At the risk of sounding pompous, arrogant, ignorant or paternalistic I’d like to rant on what I perceive as disrespectful, sketchy and occasionally unsportsmanlike racing in the rapidly expanding Cat 4 field this year. There are 4 specific points I’d like to comment on:
1) Centerline Rule – To clarify, here it is directly from the USCF rule book:
3B1. Center Line. If a course is not closed to traffic, allcompetitors must keep to the right of the center line orenforcement line, but may pass on either side of another rider.[warning for accidental crossing of the center line with noadvance in position; relegation or disqualification foradvancing position; 10 day suspension for a flagrantly
dangerous attack].
The majority of us abide by this rule yet there are a number of riders in our field who violate it every race. On the last lap at HON a group of riders decided it was ok to move up to the front by crossing the centerline so they could be sheltered from the wind and get to the front for the last time down the dirt – they all should have been relegated or DQ’ed. That was disrespectful to the rest of us who were dealing with the crosswind so we could stay in front, if you wanted to move up get your butt out in the wind and do the work. We saw it happen a number of times during TVSR last weekend – someone would get tired of being in the back of the pack and instead of working his way up through the pack, would just move out across the centerline and advance their position. Unfortunately, with no officials following the race these violations go un-penalized. We need to be more vocal when they occur and if they affect the outcome of a race or the same riders commit multiple violations, complaints should be filed with the officials – I know this occurred in the W 1,2,3 field last weekend and a time penalty was assessed.
2) Attacking in a Feed Zone - While there is not a rule against it, attacking in the feed zone is considered bad form and poor cycling etiquette. Per the USCF rule book feed zones are positioned in areas that are typically slow, safe for riders and volunteers, and are far enough away from the finish that they are not going to affect the outcome of the race. Feed Zones are inherently dangerous and chaotic as volunteers try to get racers bottles and feed and avoid getting hit themselves and racers do their best to avoid each other while grabbing what they need. The universally accepted practice is to go neutral through the zone and resume racing after everyone is safely through. At TVSR last weekend as we came to the 180 turnaround with the feed zone just after, we were all calling to go neutral, two riders on the front attacked just after the 180, through the feed zone as volunteers were standing out in the road trying to hand off bottles – I saw one jump out of the way as the field responded to chase down the attack. Frankly this was a classless move and put people who were volunteering their time in unnecessary danger.
3) Attacking During a Crash or a Mechanical – Again no rules against this but it speaks directly to sportsmanship. Did Hamilton attack when Armstrong & Mayo went down when LA hooked his bar on a mussette? No – he got the rest of the lead pack to go neutral for a minute to let them chase back, then they resumed racing. For some reason the sound of a crash in the 4’s is like a starting bell and they almost always attack – it happened on Sat. at TVSR and some of the riders were left to chase the rest of the race (including me so go ahead and accuse me of sour grapes – it won’t hurt my feelings). On Sunday when the GC leader dropped his chain about halfway through the race and it got wrapped around his crank – someone actually yelled attack and launched – are you kidding me!!? Luckily some of us with a better sense of sportsmanship yelled at him, chased the attack down and got on the front and slowed the field until the leader got back on. We shouldn’t be trying to capitalize on other rider’s misfortune, where’s the honor in that? Granted you’re not going to stop racing in a decisive part of the race like the last few laps of a crit or the last 5K of a RR, but in the middle of the race if there is a crash lets wait a minute or two before we drill it.
4) “Hold Your Line” – Not doing this is probably the cause of 95% of the crashes in our field. Unfortunately, the person who causes the crash rarely goes down themselves and often doesn’t even realize they are the culprit, hence doesn’t learn any type of painful lesson and continues to do it. “Hold Your Line” means you ride in a straight line, you do not move laterally unless you are absolutely sure you have a clear path and won’t take out someone’s front wheel – Think of it like changing lanes in a car, you don’t move laterally until you know damn well you’re clear. It also means when you go into a corner 5 feet from the curb, you go around that corner 5 ft. from the curb and exit the corner 5 feet from the curb – no diving into the apex so you can have a faster line – you’re concentrating too hard on the corner to see the rider just behind and inside you who is 3 feet from the curb. If you’re having trouble holding a straight line while you reach for your water bottle or when you look over your shoulder (this is what caused 2 of the wrecks in our field this year) – get yourself a set of rollers and practice not falling off when doing these things. I’m happy to loan mine to anyone who wants to borrow them.
Sorry about the length of this rant, I’d just like to see it a bit safer out there for all of us. None of us ride for a living nor will be going pro anytime soon so we are racing for the love of it and to stay fit. With the change in the upgrade requirements making the move from 4-3 more difficult while upgrading from 5-4 remains as easy as starting 10 races, our field is going to continue to grow and we could be looking at some real carnage if things don’t improve. Remember how sketchy the Sugarhouse Crit was last year – imagine that with an additional 20-30 new cat 4’s! Lets keep the rubber side down!
-Shane Dunleavy
"Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever"