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[BG3]

First let me introduce myself - I am brand new to racing and have been reading this forum to get as much good advice as possible.  I ride primarily so I can stay in good enough shape to keep up with my 6 children, but the competitive side of me needs to know how hard I can push myself.  Having said that - I'm at the point in road racing where I just try to stay in the main group for as long as I possibly can. Therefore the incident I'm about to describe in NO way impacted me and my question is purely academic.

This past Saturday in the Cat 5 road race in O'Fallon, the lead car missed a turn and several (maybe 15 or so riders) followed off the course.  Shortly after that I overheard someone saying something along the lines of "this helps us" and it seemed to me the pace picked up.  It appeared to me everyone who missed the turn got back in the race.  

My question, I suppose, has two parts.  Should the race have been neutralized to allow everyone to get back in, or is it just bad luck to the affected riders and watch the turns more closely next time instead of just following the car?  And secondly, Is it acceptable for the group of riders to take advantage of that mistake, or should they maintain pace and give the others (and the lead car) a chance to get back on course?

Thanks for chiming in!