hanging onto motorcycles

Bucky said:

I thought this was a sport of honor? What's up with hanging onto
motorcycles? Why aren't they automatically disqualified?

You can't disqualify the motorbikes. They're part of the Tour
infrastructure. As for the riders, it's understood that they bend
this rule while taking handups, as long as it's not too egregious.
You won't see GC contenders doing it on the final climb, but
for a gregario (Calzati) with 150 km to go in the stage, like you
example, he won't even get a warning.

Anyway, who said this was a "sport of honor," whatever that is?

Quoted message said:

12:48 CEST 30.5km/151.5km to go
Calzati gets a bottle from the motorbike, holding on for a couple of
seconds and then pushing hard off it. This helps him to close the gap -
he's about to latch on now.

http://live.cyclingnews.com/?id=5

Quoted message said:

Anyway, who said this was a "sport of honor," whatever that is?

I was thinking of how cyclists wait for fallen competitors, won't
attack in feeding zones, and other "honorable" gestures.

Bucky said:

Quoted message said:

Anyway, who said this was a "sport of honor," whatever that is?

I was thinking of how cyclists wait for fallen competitors, won't
attack in feeding zones, and other "honorable" gestures.

The honorable gesture here is that no-hopers are not sternly punished
for minor drafting/holding infractions.

It even says in the UCI rules that a rider who happens to be drafting
up through the car caravan should not normally be punished. Similarly,
a "firm grip on the bottle" is usually overlooked (though there have
probably been some fines for holding on to the team car).

Hm. I can't find a site that lists the fines this year. letour.fr
appears bereft, as does cyclingnews. Anyone?

Ryan Cousineau said:

Bucky said:

Quoted message said:

Anyway, who said this was a "sport of honor," whatever that is?

I was thinking of how cyclists wait for fallen competitors, won't
attack in feeding zones, and other "honorable" gestures.

The honorable gesture here is that no-hopers are not sternly punished
for minor drafting/holding infractions.

It even says in the UCI rules that a rider who happens to be drafting
up through the car caravan should not normally be punished. Similarly,
a "firm grip on the bottle" is usually overlooked (though there have
probably been some fines for holding on to the team car).

Hm. I can't find a site that lists the fines this year. letour.fr
appears bereft, as does cyclingnews. Anyone?

Here you go:

http://www.letour.fr/2006/TDF/LIVE/us/1600/r1_enjeux.html

email hidden said:

Bucky said:

I thought this was a sport of honor? What's up with hanging onto
motorcycles? Why aren't they automatically disqualified?

You can't disqualify the motorbikes. They're part of the Tour
infrastructure.

They can be fined. And drivers who do very egregious stuff can be
kicked off the race for the following day or longer.

JT

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