There's no rule that specifically state that you can't unzip. The rule is that you must have clothing covering your upper body, covering down to below the nipple line. This is for men and women. Maybe the rule exists to save Americans from Euro racers :)

The one pro triathlete that pushes this rule to the limit is Faris Al-Sultan. You can Google him up to see his wardrobe :)

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My marathon PR is "under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something."

I don't think this was a rule for all events. But this 70.3 was broadcasted on sports network (RDS in Canada).

Race director said in pre-race meeting that because of this and the image IM wanted to project on TV, rule of the day was that there should be no men nipples on TV. Unzip, yes, as long as the nipples stay in. Fairly sure that would have been a warning anyway only.

I do think think you're not allowed to run bare chested though? Saw 2 of those. I mean, personally, I don't give a flying fudge about it, doesn't affect me except the nagging feeling to tell the guy that he might not want to get caught doing it though.

Curious about the Crossing the yellow= automatic DQ statement. I'm a slow swimmer and very fast biker so I often face congestion on the bike. I am often screaming "on your left" for miles out of transition. I try to stay in my traffic lane but I was always under the impression that "rule of the road" apply. I have never heard that you can't cross the center line (I have heard this is USA Cycling events - Not tri's). In a tri I have and will cross yellow to pass when it is safe just as a vehicle would(no double yellow or squeezing traffic). So if I come up on 2 wide circumstance that is taking the entire lane I will go 3 wide assuming I have good sight lines up and back and have no vehicle traffic coming from in front or behind. Am I breaking rules by doing this? If I waited behind every 2 wide/taking the entire lane situation I could lose significant time on the bike.

On a side note - I know it is challenging on congested events but I find it pretty frustrating when I always announce on your left and still get tons of people that will move left to pass right in front of me. I always assume they don't hear me but they never look over their shoulder to ensure it is clear to move over. I think this should be a racers habit in a congested event just like it is in a car on an interstate. If you are moving from the right to the left to overtake you should make sure there isn't an rider coming up on the outside at a large rate of speed.

As one who considers cycling to be my strength, I sympathize with you. I got hoarse from yelling at riders to move over.

Let me start off with a caveat: I don't know how things work in the US. I race and officiate in races that are governed by ITU regulations, often on closed roads.

In our races, it's a clear rule we make sure to repeat in the pre-race briefing: No cutting into the opposite lane, no matter what (excepting an emergency manoeuvre). I often yelled at other riders into making enough space for me us to go three-wide without crossing the line - that's fine. If you're blocked from progressing for more than a few seconds then they're the ones in the wrong - it means they're blocking.

Otherwise, there's nothing to do - tough luck for the faster cyclist, but it's a safety principle. In a competitive situation, what we think might be a painless, quick pass can often turn into a slightly longer than expected event and become an accident, if there's an oncoming swarm approaching. Especially if there's a rider thinking exactly the same going the other way. Plus, you have official moto traffic in the centre of the road which is moving far quicker than riders.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

5.4 Traffic Laws. All participants must obey all traffic laws while on the cycling course unless otherwise specifically directed by a USA Triathlon official, race monitor or designee with actual authority. Unless otherwise directed in accordance with the preceding sentence, all participants shall come to a complete stop when required by a traffic sign or traffic control device and shall not proceed through any intersection unless such intersection is clear of oncoming traffic. In no case shall a cyclist cross a solid yellow line indicating a no passing zone. Any violation of this Section shall result in disqualification or a variable time penalty as determined in the sole discretion of the Head Referee.

I've always read that to mean that if you couldn't cross the center line to pass in a car, you can't do it in a race. On the other hand if it is a passing zone for a car, then you can cross the center line to pass if it is safe for on coming traffic.

I've crossed the white dotted line in many races to pass and have never been called or warned. Maybe I'm just lucky, but ...

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

Thanks for the info - This is always the way I have approached it - If safe/legal for a vehicle it is acceptable to a racer unless otherwise announced by the race director/officials. Hopefully that is really true. My assumption is they won't bust you on this if you are being respectful and safe while doing it.

Where that rule gets really confusing is in races that exit transition on a country road with no center markings, like a lane or neighborhood street. If you are in the 50 to dead male swim wave that usually puts you near the back of the swim group, and you are coming out of T1 behind the bell and basket bunch that is out for a Sunday ride, hence spread out all the way across the road so that there is no "legal" way to pass. I never know what to do in situations like that, so last year I asked an official at Tri-Rock Philly about it. His statement was pretty amusing. It was something along the lines of "there is nothing we can do, so we look the other way. Don't cause a problem and you can get away with whatever you need to do to get around them."

That was all I needed to know. :)

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

That is interesting wording, and different than USA Cycling rules. While in bike racing it is universally referred to by everyone as the "Yellow Line Rule" everyone knows it means you can not cross into the opposing lane, line or no line and in fact the actual wording of the text of the rule refers to the "center line".

The triathlon rule cite appears to be actually limited to application when there is a real yellow line present. Most RDs probably impose a local course "centerline" rule, but if they don't, the general rule sounds to me like you can pass in the oncoming lane if a car could legally pass there.