Disqualified IM Austria

[lxpyke]

Hi All

I'm new to the forum, but have followed it for a few years.
A couple of weeks ago having spent a good 8 months I attempted a second crack at IM Austria having given the run a miss last year due to lack of training.
An incident occurred almost halfway through the bike which led to a abandon. I'm keen to know what people think, should I pursue this with Ironman?

On the contraflow section of the bike course I was cruising at a considerably higher speed than the competitors I was overtaking. I was met with a group of perhaps 10 competitors bunched and a motorbike riding next to them, I motioned to the motorbike several times and was ignored and therefore slipped through the gap available, as I did so I made them aware that I was there.

approx. 100 meters further up the road another competitor suddenly moved out in front of me and I had no-where to go other then across the white line to avoid him. please note this was reactionary rather than planned. The motorbike I had previously overtaken then moved up alongside me and issued a full disqualification.

On hearing this I pulled over, had a good rant and emotional breakdown then continued the first lap of the bike, and then pulled out.

I saw no point in putting my body though the full event for nothing, I was told I could later dispute the DQ, but my minds just strong enough to cope with the race, not then arguing over a DQ and I suspect most likely not getting anywhere anyhow.

so, thoughts please? should better discretion have been used under these type of circumstances? Id happily have accepted a penalty!! and what should I do next?

[Stivrunning]

get back on that bike and smash ~#*$ out of it

you clearly want too and boy how good will it be when you finally cross the line

not sure about the DQ unfortunately the guys on the motorbikes have only seen you over the white line and not the build up to why you went over , i 100% think you hard done too but they just sticking to rules .

[SidSnot]

It is what it is, and however annoying and frustrating its been done now. As Stiv says, get back on the bike.
Have a chat with the family and how about giving another one a go? Wales is still open for entries. Don't let all the training go to waste
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@sidmott

[mattsurf]

As others have said, move on and focus the anger and frustration on getting a great result next time.

It does seem like a harsh decision, however, marshals have a really difficult job to do, sometimes they make mistakes, often they make the right call, even though it is unpopular with the athlete.

I doubt that it is worth appealing unless you have some strong evidence to support your case, otherwise it is your word against the marshal and in this case, the decision would almost always go with the marshals decision

[fat buddha]

from an Official's POV, there is little to argue with - the moto saw you cross the white line which is not just a race violation but probably (assuming a solid white line) a road traffic violation - so DQ'd you.

all these kinds of decisions - including drafting penalties - are judgement calls for which there is no appeal. the moto judged you to have broken the rules from what he saw, so issued the penalty.

they can often seem harsh and many athletes put up strong cases why they should not have been penalised, but there's no way out so as others have said, suck it up and crack on.

fwiw - my missus (also an Official) was DQ'd for drafting in a world champ event and she knows the rules! she didn't think she was in the wrong, moto saw it different.
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And the lord said unto John; "come forth and receive eternal life." But John came fifth and won a toaster.

[Doca]

I cant understand why you would pull out of the race.
You have done months of training & expense to pay for & get to the event which is absolutely mint by the way. At the end of the day the only real difference a DQ makes is your name is not on the results. Your Gamin will give you your race time which is good enough for your Facebook mates and you still get your Strava Kudos.

Unless your at the pointy end or wanting to qualify for Kona I don't see that it's such a big deal. Very poor form for quiting in my book.

[moonmonkey02]

not sure why you'd quit if you genuinely thought you weren't in the wrong?

8 months of training, 2nd attempt and you pull out on a matter which you could argue the toss after the event?

i think you might be being a bit economical with the circumstances.

if it was me there's no way i would have pulled out: carry on, finish and then dispute the matter. At least you would have got the medal, T-shirt and finisherpix.

bloody expensive DNF.
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IMUK 2014, 2015
IMDE 2016, 2017
IMLZ 2018

[Whisk]

I could be wrong, but I think they tend to pull the "run" bags for any DQd athletes so that they can't easily carry on in the race. They also usually mark the athlete number when giving out the penalty so that it's obvious that a DQ has been handed out.
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2016: Just riding my bike....
Hot Chillee ride captain (sponsored by Specialized, Sigma Sports, Wattbike, Le Marq, Wahoo, BOA, Sportique, Pro-Cycle Insurance, Maserati)

[ed_m]

Yeh... frustrating but you crossed the line and that's a black & white offence... an appeal won't get you anywhere.

Live and learn, either lose a few seconds and wait for a cleaner pass and / or be more vocal as you do.
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Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement [C.S. Lewis]

[stenard]

Genuine question ... when people talk about "crossing the centre line", are they simply meaning crossing a solid white line indicating no overtaking to all traffic in all circumstances, or does this also apply for dashed white lines as well and this is a specific tri/IM application of rules?

It's the phrase "centre line" that I've heard used a number of times (not necessarily on this thread) that has me wondering.

[Whisk]

[jibberjim]

[stenard]

[Ade]

According to the Highway code you can cross a solid white line too, if safe and necessary:

129
Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.
Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10 & 26


I've never understood it when race directors say that crossing a centre line is against the law, because it just isn't true.
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meandering towards the end of pi

[jibberjim]