IRONMAN changes ALL triathlon drafting penalties in major shake up ahead of 2025 season

The IRONMAN racing season starts this week in New Zealand and the M-Dot brand has just released its updated 2025 Global Competition Rules.

However they won’t actually come into force until March 17, in time for the second event of the year. That’s 70.3 Geelong, which is the opening race in the IRONMAN Pro Series.

The full document – with changes highlighted in green – is here but we’ve run through a few of the main amendments below, as well as a couple of the less obvious ones.

The main updates align with World Triathlon’s recent announcement and relate to time penalties for blue card violations (including drafting) and equipment specifications, such as regulations on water bottles and hydration systems.

Five-minute drafting penalties reduced

All blue card violations for full distance IRONMAN events will now result in a three-minute time penalty, and all blue card violations for 70.3 events will now result in a two-minute time penalty.

This is a reduction from the five-minute time penalty from previous years and will be welcome news to the many who have suggested a shorter time span would be more proportionate.

The five-minute penalties at half distance in particular all but scupper any hopes of winning the top pro races.

There are no time penalty changes for yellow card violations, which will remain at 30 seconds and 60 seconds for 70.3 and IRONMAN events respectively.

Limited bottle volume

Also under the spotlight are new maximum volume capacity restrictions for front-mounted and rear-mounted water bottles and hydration systems on the bike.

Water bottles and hydration systems on the front end are now limited to a total combined maximum volume capacity of two litres (this excludes water bottles and hydration systems located inside the frame triangle of a bike or inside the bike frame).

For the rear portion, athletes are allowed to carry up to two water bottles in water bottle holders mounted behind the saddle provided the total capacity per bottle does not exceed one litre. This limit excludes bottles carried in water bottle holders attached inside the main frame of the bicycle, within the frame of the bicycle, or water bottles mounted on the front end of the bicycle.

What else has channged?

Other updates regarding equipment specifications include regulations regarding the length of aerobar extensions and use of neoprene swim caps.

Previously, there were no restrictions on the length of an athlete’s aerobars or aerobar extensions. Starting this year, and in line with specifications in World Triathlon rules, aerobar extensions cannot extend beyond the leading edge of the front wheel of an athlete’s bicycle.

Additionally, neoprene swim caps are allowed when wetsuits are permitted during the swim course. Previously there were no restrictions on the use of neoprene swim caps in the Competition Rules.

Another change which caught our eye was that: “Protests by athletes penalized for judgment calls, or for a penalty which has already been served, will not be considered.”

That would appear to suggest that taking time in the penalty tent effectively rules out any prospect of a post-race appeal.

And finish line celebrations with kids or pets are now a no-no, with the changes to that particular one in bold below:

“Friends, family members (including children), and/or other spectators are not permitted to cross the finish line or enter the finish chute with participating athletes.

“Animals are also not permitted to cross the finish line or enter the finish chute with participating athletes. (DSQ) (Please note: IRONMAN desires for each athlete to be able to celebrate their accomplishment without risking the safety of other Event participants, volunteers, and/or spectators).”