Divebrian

Ok, this had a positive outcome, so it's more of a rules clarification for the future. This was on a 333 m track where the 200 m line is after you exit turn 2 and just past the beginning of the back straight. It was a two up sprint and one person was the designated lead out (we'll call him rider one). First lap, rider two just stayed just behind rider one's back wheel, on his right up against the rail. Rider two was close enough that he could keep an eye on rider one, but far enough back that he was keeping his options open. As they started to exit turn 4, it became obvious that rider one wasn't going to go for a flying lap as he stayed high and slow. As they came out of turn 2, rider one still stayed really high and picked up just a little speed, but not winding up for a sprint speed, so rider two let him get just enough gap that he could control things and started his sprint...rider two jumped and got in a couple of pedal revolutions by the time rider one realized and started his wind up. Rider two reached the red line of the sprint lane midway down the back stretch and was on the black line about 5-10 meters before entering turn 3. Rider one took a little less aggressive line than rider two that put rider one crossing the red line and entering the sprint lane at the beginning of turn 3. Rider two was on the black line when rider one started to cross the red line into the sprint lane, at this point, rider one's back tire was about 2-3 ft in front of rider two's front tire, but rider two was going faster.....rider two went into collision avoidance mode, pulled up just long enough to create enough space that he could make a hard move to the right without hitting rider one's rear wheel. Rider two got back on the gas and had enough power to goover the top of rider one and take the win.

Had rider two held his line and kept on hammering, there would have been contact. So my question is, was that a perfectly legal move on rider one's part or a possible grey area tactic to get a win? I honestly don't know if rider one was aware of rider two's position or not, if he was trying to intimidate rider two or not or if he even had a clue what happened....hard to tell what's going through someone's head during a race.

As far as I'm concerned, rider two had control of the sprint lane and rider one did not have the speed or necessary clearance to come down on rider two, but I may be wrong...that's why I'm asking. Not pointing fingers, just trying to use this as a learning experience and gain more knowledge.