DRAFTING

CYCLING CONDUCT AS PER TRI NZ

General Rules:

a) An Athlete is not permitted to:

(i) Intentionally interfere with the forward progress of other athletes (Penalty - Disqualification)

(ii) Make forward progress without being in possession of the bike (Penalty: Stop and Go Penalty to correct, if not corrected – Disqualification).

b) Dangerous Behaviour

(i) New Zealand road rules must be obeyed at all times except to the extent that these may be superseded by the provisions on a temporary traffic management plan that has been implemented for the race. (Penalty: Disqualification)

(ii) Athletes must obey the specific traffic regulations for the event, unless Technical Official advises otherwise (Penalty: Disqualification).

(iii) Dangerous riding may result in a penalty. Dangerous riding includes, but is not limited to, passing another athlete on their left in a draft illegal event. Penalty: Either a Time penalty or, for repeated or serious violations, Disqualification. Serious violation of this rule includes, but is not limited to, dangerous riding which causes another athlete to crash

c) Crossing the Centre Line

(i) Unless specifically directed by race officials, traffic management personnel or the police or provided for under an event-specific traffic management plan intentionally crossing the centre line of the road is not allowed. The penalty for this is disqualification.

(ii) Crossing the centre line in order to pass other athletes is considered to be intentional and therefore is not allowed and punishable by disqualification. An athlete being held up by slow traffic (either other cycles or vehicles) must wait until it is safe to pass without crossing the centre line.

(iii) An athlete who takes evasive action to avoid a collision, an object on the road or as a result of a sudden and unexpected move by another cycle or vehicle on the course and in so doing crosses the centre line, will not be considered to have done so intentionally. Note however that an athlete who moves wider on the road in order to pass a slower athlete or in the process of cornering will not be considered to be making a “sudden or unexpected move”. Crossing the centre line in order to pass this athlete will be considered intentional.

(iv) An athlete who crosses the centre line as a result of a momentary loss of control, who gains no significant advantage and who does not disadvantage or endanger other athletes will not be penalised. If other athletes are disadvantaged or endangered then a time penalty shall be imposed. Examples of momentary loss of control include but are not limited to while mounting/dismounting the bicycle, getting into or out of bike shoes at the start/end of the bike section, or in picking up drink bottles and/or nutrition at an aid station.

d) Athletes must comply with race-specific instructions in regard to the attaching of numbers to the bike and/or helmet (Penalty: If unintentional– verbal warning and correct if possible, If intentional – Disqualification). Triathlon New Zealand Competition Rules. - Version 2019 – Effective October 31 st 2019 26

e) Athletes must not use illegal equipment as defined below. (Penalty: Warning and correction if possible, otherwise Disqualification).

DRAFTING RULES AS PER TRI NZ

General Guidelines

(i) There are two kinds of competitions, depending of the allowance of drafting:

• Draft legal races

• Draft illegal races.

(ii) The races will be draft legal or draft illegal according to this table:

(iii) In a draft legal race it is forbidden to draft behind an athlete of a different gender. An athlete who is caught by a group of athletes of the opposite gender must immediately remove themselves from that group. If an athlete is observed violating this rule they will be warned to move out of the draft. If this warning is not complied with the athlete will be disqualified.

b.) Draft-Illegal Races:

(i) Drafting from another athlete or motor vehicle is forbidden. Athletes must reject attempts by others to draft;

(ii) An athlete is entitled to any position on the course, provided they get to that position first, and without contacting others. When taking a position, an athlete must allow reasonable space for others to make normal movements without making contact. Adequate space must be available before passing;

(iii) An athlete, who approaches from any position to take advantage of the draft, bears responsibility for avoiding the draft;

(iv) To draft is to enter the bicycle or vehicle drafting zone:

• Bicycle Draft Zone: the Draft Zone will be a rectangle. The width will always be 3 metres wide. The centre of the leading 3-metre edge will be measured from the leading edge of the front wheel.The length of the rectangle will measure 10 metres; for all race distances;

• An athlete may enter the Draft Zone of another athlete, but must be seen to be progressing through that zone. A maximum time of 20 seconds will be allowed to pass through the zone of another athlete:

• Vehicle Draft Zone will be a rectangle thirty-five (35) metres long by five (5) metres wide, which surrounds every vehicle on the bike segment. The front edge of the vehicle will define the centre of the leading 5 metre edge of the rectangle.

