27 replies to this topic

[dabey]

I am not one to complain and for the most part Cat 4 racers I have been racing with are very careful and considerate of others. Today at Ste. Genevieve during a hill descent with a pack of 49 racers, the front two guys intentionally decided to hit the brakes causing the guys behind them brake and yell out “slowing” three guys, me being one of them had to bolt toward the yellow center line to avoid crashing and two guys on the right had to hit the gravel. Meanwhile I heard a lot of yelling in the back as the “accordion effect” rippled to the back of the pack, caused some to yell “watch out” and “stopping”. Now remember this was going downhill. Thank God no one hit the ground but a lot of elbows and bikes were bumping. I do not know who these two guys were, but I am sure the guys that were up front do.
If you two guys that did this are reading this, if you ever do it again we will find a way to get you out of racing. I was told someone asked them what the f- -k they were doing and word has it they were blocking for their team. But from what I saw, no one was off the front at that time. So that tells me they were just trying to cause a catastrophe and they almost did it.
Can someone tell me, is this legal? If it is, then that was my last Road Race.

Edited by dabey, 10 June 2012 - 05:17 PM.

[Mark EWERS]

Yes there are rules pertaining to dangerous behavior in ANY race:

Quote

1Q7. No rider may make an abrupt motion so as to interfere with the forward progress of another rider, either intentionally or by accident [relegation or disqualification; possible 20 days suspension if a crash results].
1Q8. Dangerous Rider. Any rider who appears to present a danger to the other competitors may be disqualified by the Chief Referee, either before, during, or after a race.

[Jetmugg]

This should be a good thread.

[nomoretickets]

This was happening a bunch in the mens 4/5 race also. It was my first road race, and I had heard cat 5's usually ride the brakes, but it seemed rather excessive at times.

[B9rel8tor]

That was unexpected for sure . . . I assumed it was a tactic designed to force a selection on the upcoming hill by killing everyone's momentum and then powering up from a lower speed (difficult for some riders).

It might have been stupid, mean-spirited, or ignorant . . . Or maybe there was an animal crossing the road or something we didn't see.

A good example of the importance of constant vigilance in bike racing . . . Probably the most-difficult part of the sport to learn and one of the toughest to execute.

Glad everyone was ok and I hope you'll keep racing, and keep speaking up on behalf of clean racing!

[pirt3]

A former Chief referee who was (and still is) highly respected among his peers once said during a race, "our job is to make sure the race course is safe and the riders will sort out the rest".
The best thing to do now is to identify the riders and tell them what they were doing was wrong. It's better for them to find out while they're still Beginners (and don't anyone take THAT personal) before they possibly Cat up. Because above the level of 4, that kind of racing is not tolerated and the riders WILL sort it out.

Edited by pirt3, 10 June 2012 - 07:06 PM.

[pirt3]

Adding to that, during today's Pro/1/2 race, the field had a Semi truck with trailer and a car actually pass us in the wheel truck and inserted themselves right in between the field and the chasers. The guys in the pack did one hell of a job not to crash. The amazing thing? The guy in the car was hauling a TT bike on the back of his car and there was absolutley NO way he couldn't know that he was causing havoc in the field. A car was approaching and he was lucky to get over in the lane without taking the whole field out. Idiot isn't the name for this guy with a TT bike (and he wasn't the only driver hauling a TT bike who absolutely had to get by the Pro/1/2/ field).
On the first lap, a guy in a Cadillac did the same thing causing a rider to cross the center line in order not to eat his bumper. It was after that that i had the wheel truck pull up to the filed and told them (rightly so), if they had to cross the yellow line top avoid a collision like that to feel free.

Larry

Edited by pirt3, 10 June 2012 - 07:23 PM.

[Sherkat]

No worries like that in the 40+, thanks Larry for all your work! A tri-geek tried to take out the field....hmm.hmm.hmm......

Still, I wonder if perhaps the guys in the 4-5 races simply sat up, rather than having deliberately put on the brakes. There were some big winds today, and if you got tired of pulling, took your hands out of the drops, and stopped pedaling, the guys hammering in your draft may think you put on the brakes.....

