drafting, not to mention it results in fewer accidents.
Love this debate! As a fan I'm totally pro-drafting. I don't think it has to make the bike element meaningless - the interesting bike course made the Rio Olympics, in my opinion, and the importance of making the front pack means that athletes can't use a strong bike to mask a poor swim. You have to be a good all-rounder to succeed in draft-legal racing.
Really?? Drafting is contrary to a ‘good all-arounder’ being competitive. Good time trialists just drag the runners around on their wheel. Runners are incentivized to be wheelsuckers. The cycling leg becomes simply an exercise in saving energy, with a disincentive to really push yourself.
As a race fan of all forms (motorsports, running, cycling, etc.) I’m all for drafting. I want to see and be a part of a race. Not just a time trial (which I love as well, but not for all events) I love strategy in my races. I find drafting opens up the door for more strategy. It is why I find watching cycling more exciting than running.
Currently, the primary strategy on the bike is to get in a lead group and rest as much as possible. Now, someone else mentioned the idea to put cycling last. Now, then you could allow drafting and there would be some real racing! Would have to both swim and run fast to start near the front on the bike, and then there would be great tactics like a real race: breakaway or sprint finish? That would be awesome!
I've never understood why people are against drafting. The highest level of cycling racing is all about drafting. If anything, they should make swim drafting illegal because thats so different from lane racing.
Having read through a lot of the comments, some people see drafting as making the bike leg "easier", that's far from the truth. Bike packs will always have stronger riders pushing the pace, it's not easy putting out way more power than you've ever managed before to try and keep pace. Hence, why you see many pro's drop off the back of bike packs.
The rules shouldn't be about the spectators. They should be about fairness. To me, drafting potentially holds back athletes who could do better but aren't able to overtake because they have to hold back in the cycling. There are no drafting rules in the swimming or running. It seems arbitrary to just have them in the cycle.
I disagree draft isn’t a big deal to age group. I think their should be an open category in races for people who’s goal is not to be at the front, that they don’t have to be policed. Also, there is no more internet outrage by people who care about being at the front when Ironman Texas incidents happen. If I see pictures of people at the local sprint tri on hybrids and city bikes closer than 5 bike lengths, I’m not at all bothered they aren’t following the rules. Whatever it is about this sport, it attracts too many people neurotic for rules. The answer is a back of the pack just have fun and be safe category.
Swim is already under-represented in everything except Olympic distance, and thats just because it has a more even ratio of disciplines. Having the swim mean a bit more isn't a bad thing.
Get rid of the silly UCI illegal TT bikes, have everyone on road bikes, give those courses some steep hills and the bike section willl be decisive rather than the straight boring flats, that favor heavier taller riders.
There’s two ways to look at this, yes triathlon is traditionally an individual event, so for serious athletes it should be non drafting. That said, an elitist serious attitude to the sport will put off many people from even considering it. I for one thought I’d would be one and done for charity, 6 years on and I’m still at it, I wouldn’t have considered it if it was bogged down with rules and regulations, we aren’t cycling, we don’t have the UCI, do we really want to hobble the sport with bureaucracy and elitist attitudes to deter newbies? I would say keep the longer distances non drafting for those of us more serious about it, whilst allowing drafting for events up to standard distance, in order to bring new blood into the sport.
I do races where you can draft, so you must use a road bike without aerobars, and races where you can’t draft. Drafting makes the sport way more accessible because you can’t usually compete with a triathlon bike if you have a road bike. I enjoy both, so either way I’m fine 😄 .
Draft legal is a complete joke for real triathletes. Read the comments and understand some of the points. For newbies or noncompetitive “identified” races like “Tri It” sure allow drafting and don’t have any rules. Don’t have any rankings or placings. Give everyone a completion certificate and let them graduate to a real race when they are ready and comfortable.
@@DP-sh3nk It’s just my opinion but triathlon is an individual sport if you legalize the draft becomes something else... the true spirit of triathlon get lost...
@@DP-sh3nk Sorry about my bad English. But I wanted to say that I am not talking about the type of bicycle but about the fact that triathlon is a very individual sport, you have to rely only on your strengths. With draft in my opinioni it’s not a triathlon.
@@gbilya2 That’s what I meant. I wasn’t talking about the hardness of the effort, with the draft or without it triathlon is a very hard sport, but its spirit is of individual sport. With the draft an athlete can "hide and rest" for hours and hours and this is NOT triathlon.
