Biking, yellow playing cards arrive for incorrect riders. And there is a squeeze on the earphones too

Security in biking passes by way of using yellow playing cards. The UCI’s newest thought nonetheless comes from soccer (like using VAR, launched in 2018): the intention is to keep away from severe accidents on account of harmful maneuvers by runners. The trigger, in keeping with many the primary one, of the unbelievable variety of severe falls which have thus far ruined the season of many groups. The brand new system of sanctions and disqualifications can also be the primary manifestation of the lifetime of SafeRthe brand new construction devoted to security arrange by the Worldwide Biking Union a 12 months in the past however which by no means actually got here into operation.

The yellow playing cards

Ranging from 1 August 2024, a yellow card system will due to this fact be launched in males’s and girls’s skilled street races. Like in soccer, aside from one factor: there might be no judges to wave them however they are going to be digital. To search out out, you will want to search for them within the race press launch revealed after the arrival. The initiative, within the intentions of the UCI, goals to have a dissuasive impact on all members of the caravan (runners, sports activities administrators, different riders and motorcyclists, and many others.). The target is to discourage habits that would jeopardize the security of the occasion. There are 21 completely different doable “danger behaviors”, from deviation of the trajectory through the dash to apparent misconduct through the race. The interval from August 1 to December 31, 2024 will function a trial interval.

The sanctions for the buildup of yellow playing cards will come into drive, if the trial is profitable, ranging from 1 January 2025. The sum of yellow playing cards could result in disqualifications as follows:

– Throughout the identical race (street race or stage race), anybody who receives two yellow playing cards might be disqualified from that race and suspended for 7 days, ranging from the day following receipt of the second yellow card;

– anybody who receives three yellow playing cards inside thirty days might be suspended for 14 days, ranging from the day after receiving the third yellow card;

– anybody who receives six yellow playing cards inside a 12 months is suspended for 30 days, ranging from the day after receiving the sixth yellow card.

Restrictions on using earphones

The UCI determined to check the consequences of a restriction on using earphones in competitors. The match might be examined in skilled one-day races and chosen stage races. The listing of occasions and phases affected has but to be outlined. This choice, we learn within the UCI press launch, “is predicated on discussions on the subject inside SafeR, which led to the conclusion that earphones might be each a supply of distraction for riders and a bodily hazard as a result of the radio models they’re mounted on the again and pose a danger when numerous groups concurrently ask their riders to take the lead.” Suggestions might be collected from all stakeholders in an effort to examine the consequences of limiting using earphones and to contemplate learning different measures that would result in a change in the way in which earphones are used, for instance by limiting their use. Two runners per group. An general evaluation might be carried out inside SafeR on the finish of the season, earlier than being offered to the Skilled Biking Council after which to the UCI Administration Committee with a view to a choice on using earphones sooner or later.

Modification of the so-called “three kilometer” (or “dash zone”) rule

The UCI has determined to permit organizers and different events to request, on a trial foundation, a modification of the so-called “3 km” rule (or “dash zone”) which applies when a race enters the zone resulting in the ultimate dash and in keeping with which, within the occasion of a duly reported accident (for instance a fall, mechanical downside or puncture) within the final three kilometers of a street stage (excluding summit finishes), an affected runner is credited with the time of rider or riders with whom he was biking on the time of the accident. The organizer who requests it could, if justified, get hold of an extension of the gap to be considered pursuant to the aforementioned rule, which can be elevated as much as a most of 5 kilometres. Any modifications should be agreed earlier than the beginning of the race.

Simplification of the strategy of calculating time gaps within the phases with a bunch dash end

Equally, the strategy of calculating the time gaps for the phases with anticipated arrival in a bunch dash – launched in 2018 – by SafeR was additionally examined. On the request of the occasion organizer, the hole calculation might be prolonged to 3 seconds, however just for riders in the primary group. SafeR has issued a suggestion to check the appliance of this particular three-second hole calculation regime to all competing teams, with the only exception of clearly established breakaways. This three-second rule is meant to simplify the calculation of gaps within the phases the place a bunch dash is foreseen, to ease the stress on riders indirectly concerned within the dash and to permit them to go away a sure margin with the top of the race – three seconds similar to a niche of fifty meters as an alternative of 17 meters for one second of hole – and due to this fact scale back the taking of pointless dangers. notably for runners aiming for the overall classification.