Originally Posted by
Doge
I'm a big fan of humans deciding what is cheating or not / what should be penalized or not. But when a rule is spelled out - like 6.8 kg, then a ref should not allow a 6.9 kg bike. Likewise a UCI TT requires a seat 5cm back and some degrees off level. A referee should not have the latitude to decide otherwise (fact - they did), and also should not allow deviations from that.
I agree with you in general. Clear cut rules are clear cut rules, and what good are rules if they are not enforced. There may be logistical considerations, though, like they don't have a battery of scales to weigh hundreds of bikes, or enough gauges to measure setback in a reasonable amount of time. So why have the rule at all? Maybe it has to do with insurance, or compliance with UCI regulations. There's lots of fishy stuff going on at USAC.