Originally Posted by
TheKillerPenguin
I don't see any gray area here. If you don't race the full race why would you think contesting the sprint is kosher? You're mining these training crits for upgrade points; how would you feel if a dude that didn't race the full race setup his teammate for a podium spot and you might have missed out on points because of it? How annoyed would you be if you were OTF and a dude that skipped a lap pulled you back for his teammate?
Hang in for the speed work sure, but I don't see how you can justify impacting the finish after missing the start and jumping in because training race, if you're also using points you get from these training races to upgrade.
First off, I've not gotten any points from a B race for upgrade. Second, I don't care about being a Cat 3. I can do everything I want as a Cat 4. I can race against Cat 1/2 as a Cat 4 in my preferred race if I want. But also race 35+ 4/5 in a road race. I won't apply for an upgrade this year, probably even if I have enough points for a mandatory upgrade. From what I have seen the mandatory upgrade is not enforced. Plus all of you will surely agree that points from a weekday crit don't count anyway, so I'm perfectly justified in that.
Third, did I get any advantage in this race, the way it played out? No, I don't believe I did. Chasing for 1.5 laps burned some significant matches, esp. given that I had just finished the C race, and almost everyone else was fresh. Yes, I did have a recovery period as I waited to be lapped. But I venture to say I would have been less fatigued had I just been in the group. So no I don't think I had any advantage. I think a guy with a flat who is granted a free lap would have a MUCH greater advantage than I did. The guy with the flat didn't chase for 1.5 laps!
Yet everyone here believes it is perfectly fine to race if you miss a lap due to a mechanical. Or maybe even more than one lap.