Originally Posted by
grolby
I think the point was that if it really WAS a 100 m gap that there was ample time to go around before it got that big. But it probably was not that big a gap.
I don't know why anyone would make this out to be a big deal. It's not a cross race. Even pros miss a pedal sometimes. In a 2/3/4 master's race, yelling at someone for missing at the pedal is a dick thing to do. It means you need to chill out. He's not putting you in danger and he's not going to affect your result. So chill. And if you want to reduce the chance of being held up by someone missing a pedal, don't line up at the back.
It was a 2/3/4 race, not masters. That race report was a copy of the one I sent to my team with names removed. The CAPITALS were for emphasis, not yelling. The 'berating' was me saying 'Come on, dude' in an annoyed but not loud voice. The lesson was for the new racers on the team to think about pedaling first and worry about clipping in after they are moving. I was lined up at the back because they started the line-up and race several minutes early (my teammate and several others almost missed the start). The gap probably wasn't 100m, that's probably about what it took to catch up to them.
On the last lap of the race as I was starting my attack, the guy leading out the group pulled off with his head down and almost went into the curb sideways. He looked up at the last second, bobbled and saved himself but slowed several of us down. I was far enough out that I could get around without too much issue and still have a reasonable finish. Guess who this guy was...?
In any case, a missed clip-in should be virtually imperceptible to the rest of the racers. I've been in crits where a hesitation at the start meant chasing for half the race or getting dropped altogether (luckily not to me).