Lionel didn't race.

---

ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

I think ST is showing their discontent at how they were mis-treated at Miami where they complained about the lack of access to athletes. TBH i seldom read those articles which are not so great.
But given how several podcasts, which are linked to the PTO, downplay the problems in PTO races (broadcast, drafting, lack of tracking info, boring courses, lack of spectators.....) this must show the PTO that they have improvements to make if they want to be up to what they are marketing.
Given the longer part of the sport is the bike i would love to see how a TdF broadcast team with qualifed moto drivers would show the race. It would probably cost but in the end if your product is not shown correctly this is where the money invested in the series is wasted. London coudl be a good place for spectators as most venues are not very viewer friendly. The GF will look like Abu Dahbi with NO ONE watching. Terrible choice. Even if they get some money this is so short-sighted.
Put up a race in Germany, France or England and people will be there. Have you seen the Toulouse SLT? Tons of people in the streets, that make the atmosphere so much better for the athletes and for TV.

Race recaps are a thing of the past some are hanging onto when live coverage and dynamic trackers didn’t exist. There’s little value added for a race recap when I can go watch the whole race on YouTube and get a quick recap video in 15-20 min. Not to mention the race recaps rarely offer any inside information that you couldn’t get on your own by watching the race yourself or looking at the tracker live or after the fact.

---

blog

Completely disagree from a personal preference POV. I’d much rather read a recap than search around for some video.

---

Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

This. After a podcast that basically said nothing about the race but dwelled on as "Media" they were not treated as royalty. Sorry, but those days are gone. Earn the treatment....

---

Kiwami Racing Team

I tend to agree. I can read through a recap article in 2 min. A recap video still takes me 15 minutes (which is my second step after I read the recap article). Third step is play back the replay of the video if I get that far or I want something to watch on the trainer.

Or I watch a live event riding the trainer. But happy to get the recap article. I ask my staff at work to not send links to videos without a 7-10 bullet summary. That's like the article on what's in the video. Then if people are interested, they will open the video

I don't think ST sees itself as a place for reporting triathlon news. They may report on races - but not always.

1. Ryan and Eric have stated unless they are onsite or a correspondent is on site, they won't write about it. Doesn't matter the race.

2. If Moritz Events doesn't want to take care of media (food, a toilet, internet) and then provide athlete access via a mixed zone. Then they won't get good coverage from anyone. I've worked in the media in another niche sport, I've been to events where the media doesn't even get a box nasty. I've been to events where the there is an day buffet and unlimited nespressos. When you can't even get a sandwich, people won't submit for credentialing. Again, not in this sport, but I was the only journalist on the ground for an event and had a media manager treating me pretty poor. Everyone else writing or tweeting about the event wasn't there. Which was kinda normal for the sport in this country.

Point is, treat the media well.

---

Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I agree but sadly there is a pecking order. Having photographed a large number of WC races through the years one finds out it's WHO one knows and what you can do for them. Too many times we are denied access to a Moto and then you see a large number of coaches on motos and people using cell phones for imagery. It has become a joke but if wanting in the game one has to realize that and pander to it. Other than renting a helicopter (;-)) it's tough to get access if they don't see a value of you don't have friends in high places. Too many times I saw non qualified people on the course with access simply by knowing someone in Ironman or the like and the images showed it. As our sport is such a small niche sport, I can't see that changing too much.

---

Kiwami Racing Team

LOL!

I hesitate sharing this, but as a daily patron of this site since 2001/02, I’ll share some possibly unpopular and overly opinionated thoughts, because I care about this site and for the friends I’ve made here, for how this site led to my saddle company, and for what this site has meant to triathlon:

