Waiting period (cycling)

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In road cycling, the waiting period is the time that a rider must not exceed in order not to be taken out of the race in stage races.

According to the regulations of the World Cycling Federation UCI for international stage races, the waiting period is determined by the special regulations of the organizer depending on the characteristics ( time trial , mountain stage, flat stage) of the stage. This is usually a percentage surcharge on the time of the winner. In exceptional circumstances (such as storms, mass falls), the jury can make an exception.

Drivers who are allowed to continue the race despite exceeding the waiting period receive a deduction of points in the special ratings. The number of peeled points corresponded to the season end of 2017 in the points classification of the number of points obtained on the respective leg of the stage winner; With the start of the 2018 season, all points in all special ratings, including the mountain rating, will be completely deleted.

In the Tour de France , the time limit was introduced in 1950 to limit the time it took for the sprinters and water carriers to cross the finish line. The special regulations of the Tour de France stipulate waiting times of 3% to 22% of the winning times for mass start stages: For example, on a flat stage with an average speed of the winner of less than 36 km / h, the riders only have 3% leeway, on a flat stage the Winner with an average of more than 50 km / h covered 11% and in a short, difficult mountain stage at at least 40 km / h 22%. For individual and team time trials, the waiting period is 30% of the winning time, regardless of the average speed.

Other stage races have comparable special provisions in their regulations.

In order to achieve the waiting period, the suspended drivers form a group , especially on difficult stages . The drivers also benefit from the fact that the jury often makes an exception if a large number of drivers miss the waiting period.

The waiting period is often criticized because the exclusion of a driver from the race is not rewarded in view of the enormous performance that a retired driver or a small retreated group has to perform, especially in the mountains, and the performance is often more because the performance is exceeded Time limits - by a few minutes or even seconds - is devalued. On the other hand, the waiting period is used to organize the stage race, which is associated with considerable road closures, and prevents individual drivers from "taking it easy" on individual stages and thus having a significant competitive advantage on subsequent stages.

Individual evidence

  1. UCI regulations for road cycling, "Amendments to regulations as from 01.01.2018 Updated 01 October 2017", there: 2.6.032 "Finishing deadline" (PDF file)
  2. cf. for the Tour de France 2015: Regulations of the Tour de France 2015 ( Memento des Originals of June 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF), there: Article 22 "Délais d'arrivée" (French / English), accessed on July 25, 2015 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.letour.fr

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