Richie Rude Disqualified from EWS Tweed Valley
Credit: Matt Stuttard // Privateer Bikes
After spending the season battling back and forth with Jack Moir to take the EWS overall title, Richie Rude has been disqualified from the final race in the Tweed Valley of Scotland for riding outside of the course markings, a UCI ruling said. Slawomir Lukasik, the #23 rider who just recently broke into the top five at EWS Crans-Montana, was disqualified for the same mistake.
The two riders rode outside of a set of course marking gates as they approached the stage finish, the communication said, rather than between them. The proper use of course gates is outlined in the EWS rulebook: Gates can be used to clearly mark sections of the course that a rider must pass through. Missing a gate will be deemed as course cutting.
The gates were not taped, and Rude commented on the EWS's Instagram post suggesting that some course tape would have helped the situation. The markings were admittedly a bit confusing, as a much wider section was taped outside of the gates, apparently to keep spectators off the course rather than to delineate the course itself.
 | Some breaking news from the Tweed Valley: Richie Rude has been disqualified from the final race of the year after riding outside the course marking during the Pro Stage! The two times champ's season is over and he won't be taking the start tomorrow. In a year full of plot twists and turns, this is one we didn't see coming. |
| Should have gone through the gates, pretty bad mistake by me. It wasn't clarified to me prior so when I came through that section and saw the tire tracks I went with them (still inside the tape). With one gate taped and not the rest it was hard to follow their idea. It's unfortunate for Slawomir and I, but I understand it seeing it from their angles. Bummed to not be racing tomorrow. |
| First of all I’d like to say that all the rules are clear and I take full responsibility for what happened and I won’t argue. I’m of course devastated that I won’t race and I can’t fight for top 10 in the overall. Unfortunately in this situation the taping was misleading for me, as the corner before the gate was taped properly that no outside line was possible. It should be done with all of them especially that during yesterday’s trainings the outside gate line was made and clearly noticeable so the organisers had time to fix this misunderstanding. The decision about disqualification is really hard for me especially that so many people counted on me. |
Here is a video of the section in question.
The UCI Communique is as follows:
As a result of two riders in the Mens Pro race both leaving the course by riding outside of multiple gates on the approach to the finish gantry ( the correct use of these gates is clearly explained in 0.4.2 Directions and Course Marking in the EWS rule book 2021) the Commissaire Panel has been required to exclude the following riders for breach of 0.6.6 Course Cutting in the EWS Rule Book the clearly sets out disqualification as the penalty for course cutting.
#23 Slawomir Lukasik
#7 Richard Rude
#23 Slawomir Lukasik
#7 Richard Rude
We will update this article as more information becomes available.
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675 Comments
Tape: where two pieces of course tape are installed on opposite sides of the course, the riders must pass through them.
Gates: gates can be used to mark a section of the course that a rider must pass through.
Dropping gates inside the same perimeter of tape used top to bottom was beyond silly. In every other race we have had, chicanes such as this were clearly taped in. a handful of media (myslef included) commented earlier in the week that peoole would go around them.
The rules are written for both, and it certainly isnt clear which supercedes the other.
If it were World Cup DH each of those gates would have clearly been taped in.
Everyone looses out here unfortunately
Considering they were the only two id say it was pretty bloody obvious that it was the gates not the tape.
Pushing the limits of what is/isn’t allowed is all part of the sport. He must have known it was a gamble but should have clarified prior to riding it if in doubt. Surely they have a riders briefing!? Penalty needs to be awarded but perhaps in the form of a time penalty or points deduction. DQ is perhaps a little harsh.
a less than ideal move from the organizers yes, but also the rest of the field seemed to get it so...
He did not break any race tape and everyone looses out including Jack !
The fans loose out as we dont get the showdown we were all excited to watch
jack losses out as if Jack wins tommorow his win will forever be remebered for Ritchie being disqualified and not the great consistent racing hes shown all season long .