I was sad that there wasn’t a T100 Singapore article and what that seems to say for the editorial passion for the sport of triathlon. We’re in a year with two triathlon pro series. The most active threads during race weekends and the Monday after are related to the pro races. There was sentiment here 4-5 years ago that the pros don’t matter - that sentiment has faded away on these messageboards, and in the wake of the PTO, IM has lended their intuitional legitimacy to the idea that pros do matter. But the front page doesn’t show an excitement for that side of the sport. I’m actually not sure what excitement is shown on the front page; I think the front page is full of more cynicism for the sport than intrinsic, undying passion for triathlon. I’ve always defended the front page when peers jokingly asked, ‘there’s a front page?’ But Triathlete, with its Outside-esque clickbait titles, is actually diving into the races with some passion. For me, I’d love for the front page of this site to feel like a smaller tri version of what’s happening over on Escape Collective, where articles like Ryan’s uphill skiing and end of a local 10k run event have a place alongside gear reviews, bike fit educational rants and passionate race commentary that goes beyond a recount of the race, but bring a Jonathan Gault of letsrun level of detail and passion, and editing. I loved Dan’s take on cleaning water bottles (I’m equally obsessed with bottle care and bottles in general) and even the small rant on foot care (a sentiment I share), and his article on IM expos needing endemic exhibitors to create a Sea Otter expo vibe was one of the best articles on this site imo, but these articles need editors to review and shape these diatribes and push for more sources, better photos, and clearer writing to shape and mold these little stories into something …. better. That takes money and time and I know Escape writers put in 12+ hour days and go back and forth with their editors, but this thing they’re co-creating drives them and that passion bleeds out onto their front page.

Pubes shared with me recently that Reddit forums, FB groups, Instagram and YouTube have so much content that maybe it’s too hard to compete, but I disagree. Singapore: I couldn’t completely tell what was happening during the race and had to wait for WhatsApp messages and emails from pros, Instagram posts to know what happened - a front page article that synthesized all of that disparate info into one place is what I want. Those scattered sources of content aren’t competition, they’re gold mines for content: comb that content (and these messageboards) to see what’s popular, regurgitate and edit it into single articles on the front page; embed YouTube videos but take us to the good parts in a weekly ‘best of YouTube’ series; keep us up to date on bike fit and aerodynamics and bring threads like this into front page content that rivals the content Ronan of EC is producing: https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...ambolic%5D_P8114691/

And maybe this is the sort of thing to share 1:1 in private, but I’ll share here because I just truly love this site: I’m glad a gravel race got some cash and there’s a gravel team doing fun things, but man, do I wish those resources were also going into the front page here.

---

wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

From a journalistic ethics perspective they'd need to cite all those sources, "as Sam Long said in his YouTube video..." and "as Jack Kelly reported in his interview with...", which basically becomes a report on what others have reported.

Fair use would mean that they couldn't quote or paraphrase lengthy portions of it.

But ya, if does seem like it would be straight forward enough to watch the race and report on that plus the tracker results mingled with the occasional social media garnered insights.

But it seems like there is some beef going on with the PTO being a bit exclusivist and the ST management taking that personally. The cynical side of me wonders if it's in part over an advertising dispute, but there's no evidence of that. I would say that the PTO ought to advertise on this site as they are spending a lot of money on social media ads to target people interested in triathlon. Why pay Facebook a chunk of change and deal with the errors and overpaying for reaching the wrong audience when you can reach many of them directly here? I guess they assume it's just owed to them by nature of their presence putting on races. Again all assumptions...

We had a PTO partnership in 2022. They elected not to renew.

The lack of renewal had nothing to do with our option not to cover their races with race reports in 2023 -- that was a broader editorial decision to pull back on most race reports. We still wound up writing / talking more about them on the podcast a bit, just not with a "typical" race coverage approach.

Long way of saying: it's not advertising, and it's not really about Eric's experience on site in Miami, either.

---

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Ryan, I think whether there is a partnership or not, major pro races are industry news. It would be like a major cycling publication not report on Paris Roubaix or Flanders. You can't NOT report on major professional events in a sport.

I do get that a 1 page summary is less compelling than watching a 15 min recap video, or a full 4 hrs replay, but fundamentally a sport is not mainstream if there is no NEWS about a competiton. A bunch of age groupers running around in lycra is not news. Triathlon IS a competition and the headline for a competition is "who won". That's worth reporting on.

It is likely 10 races in the IM series, a bit less in T100 and half that number in ITU/World Triathlon that deserve a summary article on Mondays. But then those can be reshared and multiplied.

