Drafting drafting drafting

It happens and once in a while about 5% of the offenders get a 2:00 penalty which is well worth the time/energy savings over a longer course.  It really used to bother me, but the negative thoughts going through my head was throwing off my overall mental game and was not good for MY race.   now I just laugh and keep smiling.  Consequently my race goes by in better spirits, I still can only control the controlable and hopefully karma does exist out there for those who intentionally draft and running injuries were created for these folks in the off-season.   Wait, I didn't mean that  

I was doing an Oly a few years ago and was struggling uphill into a pretty strong wind on a bridge.  A line of about 4 or 5 bikes blew right by me wheel to wheel.  I didn't think anything about it as people pass me all the time - especially on hills and into the wind.  When the draft pack blew by, another biker yelled at them "Hey, why don't ya'll just use a f'ing rope!!"  It took me a moment to figure out what he was talking about.  I thought that was a great line to use.

But frankly, I'm not in it to compete, I'm there for the challange and so don't really care what other people do.  Those people are going to finish ahead of me REGARDLESS!  I seldem if ever see BOPers drafting. 

Thanks for the comments, it's interesting to see that this is more widespread than I initially thought (I did a bit of googling and found discussions about it going back to the mid 90s). I agree with some of the sentiments expressed above - I didn't really let it bother me during the ride (I find it hard to give anything much thought other than how I'm feeling during a race), but in hindsight I was a bit annoyed that it didn't allow a decent comparison to other competitors to see how I stack up.

At the moment I'm MOP but I would like to think I could be challenging for AG placings with a couple of years of training, at which point I might start to get a bit more bothered about competing against unethical riding

miami 70.3 had plenty of drafting.  soemthing you just have to learn to put up with.  it sucks.

i did an olympic at end of season last year and had 4 riders drafting off me.  i turned around several times asking to drop off.  none did, only frustrated me.  point being race your race. 

usually in shorter races i don't find this happens as often.  especially when courses are loops.

i will be racing orlando 70.3 and i know if will be a draft fest.

I wonder how it feels to finish a triathlon knowing you cheated so blatantly?  Doesn't that sort of take some of the accomplishment away if you took it easy on the bike by drafting?

To hell with whatever anyone else is doing, I'm out there racing for one person.  Me.  I don't even notice if people are drafting or not, I'm too focused on what I am doing.

Let them go.  Unless you're racing for the podium and one of the bastards beats you to it.  Then beat them over the head with a blunt object.

This. 

^THIS

Winning a triathlon isn't going to make you rich or help you pick up chicks, so why cheat?

It's not that simple, alas.  Drafting can, and does, affect everybody, in several ways.  A drafting pack can screw with your bike leg in ways that individuals could not.  Drafters can give you a false sense of how well (or poorly) you did in the race.  And more generally, cheating in any form makes the race worse for everybody.

Finally -- and I don't mean this comment in disrespect to you, as I'm sure your intention was anything but to encourage drafting -- saying that drafting doesn't affect anyone apart from the drafters and the podium-seekers will only serve to encourage drafting, as it potentially provides would-be drafters with a perverted sense of justification ("I'm not really hurting anybody...").

We need to call it what it is:  breaking the rules.  In many cases it is cheating; sometimes it is inadvertent.  Race directors and athletes each bear some responsibility.

1. ASK them to drop off

2. TELL them to drop off

3. drop a gear, slam your brakes and sprint

4. go back later to their yard sale to pick up some cheap parts

some people dope

some people draft

and

some people like me don't really care what other people is doing...

I race my race and I go home happy about myself...

I don't think "drafting is drafting".  There's a difference between a crowded course and people six or ten feet apart instead of 22-25 feet, and blatant drafting in pacelines and pelotons.

In the "crowded course" case there's not much you can do other than try to follow the spirit of "no drafting" and do the best you can.  That's what I see from most people at the M-dot races I've done.

In the "blatant drafting" case, each participant everyone knows what they're doing is breaking the letter and the spirit of "no drafting", and they just don't care.

At IMCOZ I saw a paceline of pros pass me, two feet apart in aero position, with the trailing guy the "lookout" for the course marshals, judging from his constant over-the-shoulder looks.  Now that was blatant drafting.

I didn't see blatant drafting at the IMAZs I've done (06, 07, 08) but it was very crowded at various places on the course.

At IMC (08, 09) I've seen a few small pelotons.  Their behavior is verging on blatant drafting.  

At IMCOZ 2009 I saw a paceline of pros pass me, two feet apart in aero position, with the trailing guy acting as "lookout" for the course marshals, judging from his constant over-the-shoulder looks. Now that was blatant drafting.

At IMLP 2010 it was like IMAZ - no real blatant drafting but a lot of crowded places.

I'll add that I've seen more than a few age-groupers who think drafting rules are "really for somebody else not me", usually because they're slow or "not trying to win". 

At HIM Lake Stevens in 2008 I had a marshal pull up next to me and the guy says "What you're doing is drafting".  I was totally surprised until I realized he was talking to the guy hanging right off my wheel.  I heard him say something like "I'm just part of a relay, I'm not trying to win or anything" and proceeded to argue with the penalty.

At IMAZ one year I heard an after-race discussion between some friends, and one was about his drafting penalty saying things like "it's not like I'm a pro, what does it matter?"

i think the drafting gets annoying when you are gonig for podium.  not even in a longer race but shorter races, like olympic etc.

natethomas2000 - 2011-03-21 9:16 AM Drafting happens, but I don't worry about it because most people can't hang on my tail even if they are drafting!

Really?  well if people can't hang on your wheel than most likely you are finishing in a top spot.  So you wouldn't be bothered with someone riding your wheel for 10-miles only to toast you on the run?  Taking your hardware?

I hate blatent drafting!  It's cheating and also can be dangerous if the guy does not know what he's doing.  I have no problem giving a big ol snot rocket to a drafter!