Penalty?

I have always looked at the penalty portion of the results and felt sorrow for the people who got tagged with, more than likely, unwarranted penalties. I'm not sure I agree with how the USAT handles penalizing participants. I understand that rules are in place in order to keep a level playing field and to keep people safe however. Is this sport not supposed to be fun? Are we not supposed to go as fast as we possibly can as long as we don't draft?

Here is my beef. I was hit up with a 4:00 penalty this weekend. Not that I dispute that I may have crossed over a double line but I would like to know the circumstances of why. I'm sure I didn't due it maliciously or with total disregard for my own or the safety of others. Quite the contrary. I'm guessing that I crossed the line in order to A. pass someone safely or B. take a corner safely.

As for A. You might say that going into oncoming traffic in order to pass someone is dangerous. Is it? I would have to argue that it is less dangerous. Anyone who has ridden a bike during a race should know that passing someone (especially if you are a faster cyclist) takes only a couple of seconds. If there is no car in sight that should give you more than enough time to safely pass them. The alternative is to say on your left or hit the brakes and wait until there is a passing zone. If you say "on your left" you risk a serious accident. Not everyone is hip to that saying or is a quick thinker. I myself said this in a race a few years ago and had the person "panic" and go hard left. Luckily I gave them plenty of warning and started to go around them to the right only to have them dart back across and taking me out. Since then I have almost been involved in at least one other accident of similar circumstances and try not to use "on your left" unless absolutely necessary.

As for my cornering argument here me out. First, all corners should be controlled by volunteers so traffic should not be an issue. If it is, then you should be paying attention and see the car coming and avoid the wide turn. Second, most corners are not swept. Taking these corners at speed with a sharp turn can easily cause someone to wipe out. It is much safer to take a wider turn so that the apex is much more of a straight line in case there is loose gravel on the corner. Third, everyone who is competitive in these races takes wide turns. It is an extreme disadvantage to call a penalty on only one or two. If you are going to enforce the rules you must do it on all competitors not just one. Now I will have to worry about this call for he rest of my career while other racers do not, causing an unfair advantage not only in that race but in future races.

Since I hate people who complain and offer no suggestions on how to fix the problem I offer some ideas in order to improve the above situations. Let me first state that officiating should be subjective. A police officer has the right to intemperate whether a law was justifiably broken. This should also be the case in USAT races. Questions should be asked when making a call. What were the circumstances surrounding the violation? Did the violation cause someone to gain an unfair advantage? Did the violation put anyone in immediate danger or did it actually make the situation safer? Was the situation under control? To name a few questions that should be asked in the mind of the official when handing out a penalty. As for the corners I offer one simple solution... road cones. The should be two cones at every intersection. One to mark where the turn starts and the other to mark where the turn ends. If the racer misses either of these cones and the official feels that they made the turn with disregard for the cones then the penalty should be enforced but only if there are the resources to enforce this on everyone.

I can't tell you how elated I was with one of my best races I've ever had only to find out later that day that I was docked 4 min for a traffic violation. I don't want anyone else to have to experience the same disappointment of having that taken away on paper. Sure I know I had a great race but seeing it in the results is the same as accusing me of cheating. Triathlon is a sport that is supposed to be fun, not over officiated. Many of the people who compete in this sport dedicate 10 or more hours a week to training and thousands of dollars in gear. In my opinion you better have a very good reason to give someone a penalty who has that type of dedication to a sport that they have pay to do. I have never met anyone that I felt was, would or did, intentionally break the rules. Is there a problem with giving a warning? Most people don't even know they are doing something wrong. Not because they don't know the rules but because the official may have a different point of view.


Let them race! Let them Race!