Lurker4 wrote:
mathematics wrote:
sciguy wrote:
Lurker4 wrote:
This was 150m before a turn, but it's still obvious these guys behind Ben could have passed, would have gotten a penalty if Race Ranger was being used for that purpose.
Definitely too close there. If the cones are set at 20 meters they have no excuse regarding spacing unless they were told beforehand that no calls would be made near turns. I do notice that Ben is up off the bars as if he's getting ready to brake for the turn.
It's pretty standard to not enforce drafting in braking zones and at the bottom of hills. It would be a mess. You'd have to guess how much the front rider is going to brake and back away prematurely. Either that or slam the brakes harder than the leader, which would quickly precipitate a pile up in a group of any size.
I don't show these pictures to attack these guys. I don't think ANY of them were trying to get a free ride but just the normal course dynamics. Frodeno absolutely showed by his body language "F%k I'm in the zone and need to pass this guy, but don't want to burn a match to do it right here..." and backed out.
I could see an IM official in Kona nailing him for that and giving the other guys a break.
My main point in showing the images though is in regards to enforcement. I would assume the detail any official has monitoring a computer knows for sure a light went off and a zone was entered. But doesn't know exactly where in the course. And if they even have GPS position, likely the delay makes it irrelevant unless you're on a long stretch of road. They just expect to see lights turn on as athletes bunch up around hills and turns...and the athletes knowing this? Enter the draft zones more aggressively around hills and turns.
Anyway, race ranger seems like a nice tool for helping athletes police themselves. An official with a judgement call is still needed. And the PTO hasn't shown a willingness to the latter.
Yeah it's always going to be tough to enforce any rule on a 50 mile course without an army of officials. It's basically already a defacto rule that you can enter the zone by mistake for a few seconds and back out.
The issue of course with pictures for drafting is there's no context. Was he just passed? Was he going around? Did the lead rider slow? It's been the defense of pro's and AG's alike since the rule was implemented.
It's going to be a huge can of worms if they use Race Ranger as a standalone, slam dunk 100% penalty indicator. Even if they figure out GPS and say it's only enforced on these sections of the road there's still a dozen reasons someone could enter the zone inadvertently. Imagine a pro race with 100% enforcement. I'm leading the group and there's 6 guys behind me. If I soft pedal for a few strokes the guy directly behind may be able to slow, but it's going to accordion back and get everyone else into the zone. The guy in 7th needs to pass the guy in 6th, but the guy in 6th also needs to pass the guy in 5th, etc. Someone's getting a penalty.