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- Is Age Group Drafting Solved? Here's What You Said
Is Age Group Drafting Solved? Here's What You Said

Good morning everyone,
And welcome to the bonus edition™️
The other day we had an avalanche of thoughtful responses to our poll on age group drafting, and it felt rude not to share them!
Thanks to everyone for contributing your thoughts. It’s always a blast reading them, and I hope others will also enjoy them as well.
Thanks for being here.
-Matt Sharpe, newsletter editor
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YOU SAID
Do you think RaceRanger will work in age group races?

Tempo readers had A LOT to say about whether they think the anti-drafting innovation, RaceRanger, will work in age group races!
Many thought it would be a great idea!
Reader: I’ve seen it (and non race ranger athletes) in use when I’ve been a TO and it will definitely hinder those who want to cheat!
Reader: As one of the front-of-the-pack racers who is tired of seeing other racers get away with drafting I'd love to see this.
Reader: I would like to see it however when I did iron man La Quinta in 2023, it frankly was hard not to be, and if more people were worried about it it would hard to pass.
Reader: I like the idea of competitive and non competitive fields within AG racing. Front of the field in AG is getting as competitive as bottom end of Pro Field so better control of the drafting is a must. There might no be prize money for grabs but there is a lot of endorsement money being moved for AG racing. I would be willing to cash out an extra "Race Ranger fee" with my registration for the mass start competitive field. At the same time I hope they open up more to share the data of this experience and what they have seen on the years they have been working with the Pros so far.
Reader: I would love to see this particularly at IM races. The age group drafting is rampant and intentional and absolutely maddening!!
Reader: I don't understand why this is a "thorny issue" to use technology to stop age group drafting. Anyone who doesn't use illegal drafting as their race strategy should be happy. I would happily pay to compete in a fair races. I already pay for timing technology!
Reader: The pelotons in races are a joke yet the drafting penalties are hit and miss. From experience I've been carded fairly and unfairly with marshalls seeming to be 'making up the quota'. The hope would be that hard data would put everyone on the same level
Reader: Well done RR. love the idea of a “competitive wave” I miss mass starts and I hate drafting. 100% support this idea.
Some didn’t think it would help solve the drafting problem…
Reader: It is possible that using race ranger would help a competitive IM / IM 70.3 age group field that starts at the same start time. However, most local races have stayed with the post COVID individual swim start which does not support the use of this type of technology nor could they afford it.
Reader: First off, I don't think it really solves the drafting issue because those who want to draft will draft. The big name races are too crowded to not do some drafting no matter how much you try not to. Second, I think the 2-tier idea is wrong, wrong, wrong. Setting off the top athletes together won't solve drafting, rather it encourages it. Also, if RD's charge a premium to be in the top tier, then that favors those with means. Like WC that are so expensive, it's not always the best going but those who can afford the exorbitant fees and travel.
Reader: More and more, event footprints are getting smaller, with increased crowding. Events require a critical mass to be financially viable (in some areas), not sure how this would work without limiting the field or prolonging race day closures to allow for smaller wave starts.
Reader: It will not work for big races. The courses are too crowded and there is no way that the race ranger would not be beeping the entire time. I think it could lead to unnecessary penalties to people who are not really trying to draft - prefer live ref who can try to judge the intent of the athlete.
Reader: In the long run, I don't think this will work, especially if they attempt to separate the age-group athletes. In my 25 years of triathlon, I have never competed in a race, from sprint to Ironman, where I haven't witnessed drafting. Athletes who cheat will find a way to cheat. It's that simple. If you want to stop athletes from cheating, then put more officials on the course and punish those who break the rules.
Reader: How is it going to work in multi-lap races when there are people all over the course. I’ve done races where I’m never more than 5m from anyone. Sometimes we’re three abreast with me passing someone while being passed.
Reader: The fields in many races are too large not to draft, even if you try. I like the idea of going back to wave starts with race ranger. If that’s the only way to get wc slots and ag prizes we may still see very large fields.
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And many more had their own thoughts!
Reader: I love the idea of having it in the age group races! I do have concerns about bike course crowding in some events that I appreciate a live referee to judge if drafting is really occurring. I would want to see data on “false positives” before I would not feel anxious about having them in a race.
Reader: It sounds like another money grab for an already expensive sport! Typical of the two big brands.
Reader: I think that Race Ranger is a brilliant idea however, only as long as competitors adhere to the rules around the zones and passing. The reason I say this is because last 70.3 I did, people were passing me and slotting in between myself and the person ahead knowing full well there was very little room. As I was trying to keep my distance this caused me twice to slow down so much it impeded the person behind me and so on. To add to it in both these incidences I was the one who was warned twice by officials for potential drafting through no fault of my own. I see this as an example of athletes not following the rules. Furthermore, with so many athletes in races it’s logistically impossible to have enough technical officials on course to monitor those flouting the rules.
Reader: I think that races (looking at you Ironman) need to first focus on limiting entry. Yes, less money for the corporation but there is unintendedly pack riding due to clogged up bike courses. There are too many people signed up.
Reader: The age group field on the bike is so crowded that it feels like the use of the RaceRanger is untenable, even at the pointy end. There’s just not enough room on the road. The idea of having athletes racing to compete separated from athletes racing to complete is intriguing, but there may be a lot of bleed into the faster category that still crowds the course. Here’s another thought: Just stop worrying about making triathlon draft legal…
Reader: Race ranger has to be accompanied by race size or wave control. If there isn’t physical space on the roads to be in a draft legal range, blinking lights won’t help if there are packs of 30+ riders.
Reader: I think the success of this will heavily depend on the course. On some courses, particularly multi-lap courses, there isn't room for thousands of AGers to spread out enough not to be drafting.
Reader: Races are over sold. I simply can't see how you can stay that far of a distance from another athlete in say Chattanooga where there are far too many athletes. I think addressing intentional drafting is key but I honestly believe not a significant number of AG athletes go out with the intention of cheating.
Reader: The pelotons in races are a joke yet the drafting penalties are hit and miss. From experience I've been carded fairly and unfairly with marshalls seeming to be 'making up the quota'. The hope would be that hard data would put everyone on the same level
Reader: I don't understand why this is a "thorny issue" to use technology to stop age group drafting. Anyone who doesn't use illegal drafting as their race strategy should be happy. I would happily pay to compete in a fair races. I already pay for timing technology!
Reader: Drafting with age groupers is not as big an issue for me, and I’ve not seen much of that. I hate the race ranger idea for age groupers. It takes sound judgement of when and how to pass, as well as trust in a certain level of integrity out of the hands of athletes. And I dislike the idea of another category of “just having fun” athletes even worse. Tracking at least with Ironman races is relatively good. At some point we’ve got to quit turning our challenges over to machines to solve. Makes sense for the pros since money is involved but no one else.
Reader: Making an elite class/non-age group mass start will only exacerbate the problems with non-pros disturbing the women’s race. If elite class is added we’d NEED race ranger for them and an expanded distance from pros to keep them from affecting that race.
Reader: I very much like the idea of making age group racing fair with correcting the drafting issues. I do not like the idea of separate tiers and even more ways to hike prices for age group racing.
Reader: The fields in many races are too large not to draft, even if you try. I like the idea of going back to wave starts with race ranger. If that’s the only way to get WC slots and ag prizes we may still see very large fields.
Reader: Races are over sold. I simply can't see how you can stay that far of a distance from another athlete in say Chattanooga where there are far too many athletes. I think addressing intentional drafting is key but I honestly believe not a significant number of AG athletes go out with the intention of cheating.
Thank you to everyone for sharing!
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