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🤔Has drafting made triathlon racing better? 🏊🚴🏃
Let us know 👇
Yes, let there be drafting. You seem to be too focused on the pros and what they do. I once had to wait to get on the bike, because we were that many people getting up from the water at about the same time. So when we came out of T1, we were about 20 people getting ready to ride. Marchalls were there, so it took almost forever before we all got on our bikes. It was all chaos. That is really annoying and unnecessary time consuming. Less annoying rules to adhere to is better. Especially for amateur athletes, who have a hard time keeping the legal distance on the bike because the athletes clump together - mostly because a lot of events have so many participants. Fx 2000 participants are equal to a spread of 24 to 40 km depending on the draft distance used at the event. No tri bars however - like in draft legal races. Though let the pros have non-draft if that is the thing. But change amateur rules. It could also make the event a little faster and spectator friendly. And friends tackling the race, could do it together without breaking the rules.
@@Choedron That’s a really good point about doing the race with a friend. I was considering doing one with my son, but thought it would be nice if we could actually ride together.
Given the bike handling skills of most triathletes (I’m a coach) absolutely not all of them. If you do make it draft legal then no Tri Bars.
At least follow uci TT rules. Crazy that some elite riders must have two similar but costly bikes.
The real problem is that training is done on open roads.
Interesting idea! Do you think it's hard to train on tri bars on open roads? 🚴
@@gtn I'm full of ideas lol.
I don't think the elites will give up their carbon fibre space ships.
Nice one. Note. The ITU World Cup went draft-legal in the spring of 1994. 6 months before the Olympic decision. And 6 years before Sydney.
Here in the states where women's tri is becoming an official collegiate sport, it is draft legal, no tri bikes allowed. I think it increases the team dynamic of the collegiate sport, but it also creates a bigger gap between experienced teams and the newbies.
Love the idea of draft legal zones on certain courses, that could be really exciting making people surge into them and out of them etc.!
Also would love to see a proper ITT style race with no drafting, so triathletes set off every 2 minutes or so and do a proper individual time trial to see who completes the course in the fastest time… could be interesting to see if it changed anything and dynamics of racing. Maybe as a PTO race with a limited amount of people so it didn’t last too long
Maybe the focus should be on making bike courses that makes drafting harder (like corners ands small hills) instead of draft vs no draft.
In the men's race in Tokyo 51 athletes came out of the water within 1 minute. So a string of athletes a kilometer long at 20m draft rule. Nobody will have the power to get around this whole line so there is potential scenario of two lines of 500m going up and over🙄
Qualification system. Presumably you'd need all world cup, wts and continental cup to be non drafting. Many of these races take place in countries which may not have the infrastructure to support non drafting races, indeed non drafting is a particularly English speaking part of the sport, head to Spain or Portugal to see some real age group racing.
If you want change why not leave the bike alone and make the swim non drafting, minimum distance 2 body lengths perhaps.
Another aspect to consider should be the kind of bikes used. How fast you are on the bike course at a non-drafting race depends on your bike and as I have experienced you don’t have any chance against someone on a TT when you are racing with a road bike. For Age Group athletes this makes the sport far more expensive and less attractive for new ones to join because there is this big money-barrier …
Yeah, I had to compete with an arrow road bike and would use the prayer UCI rider position 11k, basically invisible aerobars. I think I really liked the cross country triathlons a lot more becuase if felt more fair, and drafting is legal in that discipline.
No draft for me! I remember watching my first Olympic Triathlon and just thinking, that the bike doesn't really matter. At that point, just skip the bike and let them run. Or I'll go watch something else during the bike and come back for the run. I get the space problem. But no draft is definitely more exciting for me.
So you are telling me that you would go see something else during the bike leg of Olympic tri? Do you stay watching the bike leg in ironman distances? In ironman distances everyone can just go away for 2 hours, come back and see that maybe 1 or 2 positions changed.
Time trial triathlon is a good alternative. No bike packs, you got to keep pushing forward all the time. You’ll use the live race excitement like a cycling TT.
