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Explained by:
Jim Flint
USAT Rocky Mountain Regional Officials Coordinator
Jim.flint@cdt.cendant.com

5.10a & f: �Illegal Position and Position Penalties

5.10 Position Fouls. In accordance with the Rules as set forth in this section, a participant is not permitted to position his bicycle in the proximity of another moving vehicle so as to benefit from reduced air resistance. While on the cycling course, participants shall not work together to improve performance, efficiency, or position by teamwork or other joint conduct. A variable time penalty shall be imposed for any violation of this section.

a. Illegal Positioning. Except as otherwise provided in these Rules, while on the cycling course, no participant shall permit his drafting zone to intersect with or remain intersected with the drafting zone of another cyclist or that of a motor vehicle. With respect to a motor vehicle ( including authorized race vehicles), it is the athlete�s responsibility to move out of the vehicle�s drafting zone or to continually communicate to the vehicle to move away.
f. Position. Except for reasons of safety and when no advantage is gained, all cyclists shall keep to the right of the prescribed course unless passing.

Ok, What do these rules really mean and where can you ride and not get a penalty:

Let's discuss both 5.10a & f,�that apply to where you can ride your bike on the road during the race. Since most courses are open road courses and not closed to the motoring public, safety is of the utmost concern. Never assume you have the right of way even if directed through a police controlled intersection. Be prepared to stop at all times.

What these two rules are saying is that you must ride on the right side of the roadway. This means if there is a white shoulder line, you need to be near that line unless in the act of passing another racer or avoiding damaged roadway. You do not however have to ride the white line. You have a bit of leeway here. If you are within a foot or so on�the left of the white line, you will be fine. What is not acceptable, is moving out past that imaginary line that runs down the road that the right wheel of the cars and trucks leave in the roadway.� Even this line may be too far to the left on the�roadway�for some officials, so if in doubt, try to keep your line of travel within a foot or so of the white shoulder line. If there is a nice clean shoulder, you should be riding there and let the other passing cyclists use the white line for passing you. You may however during a pass of another racer, move beyond that right car wheel track in the road, but remember you only have 15 seconds to complete the pass. We often see a rider that passes often, think they have a right of way to go right down the middle of the road because they are passing so many other racers.�You MUST move back to the right�after each pass until you reach the drafting zone of the cyclist ahead of you before you move back out into the roadway to pass again. Did I mention that most races are open to traffic, so PLEASE look behind you to make sure another car or faster moving cyclist is not coming up behind you before you pull out into the roadway for your pass. If another racer was coming up from behind you, you then could be called for a blocking penalty if you pulled out but we'll go into that rule another time. I call that my 'grandpa driving down the left lane of the freeway rule'.

Centerline. Can you ever go over the centerline? This�is a qualified 'yes' but you better be darn�sure of your rules and the conditions at the time to avoid being DQ'd.��If you are DQ'd, it's not something you can protest. Better to just not go over the�centerline if you can avoid�it even if it means waiting a few seconds to pass.

Now that said, if the roadway is clear and straight�in front of you and there are no�obstructions to your view ahead, no vehicle traffic is coming from either direction, the lane ahead is�blocked by other racers (remember you can not pass on the right, only the left), you could move over the centerline to pass.� Another acceptable area for going over the centerline would�be you are coming into an aid station�and the roadway is blocked by other cyclists ahead of you. That would be ok as well. What is not acceptable, is going around a corner, taking the corner wide and going out over the centerline to maintain speed. Penalty for sure and very likely a DQ.

b. Definition of Drafting Zone

The term "drafting zone" shall refer to a rectangular area seven (7) meters long�and two (2) meters wide surrounding each bicycle. The longer sides of the zone begin at the leading edge of the front wheel and run backward parallel to the bicycle; the front wheel divides the short side of the zone into two equal parts. With respect to a moving motor vehicle, the "drafting zone" is a rectangular area extending 15 meters to each side of the vehicle and 30 meters behind the vehicle.�

This means you should be able to fit 3 bike lengths�in-between you and the bike in front of you. Not 1.5 bikes, not 2 bikes, but 3.