Racing etiquette.

This is the part of racing where there are no USA Cycling rules, but there are certain things you do and don’t do.  Specifically, I want to touch on team tactics when there is a break up the road.  When I was coming through the ranks we would make fun of the Cat 3 riders that would have a guy 50 yards off the front with his teammates shoulder-to-shoulder across the road ‘blocking.’  This and other such nonsense seems to have moved to the Cat 1-2 field.

In last weekend’s Tour de Mount Pleasant (ed note: Truly exceptional event from start to finish.  Way to bounce back from last year!), a break of 11 riders was established around the halfway point.  All of the major teams were represented (3 Bissell, 2 Panther, 2 WAS Labs, 1 BMC, 1 Einstein, 1 Wolverine, 1 Priority), with the exception of Leadout.  Korienek put all of his riders on the front with a couple of independent riders mixed in.  

Things were fine until a Bissell rider repeatedly got into the rotation to ‘block’ for his teammates in the break.  Maybe the racing is different in Holland and clearly they don’t teach that sort of thing at private schools in Boston, but that’s not how you race.  I was sitting farther back when a Lathrup rider went ballistic, called him out, a made some pretty dangerous moves.  He later said he was wrong and just frustrated at the time.  

Two wrongs certainly don’t make a right, but the bottom line is that getting into the rotation during a chase or sending 15 guys to race putting 5 in a break and the blocking by linning the other 9 across the front of the group pretty low class...Yet is becoming par norm around Michigan psuedo pro teams all the way down.

Dont agree this is wrong? Look at the picture above from the 2013  Strade Bianche four riders are up the road from BMC, Katusha, IAM and Androni Giocattoli, Cannondale and Radioshack are chasing but the first rider IAM with a teammate in the break is 21st in line! Still dont agree see rule #43

 http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

So there's your lesson for today..comments are encouraged but lets have a real discussion anonymous flaming doesn't serve or help us to improve or understand our sport or the Michigan racing scene.