ITU Pushes borders of ITU style racing...

[trimark]

Well the ITU are up to make some big time changes to Olympic distance
elite racing...

I've written up my thoughts here:
http://triman.livejournal.com/55411.html

Net, net the changes proposed are:

1. Equalising the swim and bike portions of the race to eliminate the
current bias to the run. Most ITU Elite races are really only contested
on the run, even given the new ITU Prime bonuses introduced to reward
the fastest on the swim, bike and run sections. Hope fully these
changes will make it much more of a swimmer or cyclists race. No
details on how the changes are likely to be implemented.

2. Fixed transition times. Not sure what the ITU are trying to achieve
with these. Maybe to avoid the current "bun fight" and bike throwing
that occurs in transition and make them are more orderly change over,
alternatively if the fixed transition time is really short, it will
make transition even more hectic! That doesn't seem to be the point
based on the wording in the Runners web piece.

3. Finally, duathlon will become a 2-section race rather than the
current run-bike-run. Here in NY, there are already a significant
series of biathlons run just like this.

 

[Tom Henderson]

"trimark" <[email protected]> wrote in news:1144025949.724225.137960
@t31g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

> http://triman.livejournal.com/55411.html

This article sources another article on runnersweb. Did you notice the
release date?

 

[trimark]

Err I read the Runnersweb thing right after reading about the IUSAT/WTC
love-in, it never occured to me that the ITU thing was an April fool,
after all the USAT/WTC wasn't... when I woke up in the morning I found
my foot in my mouth and carefully removed it...

Funny thing is, didn't the ITU release the same thing a few years ago
for April Fools... shame on me.

 

[Tom Henderson]

"trimark" <[email protected]> wrote in news:1144152541.812361.58970
@e56g2000cwe.googlegroups.com:

> Err I read the Runnersweb thing right after reading about the IUSAT/WTC
> love-in, it never occured to me that the ITU thing was an April fool,
> after all the USAT/WTC wasn't... when I woke up in the morning I found
> my foot in my mouth and carefully removed it...
>
> Funny thing is, didn't the ITU release the same thing a few years ago
> for April Fools... shame on me.
>
>

The hook was in my mouth at first too! Fortunately, I had just read an
article on April fools pranks, so the radar was on.