STATE OF PLAY
If Ironman triathlon wants to retain its integrity, then changes are needed on the race course. Columnist Tim Heming explains…
At a recent Challenge brand event in Taiwan, a large board at the check-in encouraged triathletes to sign under the slogan ‘I SUPPORT NO DRAFTING’. While the sentiment is to be applauded, it’s going to need far more practical efforts to rectify this blight on the sport.
Firstly, technical officials need to feel empowered to make tough calls. In a 70.3 in Utah in May, German 2014 world Ironman champ Sebastian Kienle picked up a first drafting penalty in his distinguished career. It was contentious because the athlete ahead had swung wide on a corner and could have been penalised for blocking. But while Kienle disagreed with the call, his response, “I like the referees to be as strict as possible, so I guess I should calm the f**k down,” welcomed the principle of TOs taking an uncompromising stance for what is a thankless and impossible job.
Kienle rarely troubles TOs because he’s frequently blasting off the front. Utah aside, he stands to benefit more than most from stricter policing of drafting and his candid stance aligns with similar powerhouse bikers and is in marked contrast with those that keep schtum. To illustrate, when I asked the top 10 in the men’s and women’s races at the 2018 Ironman Worlds to release their power data, there was a notable split between the transparency of the stronger cyclists and those who either refused to release the power numbers or said their power meters had malfunctioned. The numbers rarely lie so it’s hard not to draw the implication that even at the legal 12m gap in a paceline there’s a sizeable draft advantage that the beneficiaries would rather keep under wraps.
While the zone has been extended to 20m in some Challenge races, others argue for a more radical solution. The USA’s Andrew Starykowicz, who, like Kienle, is no shrinking violet, either on the bike or in voicing his opinion, says of the draft zone: “The longer the better... if it is enforced. I push for black and white rules, but we don’t know how good our current rules are because they are not regularly enforced.”
Starykowicz makes the point that drafting gains are considerably enhanced when travelling at 50km/h compared to 30km/h and advocates for a 1.5sec gap rather than a set distance. He also acknowledges the congestion of early in the bike leg and suggests a shorter draft zone for the first 18km (10%) before it’s extended, but perhaps his most radical change is one that does away with the traditional sight of the draft-buster riding pillion. “I can see and hear a motorcycle approaching,” he says. “I have no idea when a drone is filming me!”
While it might often seem the professionals’ voice goes unheard in long course, it could be that change is finally in the offing. The last two races in Kona have witnessed the men’s race holding together in a paceline for far longer on the bike than earlier contests. In tri speak, it’s become a ‘runners’ race’ and if that plays out again in 2019 the groundswell of feeling that the power of the über biker is being negated by unfair means might be too great to ignore.
“I like the referees to be as strict as possible, so I guess I should calm the f**k down”