Anti-drafting device shows promising results at age group race

The jury is out for the nearly 300 age group athletes who tested the drafting device RaceRanger at Challenge Wanaka in New Zealand on Feb 15.

It is the first time the drafting detection system was used by amateur athletes. The device is designed to enhance fair play by signalling to the rider when they are in the draft zone using a lighting system. The company’s goal is to expand the use of the device across the whole field using the intel it collected at Challenge Wanaka and previous data from pro racers.

RaceRanger provided clarity about drafting zones

“We’re really pleased with how the trial went,” said RaceRanger co-founder and CEO James Elvery post-race. “The feedback from athletes has been overwhelmingly positive. Many appreciated the clarity RaceRanger provided, eliminating any guesswork around drafting distances and making the racing experience fairer.

For the company, its goal was to learn more about the hands-on experience of distributing, installing and monitoring the devices in the age group field. The application to the larger competition field varies from its tried and true methods at the pro level, with additional complications scaling up.

Adaptations needed to install on all bikes

Physically installing the devices on a wide variety of bikes was one challenge the company was hoping to learn from to create a more seamless process in the future. Fitting the tech on a bike requires space on the seat post and not every bike was set up ideally to make this possible. The test versions were set to turn on automatically before the race start, a deviation from operating with a smaller pro field.

Elvery shared that athletes were pleased to know the precise distance and the opportunity to race honestly. Many age group athletes have been vocal over the years about their frustrations on the bike course witnessing brazen displays of drafting and even large groups of riders hanging together like a group ride.

Lighting system easy to use

He added that he was pleased to see that the testers were actively engaging the light system as intended. Elvery came away from the day believing that there is a real interest from age groupers to use the device and tamp out drafting. Many athletes reported they appreciated knowing for certain that their distance was draft legal during the race.

Four drafting penalties were handed out during the race and many more warnings, but it wasn’t clear at the time if they were a direct result of RaceRanger.

The next step is to scale the application to thousands of athletes. The company is working towards refining the technology to make it even easier for the individual to use. Testing at Challenge Wanaka involved technicians fitting individual bikes with two devices and connecting those to the internet. This allowed the technology to provide live tracking and real-time data for athletes as well as spectators, technical officials and race organizers.

Scaling for mass participation

Elvery said Challenge Wanaka was chosen as a testing ground because of its ideal size. The company’s challenge is now to streamline distribution in a way that would deliver the device to all athletes through something as simple as picking it up like one would a timing chip.

The company’s focus is on improving device activation, management and post-race retrieval before it can take it mainstream. The ultimate goal is to reach mass participation with age group athletes.

More engineering and expansion

It has already been in use for a while at the pro level. The system was a mainstay with pro athletes on the PTO T100 World Tour last year. It has also been put to use at the Ironman World Championships and Challenge Roth.

The pro field is a much smaller scale than the age group category. Elvery said expanding to the larger age group market requires more engineering and ensuring continuous connectivity as the company continues to trial and evolve the system.