EWS looses out as it looks llke theve not got the balls to admit that course was not taped correctly and will hide behind the UCI taking the heat IMHO in the spirit of enduro let him race tommorrow ! Review the rules for future and consider time penalties for minor infringments rather than disqualification
Enjoy the digging
i think 30 or 60 sec would‘ve been an adequate punishment and not a DQ.
In response to the babies moaning about upvotes and downvotes - who cares about that? As often as not people get voted down for stating objective facts. There are kids going through the message board just downvoting everyone for their own amusement, and to be fair it is quite amusing reading all the “poor little me” moaning.
Try going and writing something inane if you want upvotes.
“Yeah boi… steeze!!!!!!!” is a good start. Give it a try!
Well you can cry as much as you can.. but rules were known to everyone beforehand. only two chaps cut that corner. perhaps 30sec time penalty would be more appropriate but you have to understand that UCI already gave him insufficient penalty for doping (go take a Look at road cycling and their penalties - it is two to five years). They had to act firmly..
Man I am glad I haven't bought a Yeti in the end..
Because that’s standard riding in a race???
I disagree, the rules as you quoted them are completely clear. You must be inside the tape, you must be inside the gate. As in the video above where there are tape and gates then obviously you must be inside both. There is no conflict, and I don't see how the rule book could possibly lead anyone to think otherwise.
That's not to say that the choice of course layout wasn't confusing though.
Of course he would intentionally cheat in a wide open area for all to see, especially when the title is up for grabs!♂️
Maybe let the adults do the comments here eh?
Then I watched the video, and the one linked in the comments. I changed my tune, the gates were obvious, cutting the gate was blatant, I think the penalty is appropriate.
Gutted for Richie. And disqualification? No way. 30 second time penalty max.
I think this is a rider 'exploring track limits' and thinking they've spotted a loophole, we see it all the time in F1 (see Alonso, lap 1, turn 1 at Sochi last week) however the penalty here is much harsher, which is probably a good thing in the long term as it should strongly discourage others from cutting the course in future.
No one will mke that mistake in future races and everyone will get over it. The racers who got promoted to podium positions because of it will not mention it when quoting their career stats at a later date, as in "In my career I had one win, three second places, two thirds (but one of them didn't count because Rude got an unfair DQ in that race for going outside a gate, the poor bloke), five fourths and a fifth.
In WCDH we have seen people getting DQ'd for going outside poles. It's clear. Ride outside the poles, gates, tape, get disqualified.
MVDP recently showed us the difference between 'what should be known' and 'the reality of racing'.
Then, we can discuss whether this way of taping is good or not - having raced at EWS I personally do not think it is - but it is what is written in the rule book for the races.
Perhaps true that everyone kinda looses out but that's also part of racing. It's not just about who turns around a corner the fastest; it's also about strategy and concentration to make it to the final win.
Really strange, can you check LEWIS BUCHANAN run in the prostage highlights from PB...
Hit these link: www.enduroworldseries.com/news/1717-vittoria-ews-tweed-valley-pro-stage-
at 5'45" where's going Lewis? and suddenly, the gorpo footage is cut !!!! pretty sure that he cut the lines too Wink
Jack beat Richie and the rest of the world fair and square. He was simply faster
He rode just brilliantly and put enough pressure on Richie to the point Richie simply had a brain fade trying to play catchup. I don't think Richie tried to cheat but desparation and instinct took over.
Laid back Jack's talent, training, genes and persistance has paid off.
He didn't get his genes from Kmart.
Mistakes like this just shows lack of common sense IMO.
Course was marked like that in practice, you coming in to the FINISH field where prob be more spectators, so having wide taping (to keep RIDERS and spectators save) then have some gates to make it a bit more interesting for the riders, (and keeping them away from the spectators hanging over the tape with phones/progos) shouldn't be THAT HARD to work out, gates been used in plenty of MTB events before.
The riders was told, info was there and it was also been confirmed a few times.
