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Dear All
At the 10 mile time trial held on the Funtington – Chichester course recently, one of our riders, having caught and passed a slower rider near the end of the race, had to put up with having that rider pacing themselves against him and contesting the finish in a manner more akin to a road race. Our rider was in no way at fault and the other rider, a non-PNE member, was forgetting that he was racing against the stopwatch, not our rider as such.
Not wishing to spoil anyone’s fun, all riders are reminded that, in time trials, there are a few fundamental rules which must be observed:
1. When catching a slower rider ahead of you, you must not sit in behind them to take a breather before overtaking and passing them. This is ‘draughting’ and is not allowed in time trials.
2. When being caught by a faster rider behing you, you must not attempt to raise your pace to match them as they pass you. This is ‘taking pace’ and is also not allowed in time trials.
3. Finally, not only must you not raise your pace if caught, you most definitely must not attempt to sit in behind the other rider until they are able to ride away from you. This is both ‘draughting’ and ‘taking pace’ and is classed quite simply as cheating and may result in your disqualification.
Sorry to be such a kill-joy but I’m sure you all understand and want to be able to improve your times knowing that you have done so cleanly and without any external assistance. I look forward to as many of you as possible supporting the Club’s time trials throughout the 2013 season.
Paul Martin
Assistant Timekeeper, PNECC
At the 10 mile time trial held on the Funtington – Chichester course recently, one of our riders, having caught and passed a slower rider near the end of the race, had to put up with having that rider pacing themselves against him and contesting the finish in a manner more akin to a road race. Our rider was in no way at fault and the other rider, a non-PNE member, was forgetting that he was racing against the stopwatch, not our rider as such.
Not wishing to spoil anyone’s fun, all riders are reminded that, in time trials, there are a few fundamental rules which must be observed:
1. When catching a slower rider ahead of you, you must not sit in behind them to take a breather before overtaking and passing them. This is ‘draughting’ and is not allowed in time trials.
2. When being caught by a faster rider behing you, you must not attempt to raise your pace to match them as they pass you. This is ‘taking pace’ and is also not allowed in time trials.
3. Finally, not only must you not raise your pace if caught, you most definitely must not attempt to sit in behind the other rider until they are able to ride away from you. This is both ‘draughting’ and ‘taking pace’ and is classed quite simply as cheating and may result in your disqualification.
Sorry to be such a kill-joy but I’m sure you all understand and want to be able to improve your times knowing that you have done so cleanly and without any external assistance. I look forward to as many of you as possible supporting the Club’s time trials throughout the 2013 season.
Paul Martin
Assistant Timekeeper, PNECC