Say for instance that a rider goes down between two jumps on the left side of the track and the flagger is on the right side. There was one section during the video where Reed and Stewart were jumping through the triple-triple rhythms with blue AND yellow flags flying everywhere. We have so many flags flying everywhere that it's understandable that the riders don't see the flag sometimes. So the best thing is to go with the "hold your line" rule which seems to be safer in just about every situation anyway (assuming you are still trying to go race speed and not just putting around the track).īTW, is this something that could be solved with 2-way com between the rider and the mechanic? If the rider being lapped had more consistent notice about whether he was about to be lapped or not, it might make it safer. So I guess my point is, no matter what the rule is, it will benefit some in some situations and hurt others in other situations. His team mate later came up and apologized, and told me he was just mad about getting a flat and was taking it out on the rest of the world. And it was supposed to be a fun race, not for any championship or anything. At the speed he was coming, if I had switched to the right side for him to pass on the left, we likely would have collided. Moments later we crossed the check point where we switched off to our team mates and he starts drilling into me like I just cost him a major championship! F-bomb this, F-bomb that! Really ridiculous. If you move over and the guy passing you guesses wrong, or if you don't move over and the guy passing you looses time, either way they usually get pissed off.ĭuring one 24hr mountain bike race, I heard someone behind me yell LEFT LEFT LEFT, and since I was already on the left of the main single track line I just stayed on the left. But it definitely makes more sense to just hold your line, especially in pro racing where someone changing their line at the last second might get them landed on.Įither way, I don't think you will ever avoid getting people mad. I've always heard the old "there's a race going on and you're not in it so move over" definition. Blose just trying to do what's right and get out of the way (in todays definition) confused Reed (who admits his own fault) and looses time.Ĭan we all just agreee that the blue flag means HOLD YOUR LINE now? Someone tell Emig please. Even Emig himself has said more than once that it means to "get out of the race line"? I have always challenged that in my mind knowing that if everyone who saw the blue flag tried to move over you would have chaos vs if every one just held thier line allowing the faster racer to work his way around with the space he sees open as he approaches the lapper. Over the last decade or so it seems like people are starting to refer to it as the "move over" flag in so many words. I have always just stayed right where I was and never taken anyone out, or high in a berm by accident. And in 30 years of riding/racing I have gotten my share of blue flags since the 40+ guys often get lumped in with a pro class. Or in other words don't make any squidly moves. Since the first day I rode at Saddleback (1981) I was told and adhered to the definiton of "hold your line". One of the things that has bothered me the last few years is the ever changing definition of the blue flag.
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