(v) Entry into the bicycle drafting zone: An athlete may enter a bike Draft Zone in the following circumstances:

• If the athlete enters the Draft Zone, and progresses through it within 20 seconds in the overtaking manoeuver;

• For safety reasons;

• 100 metres before and after an aid station or transition area;

• At an acute turn;

• If the Technical Delegate excludes a section of the course because of narrow lanes, construction, detours, or for other safety reasons.

(vi) Overtaking:

• An athlete is passed when another athlete’s front wheel is ahead of theirs;

• Once overtaken, an athlete must move out of the Draft Zone of the leading athlete within 20 seconds.

• Athletes must keep to the side of the course and not create a blocking incidence. Blocking is where an athlete who is behind cannot pass due to the leading athlete being poorly placed on the course. The penalty for blocking is the same as for drafting, refer to 5.6I

(vii) For Mid Distance and Long Distance events the following will also apply:

• Side by side riding is not allowed unless the athlete on the right hand side is in the act of passing another bike or vehicle.

• An athlete must not repeatedly enter and exit the draft zone of the same athlete in front of them to gain an advantage.

• If making a pass where more than one athlete is involved the athlete making the pass can only “drop in” between athletes where the distance between those athletes is more than the legal draft zone.

• All of the points under this clause will be treated as drafting offences and the penalties described in rule 5.6 below will apply for both for individual violations and cumulatively

(viii) See the diagrams below for events where left hand side road rules apply.

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Penalties for Drafting:

a) It is forbidden to draft in a race declared as draft illegal.

b) Technical Officials will notify athletes who are drafting that they are subject to a Time Penalty. This notification must be clear and unambiguous and will be undertaken as described in rule 3.4. Note that for safety reasons a Technical Official may have to delay notifying the athlete of the penalty. The penalty may be notified to the athlete at any time after the drafting violation has occurred;

c) The Time Penalties for drafting are as follows:

(i) In a Sprint race (20km cycle or shorter): 1 minute

(ii) In a Standard Distance race (40km cycle): 2 minutes

(iii) In a Mid Distance race (90km cycle): 3 minutes

(iv) In an Long Distance race (180km cycle); 4 minutes

d) A second drafting offence will lead to a Disqualification in standard distance events or shorter.

e) The third drafting offence will lead to Disqualification for Mid and Long Distance events.

f) Drafting Penalties cannot be appealed

Blocking

a.) Athletes must keep as far as practicable to the left side of the road and not create a hazard by blocking other athletes on the course. Blocking is where an athlete who is attempting to overtake is unable to do so due to the placement of an athlete in front of them. Note that an athlete who is themselves in the act of overtaking an athlete in front of them will not be considered to be blocking provided they immediately move to the left once their overtaking manoeuvre is complete.

b.) The Time Penalties for Blocking are:

• 1 minute for all Draft Illegal Events

• 1 minute in Age Group Draft legal Events

• For Elite/U23 and Junior Draft Legal, Schools Championship Draft Legal Races and all Team Relay races:

• 10 Seconds for Cycle Courses of 20km or less

• 15 Seconds for Cycle Courses of 40km

c.) If Bike Penalty Boxes are in operation for the race, Time Penalties for blocking are to be served in the next bike penalty box. If there are no bike penalty boxes in operation the Technical Official giving the penalty will administer the penalty on the spot. Athletes stopping at a penalty box for a blocking penalty should inform the officials that they have a blocking penalty to ensure they are not held at the penalty box for the longer penalty time that applies to drafting.

d.) For races where a Run Penalty Box is in operation, Blocking Penalties will be served in the Run Penalty Box.

e.) If a Technical Official believes that an athlete is intentionally blocking in order to prevent other athletes from passing they will be disqualified (See rule 5.1 (a) (i) )

f.) Blocking Penalties cannot be appealed.

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