Dan H
"My kid would have won that race if he would have had a bigger gear"
I'm reminded of the time I competed as a cat. III in an omnium called Pear
Blossom or something like that. I was 19 and for some reason cat. IIIs and
juniors were combined in the somewhat hilly road race. There were three
juniors I couldn't shake in the hills (I think one was Darrel Batke) and the
four of us finished together. When I saw the finish I instinctively shifted
into the biggest gear I had (52X13) and commenced mashing figuring I could
out power the kids. After I crossed the line in the 4th place Darrel said
it looked like I was over geared and that the junior gear restriction helped
him and the other kids keep their cadence up. That was just one of many
lessons learned.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Palmer"
To: ;
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 10:34 PM
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Junior gearing
Mike and David,
The gear limits themselves aren't a new rule, they've been around for many
years. It's been a subject for debate for just as long, with good arguments
on both sides.
What is new, is that a junior must now adhere to the limits in any
race, not just in a junior race. If the limits are actually in effect to
reduce injury, and promote a good pedaling technique, then it was "plan
dumb" (sorry Mike), to allow the Juniors to race without the limits when
competing in Senior events. The new rule is in fact less hypocritical than
the policy of no limit when racing in a Senior event. As far as road
equipment goes, Shimano and Campy still make 52 tooth rings and junior
cassettes starting with a 14 tooth cog, so meeting the 7.93 meter
requirement isn't difficult at all. If anyone says "My kid would have won
that race if he would have had a bigger gear", then maybe they're the ones
pushing a little too hard. I don't like USAC,
and I'm sure glad we're not part of it, but I did attach an excerpt of a
letter from their CEO Steve Johnson to a concerned parent in New England
regarding the new rule.
Good night,
Dave Palmer
The concept of "Jr. gears" was not developed in the US, but is a rule of the
International Cycling Union (UCI). While "experts" may argue the logic of
the rule, you cannot argue the equalizing effect that it has on riders at
different stages of development. Because cycling is an international sport
and we must compete on the same playing field as any other country, we have
been moving steadily in the direction of harmonizing our rules with those of
the UCI. Having been involved in this process, I can tell you we heard
similar concerns about "damaging the sport" when we implemented the gear
restrictions for juniors in the first place. However, since that time, the
number of licensed Jrs. has more than doubled.
I can assure you that USA Cycling takes these kinds of decisions very
seriously and solicits input from multiple sources prior to moving forward.
Toward that end, this topic was a point of discussion at the "Town Hall"
meeting at this year´s Junior National Road Championships; and the general
consensus of the coaches and parents present at the meeting was that
restricting gearing in all races for Jrs. was a good idea.
You may also be surprised to know that, in addition to limiting Jr. gearing,
many countries will not allow Jrs. to ride with elite (19 and over) athletes
and limit the number of events that Jrs. are allowed to ride each year. We
have not moved to prevent Jrs. from riding with elites because of the
limited number of Jr-only events on the domestic calendar. At this point,
we would prefer to allow Jrs. to ride with older riders so they may gain
valuable racing experience, while still respecting the gear restrictions
recommended by the International Cycling Union. I hope you agree this is an
acceptable compromise.
All the best,
Steve Johnson
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Murray"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 6:03 PM
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Juniors-If you race out of state read this
> USAC has had this rule come and go in various versions over many years
> now,
> including rules that mandated gears that could not really even be done
> with
> modern gear systems without use of a machine shop. I could almost see
> applicability for track or other fixed gear racing but for road racing the
> idea is just plan dumb. To my knowledge no one has brought this idea
> before
> OBRA and I hope it stays that way.
>
> Mike Murray
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
> Behalf Of David Auker
> Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 23:21 PM
> To: obra@list.obra.org
> Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Juniors-If you race out of state read this
>
>
> Ah, sorry, I was wrong when I said:
>> Anyway, shouldn't the following say:
>>
>> "If the crank arms complete more than a full revolution in this
>> distance, the bike fails." ??
>>
>> instead of:
>>
>>> The bike is rolled backwards straight towards the other mark until
>>> the crank arms have completed a full revolution. If the crank arms do
>>> not
> complete a full revolution in this distance, the bike fails.
>>>
> :-[
>
> I think it's good (and interesting) OBRA doesn't have the gear
> restrictions. Has there ever been a push for this? Has USA Cycling had
> this all along? I remember it a long time ago, but this seems to be
> worded as a "new" rule.?
>
> David
>
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