Cervelo gets a one minute penalty for pushing in a TT. This seems sort of odd. In track, there is an entire event dedicated to one rider physically throwing his teammate. Ok, I guess this isn’t just a TT rule, as one rider can’t push another, teammate or not, in any circumstance, but come on, I don’t know how many times I’ve had friendly and hostile pushes and pulls in races. A one minute penalty after a TTT in a short, flat stage race? Better luck next year.
In response to the new rule that TT specific equipment has been banned from collegiate races, here is an email I sent to the collegiate director, Jeffrey Hansen:
I’d like to comment on a few concerns I have regarding aero equipment in road races. As a bit of background, I have raced as an A in mountain, road, and cyclocross for Appalachian State for the last three years.
Aero bars: Aero bars are a fairly inexpensive piece of equipment and add no further travel costs, two of the major concerns inspiring the rules. To that end, as an A rider, I will continue to ride in an aerodynamic position on my road bike, whether there are aero bars present or not – with my forearms resting on the tops of my handlebars and my hands dangling out in front. I use sram so there are no cables for me to grasp. This is a rather dangerous position and it could be avoided with the use of clip on aero bars.
Cost: Despite the rules, riders will continue to attempt to bend of break them. For example, it would be easy to conceive that a rider would purchase a Cervelo Soloist frame and whatever other aerodynamic but mass start legal parts possible in order to create a road bike/time trial bike that will fit within the rules yet still give the rider an advantage. In a way, these rulings have the opposite intended effect: I still own aero equipment, as do the vast majority of my competitors in the ACCC Men’s A field, and this rule effectively de-values our equipment, as we can no longer get as much use out of it. While I feel these rulings are great for the B, C, D, and E/Intro riders, the A rider is racing at the highest level of collegiate competition. The added cost is simply a result of racing at a high level – and again, while this is only my anecdotal experience, most A riders already own aero equipment.
Competition: An A rider, by definition, must be a category 1, 2, or 3 rider, and in my experience, most are category 1 and 2 riders. Most compete outside of the collegiate realm, as well. And, hopefully, most riders will continue to race outside of college. Time trial riding and team time trial riding, on an aero bike, in an aero position, with aero equipment, is a vital part of the rider’s development, especially if he or she plans to race at a higher level or in stage races or omniums where there is almost always a time trial component, and the competitors haven’t been restricted on their equipment in the past. I feel collegiate cycling’s greatest advantage is its developmental nature, allowing riders to race with a team, consistently, in a way he or she might not have access to otherwise.
Thanks for your consideration. Again, I propose that these rules not be applied to A riders. And, at the very least, for safety sake, please allow A riders to use clip on aero bars.
Needless to say, I think this new rule is ridiculous. But hey, developmental programs are all about handicapping, right?