IF YOU STILL NOT SURE BLODDY CHECK YOURSELF
the rules are pretty clear, here is the full rule and since this the riders job, its best to seek clarification from HR.
"Gates can be used to clearly mark sections of the course that a rider must pass through. Missing a gate will be deemed as course cutting. See Figure 1 for an example of course taping"
0.6.6 Course Cutting
Taking short cuts on course in order to gain an advantage can both damage the environment and brings the sport and spirit of enduro mountain biking racing into disrepute. Therefore, any rider trying to save time by choosing a line that lies outside of the defined trail will be disqualified.
The Commissaire or Race Director may choose, in exceptional circumstances, to apply a time penalty instead of a DSQ to a rider found to have cut the course without intention. However, any rider leaving the obvious line must be aware that they risk a DSQ.
Growing up I always hated the kind of guys who’d cut corners when no one’s watching. 100 bucks his mistake here wasnt breaking the rulebook to save himself 0.3secs, thats routine. The mistake was doing it in front of cameras.
Right descision to DQ in an attempt to clean up the sport. Make it cost.
I know Chris Ball worked for the UCI but they were not officially involved in the EWS until 2019 season start
www.pinkbike.com/news/ews-to-start-working-with-the-uci.html
So here are some more plausible explanations. Somewhere in this thread someone already posted the names of the other guys who missed it, but it’s not as grabby of a story when some mid-pack guy bungles it. Maybe the guys in the top 5 are better at forcing themselves to stay well above VO2 Max to finish a stage when you can’t see straight and lactate is flooding your body. Maybe the top guys are almost certainly better at seeing a course and straightening it out as much as possible. They’re focused on the tape and staying close to it. Or maybe we ought to give these two athletes the benefit of the doubt and consider that of the 57 pages of EWS administrative rules, they were riding 50 km/h, searching for grip in a wet chicane, trying to see straight as they were well above threshold, and rather than thinking about obscure EWS rules, they were focusing on the tape and going as fast as possible.
What I’m certain of though, is that assuming they know every rule in the 57-page EWS rule book, nobody rationally calculated the payouts and decide that it was worth cheating in a crowded finishing straight when the payouts look like this:
Payout 1: .5 second gain.
Probability of outcome: .01
Payout 2: Throw away season, DQ, no points for the round, miss out on the top-5 (Slawomir) or potentially the overall win (Richie).
Probability of outcome in front of a crowd: > .99
That’s not a rational decision that anyone makes.
They were given a clarification in the morning that they must stay in the gates.
Which leaves only he either didn't get told and thought he could ride there, or he did know but thought the wording was ambiguous enough to argue he shouldn't get a penalty.
Most the negative comments are from folks that DONT race....pinned, focused, max HR, mistakes happen....
Did you see the racers fall and slide in the video? Imagine people were lined along that gate instead of back at the tape. It's likely a safety thing so spectators didn't get hurt.
Well you can cry as much as you can.. but rules were known to everyone beforehand. only two chaps cut that corner. perhaps 30sec time penalty would be more appropriate but you have to understand that UCI already gave him insufficient penalty for doping (go take a Look at road cycling and their penalties - it is two to five years). They had to act firmly..
Man I am glad I haven't bought a Yeti in the end..
Ps: to the haters: go cry some more xD
Now, anybody who has a minimum common sense will look at it and get it, or at least wonders why they are there and if they really don't have the grey matter to understand it, they ask.
Really, the excuse is lame, just like drinking from somebody else's water bottle, which I'm not saying didn't happen but if you're that stupid to make such a declaration, which anybody knows you'll get mocked for life even if it's true, really tells me the intellectual level of said person.
Sdz , aaa
Track design resulted in a human error by two riders. The track design essentially set two riders up to fail.
