IMH drafting not tolerated

[Nicholas Sabula]

It was great to see that there are still major triathlons where drafting
will not be tolerated. The disqualification of Lothar Leder may have
affected the final standings for the men's division, but perhaps it will
serve as a reminder that triathlon is an individual sport. Maybe some
of these athletes got too used to the benefits of pack riding in the
wannabe triathlons that have emerged since the ITU sold the sport out
for an Olympic entry. I don't know the exact reasons for the
disqualification or how blatant he was at it, but I hope people will
take notice that you should patrol yourself when racing and race fair.

[gordo byrn]

I agree with the comments. However, when I saw the pros heading down from
Hawi (I was heading up), Tim De Boom was way out front and there was a chase
pack of about 12 riders that pretty much looked like they had a pace line
set up. I am not sure if their drafting rules are different from the AG
rules but there was no way that they were three bike lengths apart. Perhaps
an official came by and busted them shortly after I saw it. My Dad said
that by the time they got down to him (another 16 miles, he was spectating)
that they were broken up into two packs.

As for the officiating in the middle of the pack, hats off to Charlie and
his group of officials. From my perspective, the officials were numerous
and fair. There were a lot of penalties handed out (based on seeing a large
number of race numbers with red slashes through them). However, it was easy
to avoid getting nailed as the highway was closed and the conditions were
good.

gordo

[gordo byrn]

>However, it was easy
> to avoid getting nailed as the highway was closed and the conditions were
> good.

To add a little bit...

There was limited traffic on the highway and there is a new shoulder that is
about four feet wide. A couple of times, people passed me and then died in
front of me. Rather than fall back, I moved onto the shoulder to give them
time to slowly pull away. That meant that I didn't run into problems with
the 15 sec. rule. I saw some blocking but so did the officials and they
were quite strict with enforcement.

At one stage, I thought that I had been nailed while passing someone, there
was no one in front of me or behind me (other than the passee). Turns out
the official was just telling me to move over after the pass. My heart
nearly jumped out of my skinsuit!

gordo

[Christoph Schneider]

Dear Nicholas,

as far as I know, Lothar Leder was disqualified, because he wasn't riding exactly
on the right, not because of drafting. And besides, the wind was blowing from the right!
And I think the refs should have been more "Fingerspitzengefuehl",  that means, they
should have been more sensible due to the race situation.
That's my personal opinion.
Greetings

-- 
 Christoph

"Real athletes don't draft"

 http://www.imb-jena.de/~csc/

 

[Larry Himmel]

The pros have an even longer drafting zone - 10 meters. They also have to
maintain a staggered formation. If they are drafting, it should be very
obvious.

Larry

[Marty Gaal]

That's the first I heard of a ten-meter rule. That would make it virtually
impossible to pass within 15 seconds.
Are you sure about that?

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[Larry Himmel]

That's what the book says. The 15 second rule refers to entering the drafting
zone from the rear. Since the pros ride staggered they could pass one another
with out ever entering the drafting zone of the rider they are overtaking.

Larry

[sealbeacheyes]

Larry Himmel wrote:

> The pros have an even longer drafting zone - 10 meters. They also have to
> maintain a staggered formation. If they are drafting, it should be very
> obvious.

Hi Larry,

There are no stagger rules at IMH. Everyone goes by age-group rules except
for the zone of 10 meters for pros and 7 meters for age groupers. You must
ride on the right and pass on the left. The final call on Lothar Leder was
for riding on the left of the lane (Position Violation).

Randy Hill

[Charlie Crawford]

On Mon, 25 Oct 1999 08:40:34 -0700, Larry Himmel <lhi...@csulb.edu>
wrote:

>The pros have an even longer drafting zone - 10 meters. They also have to
>maintain a staggered formation. If they are drafting, it should be very
>obvious.

No stagger in Hawaii, age group rulels for pros, as well.

[sealbeacheyes]

> Dear Nicholas,
>
> as far as I know, Lothar Leder was disqualified, because he wasn't
> riding exactly
> on the right, not because of drafting. And besides, the wind was
> blowing from the right!
> And I think the refs should have been more "Fingerspitzengefuehl",
> that means, they
> should have been more sensible due to the race situation.
> That's my personal opinion.
> Greetings
>
> --
> Christoph
>
> "Real athletes don't draft"
>
> http://www.imb-jena.de/~csc/
>
>

Here are the facts:

1 He moved from a legal right hand side position to the far left of
the lane. He was quite close to the line in the center of the road. He
was there well over a minute before being called.

2 There was a support van on the far left side of the lane just 30
- 40 feet in front of him.

3 The call was near the airport on the way back to town. The winds
were in their faces at that point, not from the side. The side winds
occurred mostly before Kawaihai on the way out and back.

4 He had been called for drafting earlier in the race. His second
call then disqualified him.

Randy Hill
Cat 1 USAT Ref
IMH Officials Crew