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Just wanted to answer the "3 pole" vs "2 pole" question & create few conspiracy actors.
Looking to understand the rules.
When UCI has DQ'ed racers last year for going around poles, was it only due to a timely protest?
Or was it UCI spotting aninfraction & ruling without protest?
Is there a scenario where UCI could spot an infraction, but they would only act if a team files timely protest?
As a trail builder who likes clean forests, f*** course tape, that plastic ribbon has a way of sticking around forever. I'm talking in generalities here, not necessarily WCDH, but I'd like to see tape completely go away (same with tear-offs). Poles are a better solution, just need to use a wee bit of common sense.
Stripe them if they're a caution/jump marker vs course marker. Works for color blind riders and can be done with a handy roll of gaff tape instead of having a separate inventory of markers. Just put 3 black stripes on markers that won't DQ you if you go around.
Not all European WC races are in the EU, not all races are in the Schengen area. There is no universal visa, if you want a Visa for a European nation, Schengen or otherwise you have to apply to a specific country. There is no single EU body for Visas. The vast majority of WC racers not from European nations (i,e, Canada, USA, Aus and NZ) do not need a Visa to enter an EU country, those nations have reciprocal Visa waiver programs with EU nations.
Visas have never been a major issue before, there are 10 WC DH races in 2025, two of which are here in North America. So 8 races in Europe (one not in a Schengen area country) means there's between 1-2 more European WC than most previous seasons. This is not an issue.
Well, if theres not an issue then all the merrier Though heard a few riders complaint about it last year, one of them our own Jesse Melamed. Which race in Europe is not on the Schengen area?
Andorra isn't Schengen, so some offshore people base themselves there for getting around the 90/180 day limit without leaving the area completely. Although tax is the actual reason why they're there, let's be perfectly honest.
as a racer, i'd never expect the race organizers to make sure my international travel legalities were sorted. i would hope at teh elite level, teams and managers would be offering insight so athletes could focus on the racing itself.
I don't know you either 😉
The translation is bad. I wrote that Jackson (according to PB ) is riding a new larger negative chamber in his Fox40. And below that, I wrote that this is what I've been make since 3 years, with a picture of the prototype. And since 2007 for all other air forks. Long before the air-kit became a trend.
Thats perhaps the reason why It was the Enduro Racers complaining. Maybe last year the EDR season was a bit longer than 90 days so people like Jesse had to go out of Schengen or go back home, so they were asking for some sort of pro-sport visa, whereas the DH people had It sorted by just going to Andorra
Correct I posted the list on the 13th of Feb.
Happy Valentines Day bro
I wonder how the roadies get on? There is a lot of money in that sport, and I am sure the teams will want to get the most out of their rider talent pool. Do they have to plan races according to who has time left on their visa, or is it possible for them to arrange a special visa for a longer period?
I have no idea to be honest, but road cycling is pretty high profile in Europe, so that may help those who wish to get short-stay Visas, and obviously many of the central/south American racers need a Visa no matter what as they may not have Visa-waiver program.
I'd assume roadies with long term successful careers would have residency in places like Monaco and Andorra, giving them a place to live and also open access to all euro countries, Schengen or otherwise. If there is more WC races in Europe/EU in the near future, then riders will for sure have to start working on visas or private jets to fly home between races.
Got up super early to watch crankworx DH, but Troy saw it and I didn't. Ryan Gilchrist cheating at the start line. Can't blame the UCI, WB or the French for this one.
A move he learnt from Tomas Slavik.
nothing has changed is quite a statement... tell that to all the people who got arrested on the border and kept like kettle for weeks in trumps konzentrationslagern
add to that yesterdays harvard order and you can get a very clear picture: foreigners are no longer welcome in trumps second Reich
What’s happening that’s cheating? Trying to figure it out from this photo. You break the beam at the start and finish, is there a way to “jump” the gate?
that pole probably needs to be in a certain position to register the contact. going around it a bit gives you a small head start before the clock starts your run
We were discussing Visas to enter the EU / Schengen area, not the USA. And how it's not sport organisers respnsibilty to organize Visas.
"for US" your words, not mine
Nothing has changed Visa wise to enter the US, vast majority of European nations operate under the visa waiver program using the ESTA system. So should be same as always, baring something strange happening at a point of entry into the US. Anything's possible and for sure the "climate" is a touch different than under the previous administration, but I doubt we'll notice anything. Time will tell.
Also in a Red Bull sponsored non-UCI event...
But as far as I can tell Crankworx still uses the UCI rulebook for its DH races. And I can't find direct references to the operation of and rider interaction with timing gates in either rulebook. It might not be a problem in UCI DH simply due to the design of the start hut preventing riders from doing it?
In most of the timing systems I have operated that have a “wand” you can plug in, the wand is essentially a delay device that records when it is triggered in a .csv, and your optical beam or chip time, which is the default time in the system is actually calculated based on the top sensor that is a little bit farther down the ramp.
The only time i have looked at “wand triggers” is to manually enter a start time if something goes wrong with a chip.
(i have no idea what timing system crankworks uses)
In ski racing, the wand is the primary start device. As discussed when Slavik did it in the recent urban DH, for ski racing there are definite rules about how to stand to ensure you don't get an unfair advantage: legs behind the wand, poles in front of the wand, standing still; if you lift your poles you have to pause again before you can start. This makes sure everyone starts in the same spot, and you can't get a running start from back farther. I also want to mention that the want is pretty sensitive, and it is easy to accidentally trigger the wand early if you aren't careful.
I don't know how they use the wand for these races. If it is the primary, there seems like there is something to be gained by slipping the front wheel past the wand without hitting it. If the primary is actually a beam slightly lower on the ramp then this might actually be a net negative, since it seems based on his body position in the picture above that he probably isn't getting as good of a start.
If the wand is the primary, you would expect there to be actual rules around that? This system is not new. What does road racing use for time trials?
here's the embed to race replay from crankworx to see more than the screengrab. in video you see he steers his front wheel completely around the wand (hard to tell from grab). 2:05:40-ish for incident.
Any UCI race(from road to dh), believe it or not, ultimately defaults to 2 humans running synchronized stop watches, as far as the org structure and decison making works. It’s kinda wild, imo
good point, in this case then its key to know whether the wand he avoided or the beam or chip or whatever is the primary timing system? But then the question is, why go to the trouble of riding around the wand if you know the beams or whatever is the primary? Why make a disadvantage for yourself?
Crankworx races are UCI sanctioned. This was the last stop of the Oceania Continental series
I’d assume the wand was the primary. How many racers would remotely think to ask about it especially if their goal is to gain advantage by grey area in the rules.
Definitely a cheeky move. Is it illegal? I’m waiting for some of more resourceful members to post the rule.
It would be as simple as track markers forcing you into the gate or a rule that specifically states how you must interact with it. I think it’s amazing that it took 30+years for someone to do it on tv and get busted.
does race course talk count?
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