| Subject: | racing in Europe and other places: here are some excerpts of things not to do: |
| Date: | 03/30/2004 03:36 AM |
| From: | Meadors, Ivan C |
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Samples of things not to do or of what is not considered acceptable: http://www.bicyclesource.com/you/road/racing/road-racing-tactics.shtml One of the most misunderstood tactics is blocking. Until the early '70s blocking was against the rules in the US (it is unknown if this rule was ever enforced)! This does not mean physically impeding anyone but it does mean interrupting any paceline- like rhythm that might develop. http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/archives/aug97/maastricht97.html As to the race, Australian Henk Vogels (GAN) was disqualified. Vogels, who came second in a premier sprint for 100 guilders ($A80), was disqualified by the jury for not keeping to the right line. He rode another 7 laps while they decided on his penalty. http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/taylor_race_reports/report10.html I could be wrong as my Flemish is rusty, but I was listening to some discussions around me and the gist of what I understood was that this race was perhaps a "betting" race. The fans seemed to already know who would win as there was an agreement between the rider's for splitting the money, et al. A guy named Veraggen was the guy to win, according to the "betting dudes". I was disgusted. Mike would have to really be strong to win this one as there were individuals riding in his group wearing different team gear who were working together---which is technically illegal. Mike ended up 28th and in the dough at least. I have a new attitude though about the kermesse racing scene. It sucks that guys cheat and work together and then split the money later. It doesn't seem fair. But it's how it is. Mike rode a strong race. His legs hadn't recovered from the race on Thursday though. If his legs hadn't been tired he'd have likely done even better. Fair and squarely. No doping (!) or illegal team-tactics; just crafty, smart racing tactics and strong legs & power. I'd heard talk about this part of the European cycling scene (perhaps the American as well?), and certainly read about it, but finding out about it first hand still came as sort of a shock. Naive perhaps. It just surprises me that an athlete would use drugs and/or cheat. Naive for sure I guess. http://www.iht.com/IHT/SA/99/sa071099.html In a tumultuous finish, Steels crossed the line first, with Cipollini second and Zabel third. But minutes later, the Belgian was disqualified and placed 172d because of his aggressive and dangerous tactics. After swerving to cut off Jan Svorada, a Czech with Lampre, Steels dug his right elbow into Cipollini a few times just before the line. The elbows could be pardoned as a common offense, but the swerve was too blatant a piece of interference. |
