Introducing the ITU

The International Triathlon Union is not only the global governing body for the sport of draft-legal triathlon, it's also an endless source of incredible entertainment.

Draft-legal racing is wonderful to some and an abomination to others. The former view it as thrilling and spectator friendly, with road cycling pack tactics adding strategy and a whole new dimension to the swim/bike/run dynamic. The latter view it as an insult to the 'man vs. clock' time-trial nature upon which triathlon was founded, which pits individual competitors against each other without drafting during the bike leg (unless your race is in Florida).

Simon Whitfield takes a 'jump-off-the-couch-screaming-at-the-screen' intense sprint finish and $200,000 first place prize at the 2009 Hy-Vee ITU Elite Men's Race World Cup Event

photo courtesty of the ITU, source

I skipped the dilemna altogether by loving each. The ITU orchestrates World Cups and a World Championship Series each year, where the best olympic-distance athletes from each country battle it out in incredibly intense races to see who will take the top step on the podium. If I could wax poetic for a moment, I would summarize ITU racing as combining the beauty and strategy of road cycling with the intensity and adventure of triathlon. As a prime example, check out the video recap from one of the most recent events, the Elite Men's race from the World Cup in Seoul, South Korea. If this video doesn't get you excited to train, I don't know what will.

My hope is that, after you linked to that video, you became instantly engrossed and are now returning to this post 72 glorious hours later. Many a winter ride on the trainer has been spent with a book propped up on my aerobars so I could use my mouse to scroll from video to video of various World Cup events.

Much writing could be dedicated to ITU-racing, but I'll summarize the basics. Since drafting facilitates the formation of packs during the bike leg, a brutally fast swim is required for success in the discipline. Following the energy-sapping surges implicit in road cycling, with myriad sprints, turns, and efforts at quelling a potential break adding to the difficulty, those racing set off on 10 kilometers of blistering fast running, with top run splits regularly in the 30-minute range on accurately measured courses.

I find it to be incredibly exciting and definitely hope it also helps motivate you to get out the door and step it up a notch during your next workout.