I just picked up my information for this weekend's Melbourne to Warrnambool and found the usual rules and fines sheet in it. To my amazement, well not really to my amazement there is a note saying that Team Riding will incur a $50 fine.
To me this is ridiculous. Firstly I thought we are in a sport where the essence of the sport is team riding aren’t we. The Melourne to Warrnambool is a UCI event so do all Europeans and Americans that come over to race it also get told they cannot ride as a team.
How do you enforce a ridiculous rule such as this? The only way is that they are assuming that every rider in the event has to roll through all day and do exactly the same amount of work as every other rider. If this isn't the case then someone could be accused of working for another rider.
Or if a rider attacks then the only way you can say that no one is working as a team is if the rider that chases is from the same club or country??
Also does this mean that if CSC, for example decided to send a team to do the Melbourne to Warrnambool they would be told they cannot ride as a team. How moronic!!! I have never heard anything like it in my life.
Would love to hear some opinions