Our brains work in a funny way, when you understand your able to predict human errors. It's too harsh to blame the riders a simple small time penalty should have sufficed
Look at this video to see what what I'm talking about.
youtu.be/IGQmdoK_ZfY
What is Richie trying to hide here by getting DQ'd? Doping again, not like he hasnt taken that chance before? Also if he is prepared to cut the course in front of all the fans, I wonder how many times he has cut the course when nobody is standing watching higher up the hills?
Guy deserves to be DQ'd just for being stupid enough to do it, fail to prepare and all that.....
Have you seen a EWS race before?? what about all the ramps/jumps that are put in when a stage finish in town? What about the ramp to get into the field? all not new to the riders, he messed up get over it.
"It shows a complete disregard for the riders safety and a competely unprofessional organization to use such low tech methods to define the course." the main reason it was taped/gated like that is to keep the spectators away and riders safe. Hope you don't do any risk assessments.
"The whole set up looks sloppy and unprofessional." Got any photos/info on the races you put on? showing how to do it correctly?
Using your F1 example, cars/drivers get disqualified from time to time for rules they "should" know better about no to mention massive lapses in judgement that send $$$$ cars smashing into each other, in a controlled environment, with cameras everywhere with millions more fans watching...I fail to see the difference.
It appears that a multitude of men may be just as tyrannical as a single despot and indeed this is the most odious of all tyrannies, since no monster can be more barbarous than the mob.... - Cicero
OK then....... that me been told...... lol thanks, I leave you to keep trolling... ;-)
I just finding the world smallest violin for you.......
Everyone one else seem to manage it even with Amatur hour!
No hate here, i am disappointed it didn't go down to the last day ride off, winner takes all.
He put his hands up, "my mistake" and seemed to have moved on, unlike you and lot of others on here.
Get suspicious when riders are inexplicably ill or injured and dont race for health reasons... Not when they are fighting for a win three weeks in a row and just went balls to the wall for the win.
But hey, ive never worn a tinfoil hat so not cant comment for that lot ;-)
As far as anyone suggesting it was done to avoid a drugs test goes, thats about as likely as me winning the overall next year, he would've been caught already this season if he was doping
And the way you going on about it, it's like NO other event in the past has ever changed/modified/altered the course or markings before, it's is common, sure this year at a world cup DH they removed some roots after practice. sure one world cup Cross race they made most of the course wider for race day as it was getting so bad in places, so it's not really a big deal that some extra tape been added the next day, is it?
Have I insulted you? or just calling you out on some weak ass excess and reasons you think "it's not right"
EWS don't tape the course both sides from start to finish, they often use poles/poles and tape to make "gates" to keep the rider on a certain path, when out in the open/top of mountains so it's not new. so having some proper slalom poles/gates with branding on, IMO looks better than some poles and tape to make gate. shouldn't be a big surprise to see them.
So I go back to what I said long before talking to you,
"
Mistakes like this just shows lack of common sense IMO.
Course was marked like that in practice, you coming in to the FINISH field where prob be more spectators, so having wide taping (to keep RIDERS and spectators save) then have some gates to make it a bit more interesting for the riders, (and keeping them away from the spectators hanging over the tape with phones/progos) shouldn't be THAT HARD to work out, gates been used in plenty of MTB events before.
The riders was told, info was there and it was also been confirmed a few times.
IF YOU STILL NOT SURE BLODDY CHECK YOURSELF"
.
I don't care where they from (not even mention it) nothing to do with it?, Haven't really talked about them have I, apart from saying lack of "common sense" IMO
So if you really think I been "slanderous and hateful talk" you are really clutching at straws and I think you should take a few deep breaths and step away for a bit. lol
Prove of meeting? number of riders, organizer, uci all said it happened, maybe some took footage?
Have you got proof it DID NOT HAPPEN?
admin.enduroworldseries.com/uploads/documents/Rulebook%202021.pdf
link to the rule book, (same link at top of page) page 12/13 even have a nice drawings of the gate for you.
Also link to UCI Communique, even stating section of the rule book, etc
admin.enduroworldseries.com/uploads/documents/races/1633185769.pdf
All above in the article or did you miss it?
