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Taking the hands off the handlebars


About twice a year I get a report of a rider who won a race and was then disqualified for taking his hands off the bars for a victory salute. The problem with this is that the rule disallowing that went away at least 2 years ago. There is no rule that says you cannot take your hands off the handlebars anymore. We do have the following general rule:

1O7. Dangerous Rider. Any rider who appears to present a danger to the other competitors may be disqualified by the Chief Referee, either before or during a race.


My feeling is that a CR will have a hard time declaring a rider to be dangerous for taking hands off the bars if there is no incident. Clearly, if the rider takes his hands off the bars in a tight sprint, loses control of his bike, and causes a crash, then he did present a danger and can be dealt with accordingly. But please, if a rider is clear by a bike length and gives a two-handed victory salute and causes no issue, it is just petty to disqualify that rider. As a slow amateur rider for 15 years I can tell you that the dismally few moments of fleeting glory are what make the years of training worth it.


In summary, I would say that if a rider takes his hands off the bars in a victory salute, most of the time there should be nothing said about it, other than to congratulate the rider. If it was in a very close sprint where only for the grace of God did people not go down, then a warning is in order. If you disqualify or relegate the rider, I would also expect to be receiving an accident report along with the CR report.


That is about all I had for this one. I hope you are enjoying the spring.


Shawn Farrell

Technical Director

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Well done. Can't wait til I can hit the crits...

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