Simplystu #77: Minute Triathlon Mysteries
Jan 13, 2009
ANSWER to SimplyStu Minute Triathlon Mysteries:
Nice job jwm (see comments for dialog)! You're right.
If any of you had to look up the rule for this, well then, great.
That's the idea.
Randy violated Position rule 5.10g, Being Overtaken.
"When the leading edge of the front wheel of one cyclist passes
beyond the front wheel of another cyclist the second cyclist has
been ‘overtaken’ within the meaning of these Rules. A cyclist who
has been overtaken bears primary responsibility for avoiding a
position foul and must immediately move to the rear and out of the
drafting zone of the passing cyclist. The overtaken cyclist shall
first move completely out of the drafting zone of the other cyclist
before attempting to re-pass the other cyclist. In no case,
however, shall a participant move into the path of another
participant possession the right of way.”
Explanation: It’s clear the draft zone (two meters wide by seven
meters long) around each of John and Randy intersected if John was
able to reach out and give Randy a friendly pat on his back. As the
passing cyclist, John was obligated to exit Randy’s draft zone by
continuing to pass Randy, which he actually did. Though John
managed to get only a half bike length ahead of Randy he only
needed to get the leading edge of his front tire past the leading
edge of Randy’s front tire to overtake Randy and thus officially
complete the pass. At that point, having been overtaken, Randy was
obligated to drop back out of John’s draft zone before attempting
to re-pass John. Instead, Randy failed to drop back and instead
sped up and re-passed John.
jwm gets bonus points for knowing the variable time penalty.
Stay tuned for the next 'Minute Triathlon Mystery.'
Original Post:
Welcome to the SimplyStu Minute Triathlon Mysteries. This was
an idea that I had to try and get rule information into the hands
of all my triathlon friends. With all the hard work that is
done during training, it is silly to violate a rule and get
penalized. So what was I to do? I had to ask my
SimplyStu Triathlon friend and USAT certified official Mike Fox to
help out. He gave me the source for the mini-podcast. I
can't thank Mike enough for helping.
So, case number one is fairly simple. It will give you the
idea of how these work. Feel free to leave a comment here, or
E-Mail who violated a rule and what rule was violated. Was it
Randy, John, or MaryBeth? Was there multiple rules
violations? Hmmmmmm. Have a listen and let me know what
your thoughts are. In a few days, Mike will come back on and
give us all the answer!!! Good luck.
Just to make sure we are all clear - Minute Triathlon Mysteries are
authored by Mike Fox; a triathlete and USAT certified
official. Minute Triathlon Mysteries is not associated with
or sanctioned by USA Triathlon. The views expressed are
solely those of the author.
ANSWER:
Nice job jwm! You\\\'re right.
If any of you had to look up the rule for this, well then, great. That\\\'s the idea.
Randy violated Position rule 5.10g, Being Overtaken.
\\\"When the leading edge of the front wheel of one cyclist passes beyond the front wheel of another cyclist the second cyclist has been ‘overtaken’ within the meaning of these Rules. A cyclist who has been overtaken bears primary responsibility for avoiding a position foul and must immediately move to the rear and out of the drafting zone of the passing cyclist. The overtaken cyclist shall first move completely out of the drafting zone of the other cyclist before attempting to re-pass the other cyclist. In no case, however, shall a participant move into the path of another participant possession the right of way.”
Explanation: It’s clear the draft zone (two meters wide by seven meters long) around each of John and Randy intersected if John was able to reach out and give Randy a friendly pat on his back. As the passing cyclist, John was obligated to exit Randy’s draft zone by continuing to pass Randy, which he actually did. Though John managed to get only a half bike length ahead of Randy he only needed to get the leading edge of his front tire past the leading edge of Randy’s front tire to overtake Randy and thus officially complete the pass. At that point, having been overtaken, Randy was obligated to drop back out of John’s draft zone before attempting to re-pass John. Instead, Randy failed to drop back and instead sped up and re-passed John.
jwm gets bonus points for knowing the variable time penalty.
Stay tuned for the next \'Minute Triathlon Mystery.\'
Ok. I know this is not the rule we are talking about, but i thought that Chrissie Wellington violated a rule by getting help from a rider. If not, that means you can get anything from a rider, but not someone watching???? Please help on this one in a future show. LOVE the idea! Finally! Can you do this on nutrition as well? Minute Triathlon Nutrition Mysteries!
Kevin,
admittedly, I had to look at the rules for the time penalties. Unless I were an official, I would not really concern myself with elite time penalties..
Assuming \\\"long course\\\" and age grouper.. 4 minutes for the 1st offense, 8 minutes for the second, and DQ for 3.
also, I haven\\\'t checked the status of the difference between WTC rules and USAT lately.
Hoping my 1st comment doesn\\\'t sound too high and mighty. I recommend all new and semi new triathlete go to the pre-race talk and ask questions of the officials. I\\\'ve always found them approachable and reasonable.
-jwm
What about the \"butt tap?\" I guess if it was just a tap and not a push, it was OK. (Sounds like a Seinfeld episode).
John failed to drop back when overtaken. Once the leading edge of Randy\\\'s front wheel was in front of John\\\'s front wheel, John should have dropped back out of the draft zone before repassing. This is a position foul (5.10).
On this note.. good on you Stu for bringing this up. I\\\'m shocked at the number of people participating, and investing all the time and money who don\\\'t appear to know the rules. Drafting rules seem to be particular hot buttons.
-jwm
JWM - If you are correct, what is the length of penalty. Also, can you tell me if ALL rules are the same for pros and age groupers?