So have YOU have any links to official EWS/UCI doc that say they can't tape or mark out a course like they did? or links to say they CAN NOT remark/add tape during the event?
Which is what you are moaning about and I am disagreeing with you about?
instead of a DSQ to a rider found to have cut the course without intention. However, any rider leaving the
obvious line must be aware that they risk a DSQ"
Very poorly worded rule, in other words the rule can be applied arbitrarily by a biased race official. "Without intention"? Really, so they can prove he in fact intended on cutting time? Impossible, they have absolutely no way of proving "intention". ( My guess is that it cost the two offending participants time.) It's not a court of law. No one, let alone a self empowered race official, can prove whats going through someones mind, or if they were just confused. IF the wording of the rule ended at any rider leaving the course for any reason is DQ'd we move on. But no, we now have proof that the application of the DQ or time penalty is completely arbitrary by the exact wording of the rules! Thanks for sharing and further supporting my argument the EWS needs to review and check itself before next season! Bet you a pint that rule is re-worded next season!
Where does it say with in the rules they can't do that??
You asked me for links I have provided, now please do the same?
Have I lied? most is "in my opinion" (And I am taking you "moaning" as the same way, in YOUR opinion, which I think is funny) please proved links proving me wrong
Moan, maybe I should of used, whine/complain/whinge/grumble/bitch about some course marking that within standard and what is expected and with in the rule book (admin.enduroworldseries.com/uploads/documents/Rulebook%202021.pdf)
He fully cuts a left corner and then fully cuts the right corner, so at least two gates ("three gates" are even mentioned in the video)
I know we aren't talking Nobel price winners here, but some very basic reasoning might have helped Ritchie:
Thought 1: Hmmm, I'm one of the last riders down the hill, why is the ground between the gates all f***ed up and my chosen inside line perfectly pristine? Are all other riders idiots to miss that line?
Thought 2: Hmmm, how is that discipline called again Dual Slalom, they have gates that prevent me from taking a straight line, maybe the same applies here?
Also watch Jesse's POV after 3:16.
It's not always who's is fastest, but who's smartest.
They where DQ on their ACTIONS, of missing 2 or more gates.
whether or not in their minds was "I am cutting the course to save time and gain advantage" or "inside line! I try that" or "ooo rice and chicken tonight, yum yum" it does not matter.
"However, any rider leaving the obvious line must be aware that they risk a DSQ" yeah with ONLY 2 people out of 100s, cutting the course, missing gates, sort of proves "leaving the obvious line"
"The Commissaire or Race Director may choose, in exceptional circumstances, to apply a time penalty
instead of a DSQ to a rider found to have cut the course without intention"
Again I go back to "common sense" and maybe giving the rider a little break, if they lost traction, saved it but cut ONE gate then rode the rest of the course CORRECTLY, then yes maybe a time penalty would be the better option. but the fact their ACTIONS was to cut 2 or more gates shows it was more "leaving the
obvious line must be aware that they risk a DSQ"
"Thanks for sharing and further supporting my argument the EWS needs to review and check itself before next season"
Really, do you want the rule to be "ended at any rider leaving the course for any reason is DQ'd" man their be loads getting DQ, when riders crash out side the tapes, over shot a turn make a small mistake,
be a very very harsh, you would have to agree?
you know logical/common sense is to look at,
Was it a crash?
How much course was missed?
was it more that one gate?
was there a time advantage?
Was it leaving the obvious line?
Hint, there is only 1 NO.
Well you where bitching and moaning I had no proof, so I provided, and you not proved me wrong as you are clutching at straws on how you think the rules should be, even when there in black and right!
you got me, like I said you a troll, a real good one, you got me...lol
It wet and windy with bugger all on tv, so I been finding it entertaining.
They cut the course and rightly got DQ. End of.
