DATEV Challenge Roth is once again demonstrating that it takes the wishes and concerns of athletes seriously. In 2026, a new drafting rule will apply to professionals on the bike course: the distance will be increased from 12 to 20 metres. This was decided by the organiser in consultation with the association. The DATEV Challenge Roth team would like to test in 2026 whether this measure further increases fairness in the professional field.
Speeds are getting faster and faster
The reason behind the decision is the changing speeds in the professional field. From the early days of Challenge Roth in the early 2000s to today, the cycling time in Roth has been reduced by almost 30 minutes, which naturally has an impact on the effect of slipstreaming when cycling. While Thomas Hellriegel, known as ‘The Hell on Wheels’, took 4:24:05 hours to complete the 180 km bike course in Roth in 2002, the top male professionals now regularly complete the course in under four hours.
The difference is even more striking among the women. In 2002, the very best women took well over five hours. The current best cycling time in Roth is now 4:22 hours.
‘Between 20 and 50 watts saved’
Three-time Roth winner Magnus Ditlev recently summed it up in a podcast with Pro Tri News: “On a straight stretch at 45 km/h, a draft distance of 12 metres in third or fourth position can save between 20 and sometimes up to 50 watts.”
Race director Felix Walchshöfer emphasises the approach: "We are in constant communication with the professional athletes. Many professionals who will be competing in 2026 have approached us with the request to increase the drafting zone from 12 to 20 metres. After discussing it internally and with the association, we agreed: Let's test it in 2026 and see how this measure affects the competition under real conditions. Thank you to the DTU and the BTV for the very constructive coordination."
Jan Philipp Krawczyk, Vice President of Refereeing and Events at the German Triathlon Union, explains: "Roth offers ideal conditions for testing this adjustment, which is an exception to the SpO based on World Triathlon's T100 rule. For us as an association, it will be exciting to see how a larger draft distance in the professional field affects the course of the race. We look forward to evaluating the experiences together after the race."
Professional survey: Over 85 percent in favour of 20-metre drafting rule
The discussion about the appropriateness of the 12-metre rule in the professional field has been going on intensively in the triathlon scene for quite some time. A survey of elite athletes conducted by Pro Tri News clearly confirms this trend: Over 85 percent of those surveyed were in favour of increasing the drafting distance to 20 metres.
RaceRanger will once again provide technical support in 2026, enabling professionals and competition judges to precisely control the distances.
Why the rule does not apply to age groupers
The adjustment of the draft zone for 2026 is deliberately designed as a trial in the professional field. The aim is to understand, under real competition conditions, what effects a greater distance actually has on the fairness and dynamics of the race. For the age group sector, the existing rule will therefore remain unchanged for the time being.
“We clearly see this adjustment as a test,” explains race director Felix Walchshöfer. "In the professional field, we have very high, similar speeds and a manageable starting field, which are ideal conditions for gaining insights. In the age groupers, the average speeds are lower, the slipstream effects are smaller and the fields are much larger. Transferring the rule would require massive interventions in the race structure. One thing must also be said, of course: in order to maintain the quality of the race at a top level, we do not generally increase the number of participants, even though we receive several thousand requests every year that we unfortunately cannot accept. If we were to enforce the 20-metre rule in the age group category as well, even fewer people would be able to experience the dream of Roth and we would have to significantly increase the entry fees. We do not want that. That is precisely why we are deliberately focusing on a controlled test in professional racing."
Continuous development for fairness and safety
In recent years, DATEV Challenge Roth has been continuously working on the further development of safety and fairness: with the introduction of RaceRanger, the reduction of motorcycles on the course and, as the first event ever, the publication of RaceRanger data.
DATEV Challenge Roth remains not only the fastest long distance race in the world, but also a race that listens to its athletes, embraces innovation and combines tradition with sporting fairness.