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drafting how not to

trevtritrevtri Posts: 39
in General Chat
1st tri on the 21st september im 45 on that weekend so it was a sadistic present to myself to do one any way the question

Drafting how the hell do you not draft if your following behind some one do you slow down to get the correct distance or what. I dopnt want to get disqualified. and anyways if any one tries to draft behind me it means they will be going that slow they will probably fall off.

one more questionn so far this game has cost a fortune new kit new bike, latest additons are new swimming goggles race belt and running shoes wifes doing her nut as there is nothing left for her to get for me bday.



what is it best to swim in and then bike i dont want to spend money on tri specific shorts just in case i dont do another one i waas thinking normal trunks then cycling shorts over wet trunks would this cause major probs with chaffing ????



cheers for your help



trev

Comments

  • treefrogtreefrog Posts: 1,242
    You don't draft by either passing the cyclist in front of you or making an active effort to stay to one side of other cyclists. Race referees GENERALLY appreciate that unavoidable drafting occurs and are reasonable with ther judgements - especially if you are not a contender for a podium place.

    As for race kit wear tri bottoms (I wear Gore cycle shorts) under your wetsuit take off your wetsuit get on the bike, do the cycle, get off the bike and then run in the self same bottoms - its' that easy!

  • TommiTriTommiTri Posts: 879
    Is you race in a pool or open water? This will affect the drafting situation as a pool based event is likely to have you going off in minute intervals, and provided you come out of water in roughly the same time as you quoted then there should be a gap between you and person behind you. Obviously this isn't going to be a huge gap, but in an open water event you could be in a wave of up to 300 or so people and it is likely therefore that quite a few of you are going to be coming out at once.



    So, once you are on the bike the drafting zone is a box of 7m by 3m from the front wheel, therefore you have about 5 or metres behind the rider in front. The general rule is, if you catch someone up you have to pass through this box in about 15/20 seconds. If someone catches you up and passes you, then just maintain your own pace, and if after 20secs or so if they are not out of this box (which can happen because of the aero advantage for you) then drop back so you are at least 5-10m behind. If they passed you, they should then pull away.



    I, like many others on here wear a one piece trisuit as this means no changes in transition. But if you don't want to do this then yes, speedos for the swim would be best, there are also many who complete the race in them! I'm not sure about chaffing, but there maybe some, the best idea would be to try it in training, i.e. soak the speedos, whack the shorts on and go for a 20k ride or whatever your distance is. You will soon know if there is chaffage! If this occurs, you could change your strategy maybe invest in the tri shorts as they arent too expensive and you will be more comfortable. Or you can try bodyglide or vaseline application!
  • trevtritrevtri Posts: 39
    its pool based so thanfully no wetsuit il try the wet speedos with cyclecle shorts before the big day was thinking though with the swim trunks then pulling on shorts all takes extra time in transition so just going to try every concevieable situation before i do it

  • TommiTriTommiTri Posts: 879
    But you have to really think about where you will save and loose time. It only takes 20 secs to pull on a pair of cycle shorts, provided they are well placed, but the extra comfort may save you minutes on the bike. Its all got to be done in training and timed, then you will know whats best, its the only way.
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