[Br.]

pirt3, on 10 June 2012 - 07:03 PM, said:

On the first lap, a guy in a Cadillac did the same thing causing a rider to cross the center line in order not to eat his bumper. It was after that that i had the wheel truck pull up to the filed and told them (rightly so), if they had to cross the yellow line top avoid a collision like that to feel free.

I was just trying to get a good look at his car, I love the '98 Fleetwoods.

Thanks for being clear with us on the issue during the race.  Felt going around him how I did was safe...he came frighteningly close to the 4 guys in the lead group before slowing up enough for me to pass.

[Thomas13ss]

The cat 4 race was screwy in that guys from the back all wanted to be up front but not do any work.

A really good racer told me when i first started out dont over lap wheels and dont block. Today it was a miracle that no one was hurt in in what was a sloppy day at best. Glad i made it through upright.

Larry can we get you to ref while it gets worked out if it keeps happening?

Thomas

[pylondesigner]

a lot of the Yo-yoing that I saw(and experienced) in the 4s was on the rollers and attributed to the front of the field slowing on the upside of the hill while the back was still rolling down and had momentum. The field was large enough at 50+ riders to see that sort of effect. those weren't too bad and expected,  if you had your head up and watching up the field you could anticipate the velocity changes.  But that one time at the base of one of the rollers felt either intentional or a near crash had just ocurred. I was about mid pack and nearly piled it on my teammate (and son).  then the accelleration came right after it.  Intentional or not, the guys in the front do have a responsibilty to keep things rolling as smoothly as possible when it is your turn to rotate off.  The field was pretty tight  and spread across the road at that point, and everybody did a great job holding lines and keeping the rubber down. Suggest everyone spend some time in the rulebook.  Every time I start browsing it looking for something I usually learn something else. Educated racers make racing safer.

[Beeg]

pirt3, on 10 June 2012 - 07:03 PM, said:

Adding to that, during today's Pro/1/2 race, the field had a Semi truck with trailer and a car actually pass us in the wheel truck and inserted themselves right in between the field and the chasers. The guys in the pack did one hell of a job not to crash. The amazing thing? The guy in the car was hauling a TT bike on the back of his car and there was absolutley NO way he couldn't know that he was causing havoc in the field. A car was approaching and he was lucky to get over in the lane without taking the whole field out. Idiot isn't the name for this guy with a TT bike (and he wasn't the only driver hauling a TT bike who absolutely had to get by the Pro/1/2/ field).
On the first lap, a guy in a Cadillac did the same thing causing a rider to cross the center line in order not to eat his bumper. It was after that that i had the wheel truck pull up to the filed and told them (rightly so), if they had to cross the yellow line top avoid a collision like that to feel free.

Larry

Larry,

Thanks for going back and forth between the groups giving us splits and also for staying with the main group as long as possible.  It was nice having you in the follow vehicle.

-BJ

[cleeland]

Thomas13ss, on 10 June 2012 - 08:35 PM, said:

The cat 4 race was screwy in that guys from the back all wanted to be up front but not do any work.

This describes every cat 4 race I was ever in.

[Rodgers]

Ya some of it was b/c of momentum down the hill from the back being protected by the wind in the pack compared to guys in the front working in the wind.  However I did see a few guys, whom I wont mention names, brake on purpose before a hill climb.....it almost caused me to rub wheels with the guy in front of me.

Thats just racing tho, some people get it, some people dont and the ones that get it have to figure out how to race with the ones that dont.  This happens both in Road races and Crits so if you dont like the dynamics/unpredictability of pack racing, I would suggest sticking with TT's or some other non group racing forum.

[2Ninr]

Rodgers, on 11 June 2012 - 09:20 AM, said:

Ya some of it was b/c of momentum down the hill from the back being protected by the wind in the pack compared to guys in the front working in the wind.  However I did see a few guys, whom I wont mention names, brake on purpose before a hill climb.....it almost caused me to rub wheels with the guy in front of me.

Thats just racing tho, some people get it, some people dont and the ones that get it have to figure out how to race with the ones that dont.  This happens both in Road races and Crits so if you dont like the dynamics/unpredictability of pack racing, I would suggest sticking with TT's or some other non group racing forum.

Kind of an elitist attitude you have there. Braking hard and causing squirrely movements in the peloton is a rather amteurish move.Thats not "just racing"-thats stupidity if you ask me. And the people who "get it" move on to higher categories.