North Shore Spring Triathlon

May 18, 2009 North Shore Spring Triathlon: A lesson in Drafting

I completed my first triathlon since August 2007!

I came in 2nd in my age group with a time of 1:09:50 which includes a 2 minute penalty for drafting no the bike course. That put me 10th of 158 women.

I received a 2 minute penalty for drafting on the bike. I did not even realise I was drafting. I did not do it on purpose: that would be cheating. I found out about the penalty during the awards ceremony. For those that do not know drafting is when you are immediately behind another cyclist (7 meters) and in that way you benefit from their draft. It is easier to bike behind someone. Tri BC rules do not allow drafting for that reason and also because it is not safe to be that close to another cyclist on course. Age group triathlete are not deemed skilled enough on the bike to draft. Elite races, like what you would see during the Olympics, are draft legal. Draft legal races are VERY different races. There is a whole different strategy. Athletes will team up to set up 1 of their athletes to win rather then each individual racer going for the gold on their own.

I always learn something at races. It is the pressure of racing and focus that is required to race that creates an evironment that forces to learn QUICKLY and move on. The challenge is daunting and fun at the same time!