Oooo we like the sound of that 👀
With drafting perhaps switch up the order to Swim -> Run -> Bike, so the end of the race is more aggressive with possible sprint finishers
its a lot more exciting in the shorter distances In agegroup racing I love drafting
I can’t imagine biking in a mass of people that tired with the fear of crashing. At least for your safety I shouldn’t be allowed to join as a safety hazard on long distance drafting legal events. Also if tt bars are banned for this reason then good luck resting on your numb palms for that amount of time. It’s only more exciting to watch because there’s a higher risk of people getting seriously hurt.
In ironman distances the draft is not allowed only on the bike. Are you going to fight for "draft free swim" and "draft free run"? Olympic triathlon is the only one where the rule is consistent through the whole event.
I’ve raced in both legal legal and non drafting. I feel it’s harder to compete in draft legal races sprint races, as you have to be in the front pack to be competitive. Although saying that, it’s amazing fun to be in a pack racing! 🙂
Great points on both sides! I lean towards no drafting. I think it makes it each section of the race more exciting, and therefore the race as a whole
Keeps exciting. Cheers!
It certainly does make the riding super interesting 👀
The bit that confuses me is if Olympic distance triathlon is a combination of the three standard distances, why isn't the bike a time trial? Cycling at the Olympics doesn't include a crit, so the bike leg of triathlon shouldn't be crit style racing; it should be a ITT. Or, to spice up the bike leg (because I don't find it that exciting), maybe include a few primes that knock a couple seconds off your finish time. That way athletes have to balance their effort on the bike to win some extra time and not blow up their legs.
Indeed❤
The Olympics committee said that for triathlon to be included in Olympics it had to be draft legal becuase it makes better television. I have done several xc triathlons and drafting is always allowed, but bike skills and power really play an important role.
Oh I really really like the idea of drafting zones and non drafting zones, you could have red, yellow, green zones on course, which could make it safer even. IM Happy Valley 70.3 had speed limit zones, don't see why we couldn't test that out for drafting.
I personally have mixed feelings about this:
On one hand bike is my worst leg so being able to draft helps me a lot to compete and to go harder on the swim which is my stronger one, but on the other hand I usually train cycling alone so it’s hard for me to keep up with the bunch sometimes and I tend to loose the wheel and have to sprint to try to catch them and if I fail then it’s over normally
I tend to lean towards James' point of view...non drafting. Plus, for me, watching pros moving on TT bikes is way more exciting. The problem with non drafting in shorter distances tho, as Heather mentioned, is the issue of the space on the course. Would be interested to hear about more possible solutions for that issue.
The solution is an out and back or a single loop like a time trial
Asking a question of whether full distance should be “draft legal” Have you ever watched Ironman Barcelona or Italy where it’s harder to find someone who DOESN’T draft.
Drafting when draft is legal and not legal are wildly different experiences. I dont think it's safe at least for the age groupers
I'd prefer non-drafting but with tougher bike courses, which would make it exciting to watch and less predictable. As someone who races Olympic distance as an age grouper I'd also really enjoy seeing professionals race in the same format that I do.
I would hate to see a triathlete lose a medal because they got a subjective drafting penalty. Drafting is far more exciting:)
A big part of bike racing is drafting and how you use it.
My first triathlon was draft legal, and was absolutly awesome, my 2nd was non-drafting and was also awesome. The speed and the skill I needed to keep with my pack added a lot to my race experience, the thill of the speed, when (if) to take a turn up front, made it what it was. Knowing it is me alone who has to get round the course also added a lot to my race experience, each person I overtook on the bike was a small victory!
I would not say they were different sports, maybe at the top level, but for me its just different things that make it exciting.
I think if the question were posed to the general public and not other triathletes, I think the answers would move toward what’s more exciting. Unless you are a cyclist or triathlete, most of the general public has limited understanding of drafting. That’s said, I think keeping Olympic rules separate, does better to grow the popularity of the sport and bring more growth to the sport.
That's a super good point! What do we think is most important? The view of the sports of other or those in the sport? 🏊🚴🏃
New event, but I think a swim, bike, run time trial format would be interesting to see the best overall.
The benefits to non-drafting is it would emphasize the swim and lesson the importance of the bike. I always thought that the sport should weight all disciplines equally. Getting in the right group on a 112 mile bike is such an advantage.
Non-drafting would lessen the importance of the bike leg??? Au contraire, it would highlight the benefit of a strong cyclist and eliminate the motivation to be a wheelsucker. Drafting makes no sense in triathlon. ITT or just eliminate the bike leg and make it a swim/run event.
