Ironman Austria 2008: race of shame
July 13th, 2008 by nikola
Even official photos can not avoid evidence of mass drafting
If I had an idea what kind of a race Ironman Austria is I would have never come. I am so disapointed and frustrated by coming here, by this horrible race.
I have been hoping for a Hawaii slot, I have been training all year for this race, I spend money on coaching, equipment, travel. And all that means nothing. Some guy just shows up, cycles in a groups and passes me as if it is the most normal thing. I am amazed at how immoral and unsporty these triathletes are. They literarly stole from me, they stole my time, my result and probably my Hawaii slot (I will know tomorrow finally if anyone was DSQed).
I was passed by several hundred, I think 500 hundred maybe, competitors on the bike leg. Of them maybe 20-30 were individuals, riding alone, and they took like 15+ mins to disapear from my site or we would just change positions for an hour or so. The other several hundred were in groups that looked exactly like Tour de France peloton: almost 10cm from back to front wheel! And these people did not even blink when they passed me. Referees seemed uninterested and these guys seemed uninterested in referees. It went so far that groups openly stayed together even on most populated turns in front of all the spectators and cameras. Amazing!
I mean: if you go to a swimming competition no one can jump one second before the others, he gets DSQed. Or one runner can not run 750m while others run 800m. In Ironman Austria sport ideology is a bit different - sport is not about equal opportunty for all but it is about cheating.
I can not blame organization until I see the official results tomorrow - if and how many competitors have been DSQed officially. If there is anything less than several hundred than I think it is definitely not fair and organizer is to blame. I have seen hundreds of triathletes drafting, not by mistake but actually riding in organized groups, changing in front, staying together on hills, and I have seen referees follow them and look at them but do nothing.
Ironman Austria has shamed the sport of Ironman today.
If you are an age grouper looking for Hawaii qualification I do not recommend this race unless you are willing to draft.
If you are willing to draft than buy a road bike and hire a cycling team to pull you through the 180km course in like 4:15. Maybe even organize a team car for yourself. You never know how far you can go in cheating at this race. Your imagination is the limit.
