Brian Ratliff

Salutes are traditional in bike racing. But the lower cats tend to have
less developed bike handling skills and a less developed sense of judgement,
so it makes sense to be more strict when dealing with the lower cats than
the upper cats on this issue.

my 2 cents.

On Mon, Apr 6, 2009 at 9:17 PM, Rachael wrote:

> This reminds me a lot of work where there are employees that are senior and
> experienced and it seems like different rules apply to them than the rest. I
> say make a rule and stick with it for everyone. No ambiguity. Hand on bar
> until x-yards past finish or whatever.
>
> Of course, I'm just a newb so I probably am missing something.
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Rachael

This reminds me a lot of work where there are employees that are senior and experienced and it seems like different rules apply to them than the rest. I say make a rule and stick with it for everyone. No ambiguity. Hand on bar until x-yards past finish or whatever.

Of course, I'm just a newb so I probably am missing something.

T. Kenji Sugahara

Folks-

There has been confusion as to when salutes (hands off bars) are
allowed and/or not allowed. Here's what we have determined.

First and foremost- we do not encourage you taking your hands off the
bars for a victory salute.

If you are off the front by a large margin, while discouraged, it
would not likely warrant a sanction.
If you are in the middle of a pack, hands off the bars will result in
a sanction. You may never do this.

The gray area- if you are close to the pack, you take your hands off
at the risk of a sanction including but not limited to
warning/relegation/DQ. The higher categories will have more leeway
but the lower categories will be scrutinized much more. This will be
up to the officials.

I hope this helps clarify the issue.

Kenji Sugahara
Executive Director
Oregon Bicycle Racing Association