Flea Posted March 26, 2009 Posted March 26, 2009 Suppose the time penalty is to also stop the Dakar principle, where you have related teams who give up their bikes(or parts of it) for the leaders (Alfie started like this). This means that you can almost buy the win. Not something that we can afford in mtbing.I think that the penalty is fair - they are still in the race.
Poison Ivy Posted March 26, 2009 Posted March 26, 2009 he did finish on the bike he started on' date=' he was just on the Canondale for a couple of k's. But back to the question - What was he supposed to do - pick his bike up and run with it to the next service point? i think it is a pity about the ruling as teh race has effectively been taken away from them while they have clearly deserved to be leading more than any other team [/quote'] just to add to this : besides the service points, maybe the organisers should consider "neutral" vehicles or back-up vehicles (quad bikes in the Epic's instance) en route with spare wheels etc for the main contenders or top teams that compete for the prize money and overalll standings. Then Burry would have had a wheel at hand when he needed it.
Shebeen Posted March 26, 2009 Author Posted March 26, 2009 Glad we've all left emotion out of this. it seems it was rider error, so penalty was fair. this is still a pioneeering race, and the rules will evolve and improve year on year. Now, who's the hero epic tripper who gave up his front wheel?
GoLefty!! Posted March 26, 2009 Posted March 26, 2009 Firstly Burry would never have been able to ride so hard on his Specialized. Look how much he made Saucer suffer with that Scalpel. Scalpel rules. However i think their penalty is very lenient. they swapped bikes and therefore rode under the wrong race numbers which is against the rules. Both he and Max should have been thrown out of the race. the fact that they got time penalties is very light punishment indeed.
Roders Posted March 26, 2009 Posted March 26, 2009 I am/was a commisaire, and I can tell you those poor commisaires had one very tough job deciding what to do, I don't envy them. If they stuck to the rules to the letter you end up taking the main contenders out of the race who are basically making it exciting to follow. Believe me all the top riders know the big picture & if there is no interest in the racing from the public & sponsers they don't have jobs.I reckon before a decision was taken all the contenders were consulted and their buy-in was gotten.(thats what I would have done).
Cassie Posted March 26, 2009 Posted March 26, 2009 he did finish on the bike he started on' date=' he was just on the Canondale for a couple of k's. But back to the question - What was he supposed to do - pick his bike up and run with it to the next service point? i think it is a pity about the ruling as teh race has effectively been taken away from them while they have clearly deserved to be leading more than any other team [/quote'] just to add to this : besides the service points, maybe the organisers should consider "neutral" vehicles or back-up vehicles (quad bikes in the Epic's instance) en route with spare wheels etc for the main contenders or top teams that compete for the prize money and overalll standings. Then Burry would have had a wheel at hand when he needed it. People, this isn't a foot race!! Therefore, equipment is involved. A large part of this race is about how one manages your equipment over the terrain...therefore if you make an error (by raming it into a tree...) you should suffer the consequences... At the end of the day - the winner should be determined by the person who managed his bike & the terrain the best...not just the one aspect of it. There should be no seconding! Maybe selected stations along the way that have repairs & spares...so if you decide to go too hard...then it is walking to the next pitstop for repairs and it might make one think twice before you throwing EVERYTHING into that next corner... I feel very sorry for Burry - but it could happen to any of the leaders....Part of winning should also be about how well you managed your bike over this tough terrain... Cassie2009-03-26 04:49:39
Roders Posted March 26, 2009 Posted March 26, 2009 he did finish on the bike he started on' date=' he was just on the Canondale for a couple of k's. But back to the question - What was he supposed to do - pick his bike up and run with it to the next service point? i think it is a pity about the ruling as teh race has effectively been taken away from them while they have clearly deserved to be leading more than any other team [/quote'] just to add to this : besides the service points, maybe the organisers should consider "neutral" vehicles or back-up vehicles (quad bikes in the Epic's instance) en route with spare wheels etc for the main contenders or top teams that compete for the prize money and overalll standings. Then Burry would have had a wheel at hand when he needed it. People, this isn't a foot race!! Therefore, equipment is involved. A large part of this race is about how one manages your equipment over the terrain...therefore if you make an error (by raming it into a tree...) you should suffer the consequences... At the end of the day - the winner should be determined by the person who managed his bike & the terrain the best...not just the one aspect of it. There should be no seconding! Maybe selected stations along the way that have repairs & spares...so if you decide to go too hard...then it is walking to the next pitstop for repairs and it might make one think twice before you throwing EVERYTHING into that next corner... I feel very sorry for Burry - but it could happen to any of the leaders....Part of winning should also be about how well you managed your bike over this tough terrain... I Agree, Sometimes I think being an agressive, hard, fast rider is not always the winning recipe, as in any sport involving mechanical equipment, managing that equipment is also part of the racing. Just the time & energy wasted fixing punctures from riding over the limit and then having to get back up to the race must be hugely taxing on a rider.
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