Have crit rules changed since my last race?

[Road Toad]

Last week I did a crit. I havent raced in over 10 years and I have worked my butt off to get back in raceworthy shape. Their was a field of atleast 45 riders at the starting line for the first race of the day. Less than 15 minutes into the race the main field was begining to loosen up but was within one block. I was one of those within 30 feet of the front pack. The USCF chick whistled out anyone who was not on a wheel of the front group. 15 riders out of the field crossed the finish line. No one, including the last riders were anywhere close to being lapped.

I thought that a rider is only removed if they are in danger of being lapped? She told us that since we were off of the front we were "out of contention". I thought the USCF was here to make the sport better for us, not keep us from racing if we dont have a possibility of winning.

 

[YMCA]

Are you sure there wasn't a smaller group off the front coming up on your heels. If not, I can't imagine 15 guys getting pulled because they were just drifting off the back of the main peloton. ???

 

[Road Toad]

15 guys are all that REMAINED. She pulled over 30 of us. I could see the race leader in front of us.

 

[Eden]

15 guys are all that REMAINED. She pulled over 30 of us. I could see the race leader in front of us.

I think it depends on the course. One of the races my husband did this year had similar rules. If you lost contact with the field you got pulled (you did not have to be lapped). One of the other courses the rules were a lot more relaxed - you could get lapped several times and no one would care.

 

[F1_Fan]

The USCF chick whistled out anyone who was not on a wheel of the front group. 15 riders out of the field crossed the finish line. No one, including the last riders were anywhere close to being lapped.

Wow, never heard of that before (though I race in Canada). Every crit I've been in (including a few in the US) pulled riders just before they got lapped.

 

[cosmo_the_third]

Wow, never heard of that before (though I race in Canada). Every crit I've been in (including a few in the US) pulled riders just before they got lapped.

It really does depend on course and officials. It's up to them who gets pulled and who doesn't. You could find out who the officials were and ask them what the deal was. If they won't give you a straight answer, I'd recommend filing a complaint with your regional USCF rep.

 

[Road Toad]

That is exactly what many of us did. Some of those guys went ballistic on her. She just kept saying "you were out of contention" over and over again, and eventually called over a cop to get everyone off of her case. I know nothing will ever come out of filing a complaint, I just wanted to give them my opinion in a civilized manner (instead of yelling at her).