USTA rules

I doubt that the United States Tennis Association cares much about bike drafting... ;-)

Seriously though, I was actually docked 1 minute in my last race for drafting. Basically, there were about four or five riders who kept changing places in the front over the course of several miles. It was not as though we were riding "as a pack" like you might see in real bicycle races (such as the Tour de France). I would be riding along, and rider B would come along side me and eventually overtake me. At this point, I should have regressed to the point where I was three lengths behind and stayed there for some time before trying to catch back up, but I guess in the judgment of the official I had not done that effectively enough.

Of course it also matters how much the race wants to be sticklers for the rules, but they are the rules.

Actually, it's three bike lengths from their front wheel to your front wheel, so it's effectively 2. Really, it's not that hard - just hang back by about 10-12 feet, and you should be fine. Where it's a pain, especially in a long race, is when you come up on someone who's just a touch slower than you - say 17.4 mph instead of 17.5. Is it worth spending the energy to pass? Remember, when you pass, you need to do it within 15 seconds.

For me, the harder rule to remember is "overtaken". Basically, if you get passed, you are responsible for dropping back out of the draft zone. In this case, overtaken is defined as when the passing rider's front wheel passes your front wheel.

According to the USAT official at my last race, Overtaken is the cause of most fouls, especially in what he called the "macho" case. He said he sees it all the time - a guy's chugging along at a decent pace, when a female cyclists passes him. Guy gets a look on his face along the lines of "hell, I can't let this WOMAN pass me", and zooms ahead. But, because her front wheel passed his, he is at fault and gets a penalty. Remember, if someone is passing you, it's because they think they can ride faster. Give it a few minutes - if you need to pass back, you can do it later. And you'll probably be glad for the short rest.

Where it really hurts, too, is if you come up on a group of 5 or more riders who are all legally spaced 3 bikelengths apart. Technically, you can pass just the tail rider, and they have to drop back. Effectively, though, you wind up having to pass all five, and that can really take it out of you.

Bottom line, just ride your own race, and you should be fine. The officials are not out there trying to DQ people - they're just making sure we're not a peloton (which, with aerobars, would be very dangerous).

I was just about to reply, when westfried popped up--he said it all! I wanted to emphasize the 'overtaken' aspect. It takes into affect once the leading front wheel EQUALS the other (when you are dead even, basically). That's important to remember, so if that's the case then the person being passed has 15 seconds to be out of the zone.

Dana

Basically it's a technical nightmare, and though I'm not for drafting, I do wish for more leniency in the passing/overtaken areas. To make matters even more fun, USAT rules express the drafting zone in meters!  Seven meters (about 23 feet, I think!) from the leading edge of your front tire and 2 meters to the sides with the front tire evenly splitting the distance ... blah, blah, blah. Heck, I still get confused with ounces to gallons. Now I'm s'posed to know meters too?! 

In the last triathlon we had here in Belize, drafting was allowed. Then again, this is not the USA and though the rules we have are in part based on the rules set by USAT we have a tendency here in Belize to do things our way. Well, so it seems. Personally, I think it would be better if we followed an internationally accepted set of rules. Maybe the organizers will rethink the drafting rule for the next race.

Edited by David_Zen 2004-05-14 4:43 PM