Thought 2: It's not Dual Slalom and why would race organizers use gates in an unprecidented fashion to prevent the racers from a taking a straight line at the end of the course? Why try to slow the racers down at the end of a relatively flat course like no other on the circuit when you know they all hammer to the finish at that point? Kind of silly. It's not slalom and never intended to be as such.
Thought 3: The gates are not set up in pairs to indicate a passage, the gates are set up in an random pattern not like shown in the rule book.
In my opinion a bike race down the face of mountainous terrain should really be all about who is the fastest. People dont ride bikes down mountains to be smart, they do it to go fast. Just my opinion.
" loving all the Brit's hatred of Americans!"
no think you got it wrong, it brits laughing at americans who trying to say a american rider (who most don't care where he comes from) who cut the course, got seen and caught and then punished for that action, and trying to blame it on some weak ass "course marking" "wasn't like other events" and "you don't know what he was thinking", "was it his intent" blah blah blah.
Tell you what why don't you drive past your local school at 100mph and when you get pulled over by the police, say "it wasn't my intent to go that fast" sure they let you off with a slap wrist
He knew the rules, I couldnt make that any more simple. It is literally his job to understand his sport, he is a full time professional athlete. A "mistake" is slipping out of control sending him outside the gate, but he intentionally sped up and powered through the shortcut, it wasnt a mistake it was fully intentional.
1) On Saturday 2 riders we're dq'd for missing a gate(s) between the tape.
2) With a DQ being one of, if not the harshest penalties in the sport it would be safe to conclude that the EWS at that point in their decision making had determined that the course and any communication regarding the nuances of the course were solid and they stood by their ruling.
3)Though 2 riders effected were frustrated and expressed some confusion they accepted the results, as did everyone else.
4) The following day the exact spot and only the exact spot in the course was "corrected", "changed", "modified" to attach the tape to the gate to eliminate any ambiguity to riders or couse officials who may have to make a judgement call. By doing so, they clearly demonstrated that they in fact had created an ambiguous and possibly dangerous situation for riders, spectators and press yet they divied out the harshest penalty to the 2 riders who missed this now corrected feature the day before.
5) When an professional organization applies the harshest penalty on competitors one can only assume that they were confident in the course set up and the ability to enforce rules with that given course set up.
6) If the course was taped the the same way on Saturday as it was Sunday they 2 riders could never leave the course at that exact spot unless they were to lose control and crash.
So, in doing so the EWS either knowingly or unknowingly conceded the couse set up from the day before was inadequate so they changed it effectively thumbing their noses at the 2 dq'd riders. They also very clearly cast a shadow of a doubt on the validity of the competition and did a massive dis-service to the winner of the race.
I'm willing to bet you will see some editing of that rulebook next year and courses will never see that kind of taping/gating again.
I will leave you and your friends now to gush and speculate on the rider you all seem to have a man-crush on. Did he have hot cocoa before bed? Does he like Cheerios? I wonder if he likes me too? Have fun.
You're making us all look like idiots. Please, for the good of all of our reputations, go easy on us.
there is no ambiguity.
I can remember a ton of times that DH racers have been DQ'd for crashing through the tape losing a load of time and re entering at the wrong point. did they gain an advantage? No, did they break the rules? Yes and they all got DQ'd because those are the RULES.
I wonder how ferociously you would be attacking the organisers if Jack Moir had cut the course to edge out RR by a handful of seconds to win the overall, or another rider had course cut to push him down enough spots to hand the title to Moir.
You and lot of your countrymen would be baying for blood if that person was not kicked out of the results.
Would it have been better to have the shootout for the overall? Of course it would but that is not the issue.
In professional sport Rules are Rules as soon as you start bending them to please fans its no longer sport it turns into a pointless popularity contest like redbull rampage where the winner seems to be decided on their "coolness" and popularly rather than the actual riding they do.
Your debating skills seem somewhat lacking, nice try pretending you don't care BTW, it is an easy "out" for you as you dont really have a valid argument at this point.
You actually took the time to spell this out for everyone! You bit, hook, line and sinker! Who's amused now?
