So I got slapped with a blue card and a 5 minute penalty yesterday during Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz. It all happened during the first 5 miles of the race, before bikers spread out. With all the talk of drafting over here lately, I was surprised to be punished, and couldn’t think of anything else during the rest of the bike split. Really ruined my mood.
What I think happened is that I may have stayed on the left side passing people for too long. The race had about 2,000 contenders, and Highway 1 wasn’t closed to traffic, so passing wasn’t easy, especially at the start of the race when it was still misty and the roads appeared wet. They have these lane separators for the shoulder (holes in the road, essentially), and when you’re going 25-30 mph, it’s scary to keep crossing them back and forth. I was passing a group of bikers going up the hill - maybe 10 of them. They were not all next to each other, but close enough that it didn’t make sense to keep moving right when I pass each one, especially with the lane separators.
Of course I saw packs and packs of people and drafting left and right the rest of the way, especially when I was going the other way after the turnaround and saw the bulk of the athletes.
Here’s what the rules say…
Age Group Athletes: The Age-Group bicycle draft zone is 10 meters long, measured from the leading edge of the front wheel and extending towards the back of the bike (five bike lengths of clear space between bikes). An age-group athlete may enter the draft zone of another athlete when passing and must continuously progress through the draft zone. A maximum of 20 seconds will be allowed to pass through the zone of another athlete.
So how do these work for when passing a pack of people?
It is pretty straight forward when only two bikes are involved. But…
One race I was in, a very slow cyclist, less that 10 MPH had numerous cars bunched up behind him due to double yellow line.The Course Marshall on a motorbike was behind the cars, and numerous cyclists and me behind the motorbike.
In reality there was about 10 of us drafting each other, drafting the motorbike and cars. At 10 MPH it was not a significant advantage.
After a few minutes the Course Marshall passed on a double yellow line, I passed all the vehicles on the right (no shoulder). The lead car behind the slow cyclist was thinking he was doing the right thing by not passing.
My point: The Drafting rule does not always make sense and the Course Marshall should use judgement when accessing a penalty.
Drafting will always be a problem as long as we are trying to do an individual time trail with a wave start and not spacing out the riders based upon their average race pace. To further compound the problem, we organize the waves so that many in the wave have similar paces, almost insuring bunching and either intentional or unintentional drafting.
That was another thing that kept happening right before I was assessed the penalty - bikers were passing on the right, all the time. It got to the point where I was almost tempted to start warning them because it’s a clear penalty, but decided not to care. When the road is less than ideal and in fact dangerous, I wish they’d take that into equation, especially in the first few miles of the race when there are packs of dazed riders who’s brains aren’t working yet.
That was another thing that kept happening right before I was assessed the penalty - bikers were passing on the right, all the time. It got to the point where I was almost tempted to start warning them because it’s a clear penalty, but decided not to care. When the road is less than ideal and in fact dangerous, I wish they’d take that into equation, especially in the first few miles of the race when there are packs of dazed riders who’s brains aren’t working yet.
Were you getting passed on the right? If so, the call on you was blocking.
That was another thing that kept happening right before I was assessed the penalty - bikers were passing on the right, all the time. It got to the point where I was almost tempted to start warning them because it’s a clear penalty, but decided not to care. When the road is less than ideal and in fact dangerous, I wish they’d take that into equation, especially in the first few miles of the race when there are packs of dazed riders who’s brains aren’t working yet.
Were you getting passed on the right? If so, the call on you was blocking.
Not necessarily. If jaskew (or other racers) was riding on the white line, but there was a shoulder the right that people were using to pass on the right, the pass to the right would be illegal. There would not be a blocking call.
So you are riding 25-30 MPH up hill passing people and people are passing you on the right?
Seems like you were blocking if you were both passing people and people were passing you on the right.
Good point. Going uphill at 25-30 mph without drafting? And not some all-out, lung busting sprint? That doesn’t seem possible. What is the definition of “hill” here?
