Source: Radio New Zealand
New Zealand triathlete Hayden Wilde. Alan Lee / www.photosport.nz
New Zealand triathlete Hayden Wilde is sure there will be more robust technical involvement in future T100 events following a farcical finish to the latest round in Dubai.
Wilde and a number of other athletes rode an extra lap on the bike leg of the Dubai race last weekend which resulted in him slipping from the lead and finishing eighth.
“They call themselves a professional race organisation,” Wilde said at the time.
The result ended Wilde’s winning streak on the T100 world circuit, after he unknowingly added eight kilometres to the cycle section.
The 28-year-old knew he must have been nearing the end of the bike leg but said there was confusion with no official call for them to go into the transition area.
He said the crowd encouraged them that they still had one lap to go.
Later on in the run leg, Wilde and others were told by officials to pull into the finish despite still having a lap to go. Because of the error on the bike leg, officials decided to finish the race a lap earlier on the run leg.
“It’s frustrating, but as athletes we know, [so] I take accountability for doing an extra lap,” Wilde told RNZ.
“On the athletics track there is always a lap counter and in other cycling events you have the bell lap and a lap counter but unfortunately in our sport we don’t have that.”
However, Wilde, an Olympic silver and bronze medallist, is sure it won’t happen again.
“I think from now on there will be a lap counter at races,” Wilde said.
“These are relatively new courses and courses where they’re quite technical where you do lose track of time and places.”
Wilde said the frustrating thing was that there was a technical official with them on a motorbike the whole last lap, but he didn’t say anything.
“Hopefully we can work together and do better next time,” Wilde said.
The result didn’t affect his overall standing as he heads into the season finale in Doha next month.
“The body is performing at such a late part of the season and I’m really happy with the position I’m in.”
A top-four finish in the grand final will confirm the title for Wilde.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