It’s not difficult to understand, stay on course or get disqualified so unless you have evidence that proves Rude didn’t cheat and did in fact ride stay on track then you have nothing to contribute except your opinion.
Lets use your example of Dakar....guys get time penalties all the time for making mistakes where they clearly know the rules:
www.motorsport.com/dakar/news/loeb-speeding-penalty-explained-brx/4940376
Not rocket surgery here....
Actually can’t understand how a couple of riders with so much skill and composure could make suck a cock up.
DQ might be considered harsh, but then can only assume the riders knew what they were doing!
Although 30s time penalty could be more appropriate penalty..
That DQ was absolutely harsh, but necessary. If a time penalty were awarded, it may lead to much more course cutting and risk-taking regarding course cutting (including rejoining) in future events. It's better for race fans and riders for there to be such a clear and harsh penalty for any arbitrage attempts on course. There are lots of parts of these tracks where nobody or very few spectators are there to watch, and very few incidents will be caught on camera.
Some friends and I watched the Whistler EWS stop in 2017 to see pros rail some proper awkward jank in Afternoon Delight in a section with no other spectators. Multiple top riders blew through a taped corner and nearly all rejoined late. We didn't have video or any proof, but it left us questioning what to do because a RM team rider (we think it was Jesse but could have been Remi) was the ONLY guy to hike back to where he left the course- making a proper effort to follow the rules. We looked at the official results and nobody who left the course got a proper advantage from it (5ish seconds)- so we didn't follow-up with the officials. But, we were disappointed at the attitude we saw- if nobody is there to see it, carry on as if nothing had happened.
They all just had a high spirit of enduro man. The tape is their to be ducked.
agreed! this is what makes me angry about Rude.. it is one thing (and great thing may I say) to be competitive, yet something completely else to be that Duche that goes through dead bodies to reach goal.. and never has the guts to addmit it..
You probably already know it's because venues have to pay for the honour of hosting the EWS.
And there's a solid marketing budget for the Tweed valley that nowhere else in Scotland has for MTB.
That said, if it was that wet it's possible it turns into a bit of a slog anyway but rider reports sounded like the trails were running well in the conditions.
Where did Jesse say that? Would like to read/watch.
ThinkTank wrote that it was said "between the tape", and then Linkpin wrote, that it was "between the gates".
I was not at the riders' briefing, neither were most of you, so I'm trying to find out what exactly happened. That's why I asked for a link to what Jesse said.
It's obvious for me, that if at the briefing they clearly said to stay between the gates, then both riders have only themselves to blame.
And although you could argue if DQ is the right punishment for this specific situation (I mean it happened in a place full of people and cameras, how stupid you'd have to be to try and cheat there?), it is stated in the stupid rule book, so there was no other option.
Then again, you downvoted DaveTrumpore, who IS there, and is an industry insider, so what do I expect. SMH.
You can Jesse's thoughts in the comment section under this video: m.pinkbike.com/news/video-jesse-melamed-battles-the-slop-and-gloom-on-stage-2-of-the-tweed-valley-ews.html
American mountain bikers today "gates don't belong on a mountain bike course. WTF, this isn't skiing!"
How would you do a DQ from only one stage when it‘s fastest overall time wins?
I think Enduro has a racing culture problem with cheater lines, frenchie lines, course cutting or whatever you want to call it. Every race I've worked is like a battle of "catching" cheater lines through practice so they're taped for race day.
I'd like to see a push from race organizers and racers, amateur and pro, to change the culture so people just stay on the course.
I do think changing the course in a big way, like what happened with MVDP in the Olympics, could be dangerous. He also, as I understand, missed the rider briefing after practice where they went over the change. Kind of similar to Richie missing the gate/flag clarification.
With that said taping corners a little longer and closing cheater lines that have been burned in DURING PRACTICE seems pretty reasonable to me. Racers should expect the course to change during practice, between getting hammered by hundreds of riders, weather conditions and the nature of what I am talking about. Insanity? I'm not so sure.
