RaceRanger Takes Big Step Towards Age-Group Draft Detection

Earlier this year we spoke with James Elvery, who developed the RaceRanger along with fellow pro Dylan McNiece, about the innovative technology and its potential future for age-group racing. Today we can pass on the news that RaceRanger has taken another step towards making that long-range goal more attainable – it will be used by all the athletes – both pros and age groupers, at both the Tauranga Half (January, 2027) and Challenge Wānaka (February, 2027). The races will be “the first two events to commit to a whole-field amateur-level use of the technology,” RaceRanger reports, “and they mark RaceRanger’s first deliberate step out of pro-only racing.”

Use of the systems will be included in the entry fees, so athletes won’t see any additional fees for the use of the RaceRanger devices.

Originally conceived by Elvery and McNiece in 2014, RaceRanger got some financial backing from World Triathlon in 2017, and has been working closely with Jimmy Riccitello, IRONMAN’s Rules and Projects Coordinator since 2018. The system has been used at over 100 professional races – mainly IRONMAN and PTO/ T100 events, since 2023. (The system was also used at the Paris Paralympics and Challenge Roth.) Scaling up from a pro race with roughly 100 athletes is one thing, but being able to offer the service to hundreds, or even thousands, of competitors offers some daunting challenges for the New Zealand-based company. Last year RaceRanger did a trial run at Challenge Wānaka with just under 300 age-group competitors, setting the stage for next year’s races.

“Our age group trial with RaceRanger in 2025 showed us quickly that athletes were ready for this. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, particularly around fairness, confidence, and the overall race experience,” said Jane Sharman, Challenge Wānaka race director. “Delivering a world-class athlete experience is hugely important to us. With our bike course, the ability to track every athlete in real time also adds an important safety dimension. We’re proud to be one of the first events globally to deliver RaceRanger across the whole field.”

Now onto its third iteration of the RaceRanger units, the company now has over 1,000 devices, enough to cover the two races in New Zealand next year. (This year the Tauranga race had 650 competitors, while Challenge Wanaka’s half-distance race had 850 participants.)

“We’re really pleased to get the ball rolling with age groupers — this is what we’ve been working towards for a long time,” said Elvery. “With experience gained operating at more than 100 pro events now, we’ve learnt a huge amount about what transfers, and what needs to be different to operate at the scale of large age-group fields. We’ve made a lot of background changes to make this possible — moving to a QR-code device management system instead of race-number stickers, rigorous waterproofing so units can be bulk machine-cleaned between events, and simplifying the fitting process so athletes can largely do it themselves.”

The units will be set up to operate as we’re used to seeing at pro races – two devices (front and rear) will be placed on each bike, with the light system letting athletes and officials know when riders have entered the draft zone. A new addition to the system is live tracking, which was one of the reasons the Tauranga event is keen to be part of the program.

“We were the first event in the world to trial RaceRanger back in January 2023, so being the first to use it across the whole field feels like the natural next chapter for us and a really exciting prospect for age groupers to use this technology,” said Lauren Watson, Event Director of the Tauranga Half. “The safety side is just as important to us as the drafting fairness. Knowing where every athlete is on the bike course at all times is a meaningful step forward for any event director.”

Over the last year pros have placed their own RaceRanger devices on their bikes, and that will continue for the age-group athletes at the two races next year. RaceRanger staff will be on hand to help athletes with any issues. The devices will be retrieved from the transition area while racers are on the run course.

“Looking further ahead, RaceRanger’s intention in age group racing is to operate the system slightly differently,” today’s release continued. “The field would be split into two categories: a competitive group, who would use two devices each and be more actively policed, including live remote monitoring by officials; and a participation group, who would be issued a rear unit only. Those rear-unit lights would stay off for most of the race, only activating if the athlete moves in front of a competitive athlete who’s then following them. Every athlete in the field would still get the live tracking and safety benefits. For these first two events, however, everyone will be treated the same for simplicity.”

“There’s strong demand for the drafting detection side of the system, particularly from the competitive end of the field,” Elvery continued. “The live tracking is something that everyone can appreciate, but hasn’t been made widely available in triathlon to date. In everything we’re doing we’re laser focussed on elevating the athlete race experience, and are in conversation with a number of other events and series globally about how to bring whole-field RaceRanger to the sport as soon as possible.”

“I strongly believe the split category model would be a really positive thing for triathlon,” Elvery told us in February. “The event can then better cater to both groups, address the problem of competitive athletes not really getting a fair competition at the moment, and providing something for the ‘one and dones’ to aspire to as a next step, and keep them in the sport.”

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