Can the RaceRanger drafting detection system finally put an end to illegal drafting?
Photo from World Triathlon
(Reuters) – A drafting detection system will be used at the Long Distance World Championships in Ibiza in May to help officials detect riders who are illegally making use of a slipstream, World Triathlon said on Monday.
The RaceRanger drafting detection system was tested in four non-drafting events in New Zealand and Australia, with feedback taken on board to make adjustments before it was ready to be used in major competitions.
“Not only did we encounter some system bugs that needed to be corrected, but more importantly, we got direct feedback from the athletes and technical officials about their experience of the system in race conditions,” RaceRanger CEO James Elvery said.
“The main things we have adjusted have been the buffer zones. We changed what the different colored lights refer to, and also the distance thresholds for them to change color.”
The technology will assist officials with a red light shown when a rider is within the 12-meter draft zone, a blue light for the two-meter last warning zone (12 to 14 meters), and an orange light for a three-meter “first contact” zone from 14 to 17 meters.
“The process of including additions to the World Triathlon competition rules, to account for RaceRanger or similar technologies in the future, will be part of World Triathlon’s standard technical process for reviewing rules,” it said.
“This rigorous process can take several months of work, before submission to the World Triathlon Executive Board for ratification.”
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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