Would love a video debating the most fun distance to race and to watch, and if alternatives should be considered (i.e. longer swim).
That's a cool idea! Although fun is always a bit subjective 👀
@@gtn nah we're all the same kind of crazy that thinks harder is more fun
I’ve done 3 draft legal races. AG sprint world champ, AG sprint national champ, du sprint national champ. World was so big always a place to latch on and others moving up. Nex sprint was perfect, I was in the second wave 5 min back, with a 10 min bike lap, I lost 5 min on the swim, and hooked up with a pack because of that 10 min lap. I wasn’t stranded, but only had one other person to work with on the final lap. And the du was great, I made second pack, but got dropped. Gave back 2 plus minutes I gained on the first run from the group I finished the bike with. But that’s the style of racing it is. I like doing it even though AG National and world champs are the only opportunities.
Remove tt bikes/aero bars and make draft legal: it will make the sport a lot more accessible financially and tactically interesting
It sold its Soul and has now sold the Sprint Distance too. A true triathlon is about the athletes' ability, not for spectators. They are dumbing down the core of Triathlon. It's supposed to be a time trial ..not a suck on someone's wheel and then change it into a run race.
NO, drafting should never be a part of triathlon. The fundamental idea at triathlon's inception was that it was you against the clock. Now the pro short course races amount to do a decent swim, ride in a pack then run for the result. Why even bother with the swim and bike? Staggered starts by a minute or 30 seconds would an alternative worth trying with no drafting on the bike.
No Draft. Drafting is cheating. Keep the sport pure!
Your triathlon uci illegal bike is pay to win.
Decent debate, one which James massively LOST 🤣
As a competitor, I much prefer draft legal short course racing. If you've ever been in a 20+ bike pack inches from each other, you know its the purest form of racing, no room for error.
As a spectator, draft legal racing is still more exciting. However, long course should stay non-drafting.
Could you make it a time-trial to keep non-draft?
Imho there should be a normal bike TT on Saturday and a swim run on Sunday. The times added to get the winner.
Triathlon should be 30sec-1min start gaps like xc ski and time trial cycling and 30m m draft zone. Then it would be most interesting to follow and for racers.
I feel like the Arena Games format combined the best of both worlds: no drafting in any of the disciplines, and still it was easy and exciting to follow the race dynamics because everyone still started at the same time and didn't need to keep gaps. Hard to reproduce in the real world and with significantly more athletes though 🙃
You have to think about it from a common folks' perspective, not an experienced triathlete. I say draft in the Olympics.
I think non-drafting in the Olympics would make for even more excitement. In a condensed multi-loop course it would force riders to attack on the bike. Viewers could also focus on their athletes instead of the pack. That said, the strongest bikers would probably have an advantage as the shorter run (compared to long distance) would make overtaking harder. Personally, I like the pure fitness aspect of non-drafting, not to mention it results in fewer accidents.
Love this debate! As a fan I'm totally pro-drafting. I don't think it has to make the bike element meaningless - the interesting bike course made the Rio Olympics, in my opinion, and the importance of making the front pack means that athletes can't use a strong bike to mask a poor swim. You have to be a good all-rounder to succeed in draft-legal racing.
Really?? Drafting is contrary to a ‘good all-arounder’ being competitive. Good time trialists just drag the runners around on their wheel. Runners are incentivized to be wheelsuckers. The cycling leg becomes simply an exercise in saving energy, with a disincentive to really push yourself.
My vote is for no drafting. The athlete should show their ability on their own.
Drafting would mean if you can out run your competitor then you win.
I felt your arguments were both quite compelling... so maybe just put both distances in the Olympics!! Who could say no to more triathlon? :)
As a race fan of all forms (motorsports, running, cycling, etc.) I’m all for drafting. I want to see and be a part of a race. Not just a time trial (which I love as well, but not for all events)
I love strategy in my races. I find drafting opens up the door for more strategy. It is why I find watching cycling more exciting than running.
Currently, the primary strategy on the bike is to get in a lead group and rest as much as possible. Now, someone else mentioned the idea to put cycling last. Now, then you could allow drafting and there would be some real racing! Would have to both swim and run fast to start near the front on the bike, and then there would be great tactics like a real race: breakaway or sprint finish? That would be awesome!
It is actually a bad thing that these are like two different sports?
Non-drafting!!
Drafting makes cycling the least important discipline.
Makes swimming and cycling pretty much irrelevant.
