To me, the cycling racing scene is small, even in SoCal so you oftentimes see the same exact racers week to week. I know a very large number of guys and I've only been racing here 5 months...That said, why would you act like an ahole in a sport that's super dangerous with the same people week after week...
So I'm doing the second race of the day and we go around a corner and things get a tad sketch so this kid yells, "Watch your line you idiots". Then I replied, "Relax dude you're not a pro here". Some guy in the pack starts giggling.
Going into the last lap, the race is pretty much over because 6 dudes went up the road in a break and I couldn't bridge up so the whole field is out of the points/money. Right before turn 4, the kid rides RIGHT INTO ME and bounces off then sarcastically says, "oops" and laughs. I didn't go down or close to it but it pissed me off that someone would endanger me on purpose in a freaking bike race.
So the race ends and I pull in to talk to the USAC official. I tell him the story and he just sighs and says, "we've heard similar stories about him". WTF? Why is he allowed to race then? This is sum bull****!
So I come up to his dad and I tell him what happened and his dad replies, "Thats just bike racing"
I told him if I see him doing anything similar, I will not hesitate to defend myself.
Just left it at that because I knew things were going to heat up and I'd lose it any moment. I was counting to 10 in my head trying to keep cool and not punch anyone in the face...
Rage level = maximum.