No, like I said above, no one was passing me on the right. The guy riding in front me was. What I think might have happened is I stayed on the left for too long - passing a group of 10 cyclists who were riding maybe 10-15 feet of each other, but close enough to where it didn’t make sense to keep going back behind them. With the wet roads and lane separator holes in the road, that just wasn’t easy to do. But how does one understand that while sitting in the back of a motorbike?
Just wondering, how does one safely passes a group of 10 bikes? Rules don’t seem to be clear on that.
Maybe I’m wrong altogether and they just thought I was drafting - I couldn’t hear the marshall all that well.
Good point. Going uphill at 25-30 mph without drafting? And not some all-out, lung busting sprint? That doesn’t seem possible. What is the definition of “hill” here?
We’re talking rollers here at the start of Highway 1 in Santa Cruz. Very easy to go 25 mph or faster if you have the momentum.
It is pretty straight forward when only two bikes are involved. But…
One race I was in, a very slow cyclist, less that 10 MPH had numerous cars bunched up behind him due to double yellow line.The Course Marshall on a motorbike was behind the cars, and numerous cyclists and me behind the motorbike.
In reality there was about 10 of us drafting each other, drafting the motorbike and cars. At 10 MPH it was not a significant advantage.
After a few minutes the Course Marshall passed on a double yellow line, I passed all the vehicles on the right (no shoulder). The lead car behind the slow cyclist was thinking he was doing the right thing by not passing.
**My point: The Drafting rule does not always make sense and the Course Marshall should use judgement when accessing a penalty. **
Drafting will always be a problem as long as we are trying to do an individual time trail with a wave start and not spacing out the riders based upon their average race pace. To further compound the problem, we organize the waves so that many in the wave have similar paces, almost insuring bunching and either intentional or unintentional drafting.
This.
The first couple miles on Hwy 1 were a mess. There was a tiny shoulder, a rumble strip between the shoulder and the lane (which really sucked to ride over) and so many people of vastly different abilities that there were often multiple passes going on at once (I’m trying to overtake a guy who swings out to pass another guy…and if I hang back, the guys behind me start to come around). Given the # of entrants, they really need to take a full lane or Hwy1 (at least on the way out).
There is a difference between a pack and a traffic jam, and good officiating should differentiate.
Just wondering, how does one safely passes a group of 10 bikes? Rules don’t seem to be clear on that.
I’ve thought about this too. I hear “if you pass one you have to pass them all” when the group is riding single file. I struggle with that. You can’t ride single file to the inch. So if I go around the last guy, as soon as I pass his front wheel, he had to drop back and give me the spot right? Or else he would have been Riding illegally, too close to the person in front of him.
But anyhow, B2B is the same way as your problem with tons of traffic. The full start before the half, and I literally rode past groups upon groups of people riding all over the place for at least 25 miles. Should be interesting with even more people this year.
MARSHAL!
Marshall if you’re from the island.
As in all sports, officials are empowered to use discretion. As in all sports, reality is what the official sees not what the athlete believes.
so many people of vastly different abilities that there were often multiple passes going on at once (I’m trying to overtake a guy who swings out to pass another guy…and if I hang back, the guys behind me start to come around).
…
There is a difference between a pack and a traffic jam, and good officiating should differentiate.
Exactly. I had a similar experience at Victoria 70.3 this year as a slower swimmer / faster biker. Big traffic jams for the first 10-15 miles, with narrow lanes and bikes stacked up three wide. It was hard to figure out the right approach when being blocked for miles at a time, going well below goal watts. I resorted to staying left, keeping back about the legal distance from the rider on the left directly in front of me, and putting in big surges to pass whenever a gap would open on the left. I still had people pass me on the right to fill in the gap to the rider in front of me. If that section had been marshaled strictly, they could have given penalties to 90% of the field.
One situation I haven’t figured out is what to do if you are passed just as you are passing someone. The rules say you have to both finish your pass, and immediately drop back from the rider who passed you. If that person lets off the gas, you are stuck. My usual solution is to go hard, finish my pass as quickly as I can, then let off the gas and drop back. But that sucks for the slower rider if they are trying to ride legally.