Accidents can happen in any bicycle race. Some conditions may make a particular race more unsafe than a usual bicycle race. In general, the Club Race Director or the Weekly Race Director (WRD) may cancel, delay, or shorten a race when unsafe conditions develop prior to the start of the race. Or if unsafe conditions are expected to develop during a race, the Weekly Race Director may shorten or stop a race; the same applies if unsafe conditions develop during a race.
When unsafe conditions are expected to occur during a race, the Club Race Director (or, if the Club Race Director is not present at the race, other Club Officers) should meet with the Weekly Race Director before the race to discuss possible procedures for canceling, shortening, or stopping the race, in case such actions are necessary. The following guidelines can be used for reference in marginal race conditions.
Note: A canceled or stopped Club Championship race can generally be reassigned to other dates on the race schedule.
When unsafe conditions are expected to occur during a race, the Club Race Director (or, if the Club Race Director is not present at the race, other Club Officers) should meet with the Weekly Race Director before the race to discuss possible procedures for canceling, shortening, or stopping the race, in case such actions are necessary. The following guidelines can be used for reference in marginal race conditions.
Note: A canceled or stopped Club Championship race can generally be reassigned to other dates on the race schedule.
Race Cancellations The Club Race Director or the Weekly Race Director should either cancel or delay a race if any of the following conditions exist at the race time: 1. Heavy rain or snow combined with low visibility or darkness and/or significant traffic on the course. 2. Electrical storms (thunder, lightning). (Measure the time in seconds between the time you see lightning and the time you hear the thunder. Multiply the time by 300 m/s to estimate the distance in meters between you and the lightning. 3 . Tornadoes. 4. Low visibility on courses with significant traffic: For example, darkness, heavy fog, or heavy rain. 5. Flooded courses. 6. Freezing rain or hail. 7. A sufficient number of Workers or Course Marshals are not available to monitor the course and traffic. 8. A bridge is out. |  Shortening or Stopping a RaceIf dangerous conditions are expected to occur during a race, the Weekly Race Director should warn the riders that the race may end abruptly, or that it may be shortened. It is the responsibility of the riders to look and listen for signals that indicate a shortened or stopped race. If a pace car is available, it should be used to monitor race conditions and either stop the race or signal an early finish to the race, if necessary. The Weekly Race Director should emphasize to the riders that they must tell the Weekly Race Director or Workers where they placed in the finish or in sprints of any race. A race in progress can be shortened during the race by: 1. Using the laps cards to inform the riders of one lap to go in conjunction with ringing the bell. If available the bullhorn may be employed to inform the riders as they approach the finish area. 2. Dispatching a vehicle onto the course to inform the riders the current lap will be the last lap. The Weekly Race Director can stop a race whenever shortening the race is unsafe or unfeasible by: 1. Signaling to riders the race is stopped as the riders approach the finish area. Use the bullhorn, the bell, wave the lap cards, yell, wave your arms, etc. to signal a stopped race. 2. Dispatch a vehicle on to the course to inform the riders the race is stopped. The Weekly Race Director may restart a stopped race after consulting with the Club Race Director and the riders (or other Club Officers, if the Club Race Director is not present), if conditions and time permit the race to be restarted. |
Scoring Shortened, Stopped, or Canceled Races A shortened race will be scored as a full club race for the riders and the scheduled workers. For shortened Ormiums, use of the scores from the completed and shortened races will determine scores for the racers, but cancelled or stopped races are not to be scored. For shortened Points Races, the accumulated points and the finish order on the last lap of the shortened race will be used to determine scores for the racers. No club points will be awarded to the riders for stopped or canceled races. The Weekly Race Director and scheduled Workers receive full work points for a canceled or stopped race provided they show up at the race site to either start the race or inform the riders that the race is canceled. |