This is what I am getting at with my racing culture point. We tape the course and the obvious cheater lines but it's impossible to get all of them when all 400 racers are trying to cut at every opportunity. Bigger steps can be made to change "The Spirit of Enduro" to keep people on the trail. It could also mean less dumpsters full of used course tape at the end of each race, a sight that always disappoints after a weekend of racing.
“PRO “ should know the rules inside out .
That way they can gain advantage where appropriate or not .
I think it’s harsh for them both to be DQ’ed , but a penalty of some description is justified .
It's to what extent this was an honest mistake vs. stone cold cheating.
Another rider might get the benefit of the doubt, but y'know...
Or you are a f*cking muppet rider. I’m not sure which one.
They were not confusing at all and out of how many riders only two got it wrapped wrong?
Plus on the video pretty obvious where you should be going due to the other riders tracks.
Is he having a stroke or is there a typo in the quote?
—Richie Rude
That's how I read it. I'd be shaking angry too if I were him. It's a harsh ruling.
If it's unclear after practice and track walk you can still ask what they mwan or if they could tape it regularly.
Just a thought.
In my opinion disqualification is too harsh a penalty.
Maybe I’m just replying with a shitpost to a shitpost. We both know the US wasn’t needed and the Nazis were on their heels.
I’m struggling to see where the doubt comes in though, nobody (and certainly not a highly experienced professional racer) is truely going to think they’ve just put some random flags on the course for fun?
He follow the race french line,that´s it.
This is why EVERY rule book needs a "good faith clause" he didnt punch someone or something crazy he just made up extra time on one stage, take it off him and apply a time penalty, the racing stays going and doesnt cause a on-purpose stir
this instance is irrelevant because its obviously not written but time for old school ruling to catch up in the world.
Looking at this isolated incident it seems ridiculous not to be able to offer discretion. It's not like this was done in a secret area. Clearly they didn't mean to cheat in front of the freaking crowd at the finish line.
Rude probably knew it as well and knew the only way he was staying on the bike was to get on the fresh grass outside the gate.
That’s more likely than he didn’t know he had to go through the gate or it was unclear.
Either way everyone saying it should be a time penalty. How would that be fair for anyone else who has been disqualified during the season.
The rules is the rules and he broke them.
The guy should anyway be on a lifetime ban with his mentality ... "performance enhancing drugs - just an accident" "cutting the course - just an accident" ... sure.
One of UCI's roles in these kind of events is to be an amorphic mass of officials and papers (read: bad guys). How many of those UCI guys you know by name? So for any unpopular move as a series organizer you can always put blame on them. It is a mutually beneficial relationship for them. For everyone else it might be a different thing.
I just think a DQ for that is unnecessary and over the top. Granted, any course cut to that magnitude (small and inconsequential) a DQ is egregious.
Outside sucks,E bikes are cheating and USA is crap.
Damn I feel cool now.
Hit these link: www.enduroworldseries.com/news/1717-vittoria-ews-tweed-valley-pro-stage-
at 5'45" where's going Lewis? and suddenly, the gorpo footage is cut !!!! pretty sure that he cut the lines too
He is supposedly one of the best enduro riders on the planet. Everyone making the excuse “that he was breathing through his eyeballs towards the end of his race run” as though riders enter a state of confused delirium, are spouting nothing but BS. Rude is at the pointy end of the field, only he and 1 other cut that corner, not only did everyone else at the pointy end, but also the also rans and the amateurs, could see and understand where the track limits were. He should’ve known better, it’s on him.
I do agree that a DQ is way harsh. A time penalty would be more appropriate, but it would have to be significant enough to discourage the practice and have real significance to the riders weekend, not just drop them back a placing or 2.
I'll continue to not, thanks.
As for trying to win unfairly... it was clearly a mistake. It’s not like he cut a switch back.
Go drink some tea and relax.