The picture here was sent to me and it is from the Ironman 70.3 Championships in Clearwater. There was a lot of speculation about the possibility of that race becoming a draft-fest due to the flat bike course combined with a championship caliber field. Well it was a draft-fest. I talked to so many people that did the race and many said it was scary; it was horrible and almost impossible to ride hard. Some people caught up to packs from behind and they virtually had to stand up and sit in the back as there was no way to pass a slower pack. Others were just swallowed and if the speed of those swallowed was too slow relative to the pack, crashes were the result. Look at the picture above. The marshal is on his motor bike on the back unable to do anything. The course had many u-turns and when a pack of 30 riders reached a u-turn there was no option but to stop and unclip as you make the turn. Triathletes are not the best bike handlers and with so many people side by side it was impossible to make a u-turn without unclipping.
The drafting controversy is an old one. I do not like drafting at all. I wish we had more races like the Memphis in May Triathlon where the entire field is seeded and every triathlete starts at a different time. This stretches the field over the entire course. There is little drafting not only on the bike but also in the swim and it really becomes a race against the clock. To win you have to go as hard as possible the entire time as there is no idea to know how you stand against the competition.
Drafting is a reality when too many racers are together and their strength is close. Not to mention that people given the opportunity will try to stretch or break the rules. Furthermore once you get enough people drafting it becomes a mob mentality. People generally figure that if others are breaking the rules and are not getting penalized then they will join in too. Some people get mad and call all these guys cheaters. I have heard people say things like “If you do not want to draft you do not have to” I have tried it trust me. I have been in my share of draft-fests over 20 years and it really is a no win situation. The drafting rules state that once you get passed you have to drop back multiple bike lengths. So let’s say one of the guys on the second row above decides to drop back. As he slows down the guy behind will just pass him and then he will have to drop back even more. At some point he will be in the back of the pack with a heart rate below 100 and now there may not be a way to pass back unless you go outside the cones. Note the cone on the picture and note the rider way outside the cone. Normally that is a disqualification if they can catch you. Have you ever been driving down the freeway and then a bunch of cars pass you going 20 miles per hour faster than the speed limit. It is a similar behavior. Some of those car drivers would drive closer to the speed limit but once a few people go fast many will follow. It is the same mind set.
I did a draft-fest in New Jersey many years ago. It was an Ironman qualifier, totally flat course and I knew who I had to beat. The swim got cancelled due to fog so we ran 5 miles to start instead. One of my rivals was Jan Elsbah. I had to try to stay with him for any chance to qualify for Kona. I was on the bike course second or third and Jan was just a few seconds back. He passed me right way but I kept him in my sight for about 10 miles. Finally I gave up and had to let him go. Not a few miles later one guy passed me, then another and then another. It was a major pack. My buddy Matt was in there. I tried getting away but I would get swallowed back, so I had no choice but to join in. There were a few guys in my age group in the pack. There was no way I was going to let some of this guys get away so I joined the pack. We never caught Jan Elsbah because the guys in the front did not want to work hard. We went too easy sometimes. Whenever any one tried to get away the pack picked up the pace and they were brought back. Jan beat me by a few minutes in the end. I closed the gap a little on the run but not enough. When I saw him after the race I told him that I was glad I did not catch him. He did a fair race and I didn’t. In the end neither one of us qualified at that race but we both qualified later in the year.
Put a flat course with a quality field and waves too tight together and that is what you will get. You get a draft-fest. Some people can manage to avoid the draft and stay within the rules but if you get swallowed by a pack the only way to not draft is to let them go. This can be done if the pack is real fast of course. But if the pack is going about the same speed or just slightly faster you will basically have to slow down and let the competition go. This would mean potentially giving up your chance at a high place if your competition is in the pack. I was not able to do that.
Race directors need to keep this in mind. It happened to me 10 years ago so it is not like it should catch people by surprise.