agarose2000

I actually went and did a search on user "botto" and "triathlete", "aerobars", "crash", and didn't get any pics. There was one post about a bad crash from a triathlete - but he was riding a regular roadie, and this comment was from someone who knew him:

Here's the deal. He's a pro-ish triathlete. I know the guy, he's cool. He has to do his 10 races to get upgraded to a 4, though, so that's why he was out there in the 5's. No idea why he went down, but I would assume it's a fluke -- he has tons of handling experience.

Texas isn't any more sketchy than any other state. There were a *ton* of racers out there (like WR said), and so it's only inevitable that there will be a few more crashes. Yeah, it was a bad weekend, but it's not normally like that.

Pace Bend is (and was again this year) always well organized and a great race! A couple of things just didn't work out quite right this year, and I'm sure they'll be fixed for next year.


I did see a comment from Botto reprimanding 2 trifolks from being on their aerobars in a paceline, but no wipeout there.



Pretty, much, since aerobars are "illegal" equipment in road races like crits, you won't seem them mass-wiping out folks since they're obviously not there. I definitely agree with you about handling being compromised in the aeroposition, to the point that roadies should reconsider if they intend to draft off someone in their bars (happens a lot here when a triguy pulls out in front), but from what I've seen here, in riding, and on the blogs, the whole "dangerous triathlete" thing is wayyyy overhyped and mostly based on hearsay. Every weekend in LA, there's always a mix of tribikes and roadbikes with hundreds of riders of all abilities, and very few problems - I'm always welcomed to the group rides with my tribike, and if anything, I get sympathy as we climb some really big mountain climbs and I suffer due to the TT positioning and the big gearing!