The lack of the T100 article has nothing to do with our passion for triathlon. It's something else entirely. I'm not gonna air all that laundry in the open.

To the rest of your post -- we've been a Gravel-adjacent site for a while, too. And we've dabbled in some pure run stuff while we're at it. So perhaps we're passionate about Multisport -- whatever that might means to you.

And FWIW, we are pursuing an EC style model. We've onboarded a bunch of new writers (David on pro coverage; Kristin Jenny on athlete interviews; Boots for shoe reviews; Ryan Rish on cycling / indoor reviews; Dr. Alex Harrison back in the fold on some nutrition work) and continue to push on adding others within reason. But we're also working on a heavy site architecture project in the back end. Those things aren't free, and we have budgets.

And, well, there's also that other thing that the EC model has: a paywall to help fund those things. We've been very hesitant to move away from our entirely free model. But it may very well be the best path forward for a robust ST.

---

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

you have never hesitated to share unpopular and opinionated thoughts ;-)

i have some thoughts too and i, like you, am largely now a spectator to decision making here. but here's a story: the year was 2007 and i was told to take down the tents shielding the bike counters at kona from the sun. "what possible reason could you have for making us take down the tents we arranged for the bike counters?" because IM's volunteers didn't have tents, and it would make IM look bad to their volunteers to see that we had arranged tents for our volunteers when they hadn't. (they actually said this.) that is when i said, "i'm out." i conceived of and began the kona bike count in 1992 and ran it through 2007 and that's when i just got ultimately tired of being shat on by that company (in my efforts to count bikes). the count has been run by others since then, with the exception of my running it a year or two ago when the company running the count didn't bring enough staff to count.

things have changed a lot since then at IM. different race director. different owner. different CEO. an appreciation for the kona bike count as an asset rather than an imposition. but i bring up this story from 17 years ago to make this point: when you get shat on by a goods or services provider there is no obligation to cover that organization's product. i have no idea whether the critique of the PTO or any particular race org is valid; and whether that was the reason this race was not covered. it could be that slowtwitch just didn't have the assets to cover the race. just, in general, a race org doesn't have to pay the media, house the media, fly the media. IM does none of that but it facilitates the media's ability to cover the product. speaking for myself, i'm on my way to sea otter this morning and i'll be writing about whatever it is that is interesting, compelling for our readers, and there are enough products and companies there so that i can avoid companies that don't care to help facilitate the process. (and by "facilitate" i hope you'll note that the products i've been writing about lately whether bottlebrushes, toenail drills or carbon repair companies have zero to do with whether i or slowtwitch are getting paid.)

as to gravel, when i named this brand i had one and only one imperative: triathlon or any synonym of it could not be in the title. this is because i intended to create a portal populated by "endurance polymaths." i intend to write about bikepacking, fastpacking, anything that allows me - and you - to get from point A to point B under human powered locomotion, using the skills honed through multisport endeavors.

---

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Best news I've heard all morning. Moving the forum over to something like Discourse would be INCREDIBLE. Hell, I'd donate just to make that happen.

Front page is first (as it, you know, pays the bills).

But we're researching options for the forum, too.

---

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Yeah, but we get plenty of article about gravel bikes and races.

Hahaha!

As long as you are clear up front the direction you are going in.

There is a direction I would gladly contribute to and support.

The other, not so much. Recently I see more the latter.

Also remember EC does not have sponsors/partners.

Define the direction you'd support and "the one you are seeing more of."

---

----------------------------------
Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

And so another ST Mega-Post is born!

Hope this one does get relegated to LaVeNdEr

---

http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

Front page could have generic workouts. Monday Workout - 2500 yard Swim in am, 45 minute easy spin in pm, then in Tuesday is a new workout. Force people to click the site daily. You could also have Upcoming Races, (different links) Sprints, Olympics, 70.3s, 140.6s for clicks. It would be awesome to come here for a daily generic workout or "tomorrow's workout" and also see what races are coming up. Instead of articles on Oceanside you could interview Josh Amberger and see how the process went to get him in (thoughts with Javier and his family) and how Josh thought the race played out... or a different athlete from ...*... race.

---

http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com