I've never understood why people are against drafting. The highest level of cycling racing is all about drafting. If anything, they should make swim drafting illegal because thats so different from lane racing.
Where is Mark?
I definitely feel that I would prefer draft legal both for racing myself and watching.
Having read through a lot of the comments, some people see drafting as making the bike leg "easier", that's far from the truth. Bike packs will always have stronger riders pushing the pace, it's not easy putting out way more power than you've ever managed before to try and keep pace. Hence, why you see many pro's drop off the back of bike packs.
The rules shouldn't be about the spectators. They should be about fairness.
To me, drafting potentially holds back athletes who could do better but aren't able to overtake because they have to hold back in the cycling. There are no drafting rules in the swimming or running. It seems arbitrary to just have them in the cycle.
Just throw in some big hills and the bike even with drafting can become the most important section.
I disagree draft isn’t a big deal to age group. I think their should be an open category in races for people who’s goal is not to be at the front, that they don’t have to be policed. Also, there is no more internet outrage by people who care about being at the front when Ironman Texas incidents happen. If I see pictures of people at the local sprint tri on hybrids and city bikes closer than 5 bike lengths, I’m not at all bothered they aren’t following the rules. Whatever it is about this sport, it attracts too many people neurotic for rules. The answer is a back of the pack just have fun and be safe category.
Drafting is leagal in some USAT events. I have a draft legal bike and a triathelon bike
Anyone who’s raced Outlaw or Blenheim Palace has raced a draft legal race 😛
Drafting rules are kind of silly. It's a race. Rather make it safe by having roadbikes then.
Draft legal over emphasises the swim.
Swim is already under-represented in everything except Olympic distance, and thats just because it has a more even ratio of disciplines. Having the swim mean a bit more isn't a bad thing.
Get rid of the silly UCI illegal TT bikes, have everyone on road bikes, give those courses some steep hills and the bike section willl be decisive rather than the straight boring flats, that favor heavier taller riders.
10k a runner see's this and lol... I suppose it does shorten it.
i would quit triathlon if draft legal races didnt happen
I think I would too
Waaaay too dangerous for age groupers. And that's all to it.
There’s two ways to look at this, yes triathlon is traditionally an individual event, so for serious athletes it should be non drafting.
That said, an elitist serious attitude to the sport will put off many people from even considering it.
I for one thought I’d would be one and done for charity, 6 years on and I’m still at it, I wouldn’t have considered it if it was bogged down with rules and regulations, we aren’t cycling, we don’t have the UCI, do we really want to hobble the sport with bureaucracy and elitist attitudes to deter newbies?
I would say keep the longer distances non drafting for those of us more serious about it, whilst allowing drafting for events up to standard distance, in order to bring new blood into the sport.
No!
No draft keep it pure
I do races where you can draft, so you must use a road bike without aerobars, and races where you can’t draft. Drafting makes the sport way more accessible because you can’t usually compete with a triathlon bike if you have a road bike. I enjoy both, so either way I’m fine 😄 .
So why not get back to the basics: No drafting, no TT bikes? More participation, and keep the TRI in triathlon.
Yes,let it be draft legal.More interesting.
Draft legal is a complete joke for real triathletes.
Read the comments and understand some of the points. For newbies or noncompetitive “identified” races like “Tri It” sure allow drafting and don’t have any rules. Don’t have any rankings or placings. Give everyone a completion certificate and let them graduate to a real race when they are ready and comfortable.
Triathlon with draft is NEVER triathlon...
@@DP-sh3nk It’s just my opinion but triathlon is an individual sport if you legalize the draft becomes something else... the true spirit of triathlon get lost...
@@DP-sh3nk yes, I'm talking about the "old spirit" of triathlon. Surely you know how triathlon was born...
@@DP-sh3nk Sorry about my bad English. But I wanted to say that I am not talking about the type of bicycle but about the fact that triathlon is a very individual sport, you have to rely only on your strengths. With draft in my opinioni it’s not a triathlon.
Your son is not a real triathlete then!😂😂😂. All jokes aside Triathlon is an individual sport! Drafting makes it a group sport!
@@gbilya2 That’s what I meant. I wasn’t talking about the hardness of the effort, with the draft or without it triathlon is a very hard sport, but its spirit is of individual sport. With the draft an athlete can "hide and rest" for hours and hours and this is NOT triathlon.