# Why are hand-ups banned?



## locobaylor (Mar 11, 2008)

I raced one of my first usa cycling cyclocross races today and there was a big announcement about hand-ups being illegal. Why are they illegal? Someone mentioned that it was because people could drop the bottle and cause a hazard for other riders; I disputed that by asking why they would be allowed in other disciplines like mountain biking and road biking though? Road bikes are a whole lot faster than cyclocross races, and seems a lot more dangerous than cyclocross. Does anyone know the official reason? In all reality, I was just pissed that I couldn't have beer hand-ups while I suffered.


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## jroden (Jun 15, 2004)

in road biking they are allowed but only within a designated zone. People frequently crash within this designated zone by swerving around to get bottles and by people stepping into the course. Having cyclocross riders swerving around to get bottles, money and whatever other crap people are handing out is also a safety hazard. if it's hot, riders can feed from the pit or a designated spot, but not anywhere they want.

It's a sport with rules, and that's one of them.


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## locobaylor (Mar 11, 2008)

this race official said that we had to keep the bottles in the pit. then we had to get off, drink, and then leave the bottle and continue on racing. the speeds for cyclocross are no faster than road races, so the danger is lower. and typically, when handing out "money and whatever other crap people are handing out," it is at the outside of a corner or a run-up.


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## jroden (Jun 15, 2004)

locobaylor said:


> this race official said that we had to keep the bottles in the pit. then we had to get off, drink, and then leave the bottle and continue on racing. the speeds for cyclocross are no faster than road races, so the danger is lower. and typically, when handing out "money and whatever other crap people are handing out," it is at the outside of a corner or a run-up.


The rules are pretty explicit, you may feed from the pit lane, so get a handup within the pit while riding (no need to dismount) OR if the chief ref designates another place to feed on the course, generally an uphill with a marked start and end zone for feeding. Feeding can only be when the temperature is above X degrees, i forget what X is.

Handing out money, beer etc. is an illegal handup if it happens outside of the situations outlined above. 

Again, it's a sport with rules and the ref at your race was reminding riders of a rule they should already know. What's the big mystery?


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## davemess (Dec 26, 2008)

I think the main reasons are that cross is a really short race (for you I'm guessing 45 mins. or less). Even the pros only max out at an hour. 

It's also a fall/winter sport, so it's supposed to be colder, thus less need for hand ups. 

Comparing cross to mountain biking and road biking is apples to oranges. Both are significantly longer races, usually done during hot months of the year.


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## ms6073 (Jul 7, 2005)

The rules also say feeds are allowed if race is 60 minutes or more and temperatures are over a certain temperature (I think 65-degrees) but the officials can exercise discretion (and common sense) and typically will allow feeds in warmer climates.


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## bcroteau (Aug 23, 2006)

The explanation I got from a USA Cycling official was that if they can't drink beer during a race, nobody can drink beer at a race....


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## Thom H (Aug 25, 2009)

Well rules are made for some people, others not so much. Beer handups are never illegal in my rules. What are they going to do, throw me out?


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## PDex (Mar 23, 2004)

Handups...........................of bacon.


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## Crank-a-Roo (Mar 21, 2003)

I got a piece of bacon during the BC cup Final last Saturday and it wasn't easy to eat a piece of bacon while racing..


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## c-lo (Sep 30, 2008)

enjoy this PSA: Crosshairs Cycling PSA on Vimeo


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## davemess (Dec 26, 2008)

PDex, was that from Interlocken this year? I kind of always liked that course.


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## PDex (Mar 23, 2004)

davemess said:


> PDex, was that from Interlocken this year? I kind of always liked that course.


Last year


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## CAD10 (Jul 15, 2012)

wait... I thought you were talking about beer hand ups?.....you mean real food and water?......

PS we do secret beer hand ups in PA....just got to hide at the right spot


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## jroden (Jun 15, 2004)

It's good to see someone teaching a junior racer that the rules don't really matter much as long as everyone is having some zany fun.


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## c-lo (Sep 30, 2008)

whatchu talkin 'bout?


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## VeldrijdenAddict (Apr 29, 2008)

I've always thought this was a pretty dumb rule. Although it really only applies to a handful of races. Once it drops below 60/65, I don't even think about drinking during a cross race. That said, before the rule, people who wanted to get hand ups seemed to get them with no problems. From what I saw here in New England, folks spread around the course wherever they felt comfortable and gave the hand ups. I thought that centralizing it was not the way to go. Who's going to do a stop and go in the pits for a drink? I've started carrying a small kiddie water bottle (8 oz) in my skinsuit pocket for the 4 or 5 warm races per year. It is not giving me any significant re-hydration, but once a lap it is a nice refreshing mouth rinse.


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## tsunayoshi (Dec 3, 2009)

warm races I carry a 6oz gel flask with water/electrolyte in my pocket...take a swig every lap or two mostly just to keep the mouth wet.


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## pretender (Sep 18, 2007)

Beer hand-ups is like the hipster version of edible underwear. Two great things--CX racing and beer--don't become better by combining them.

All the peripheral bullshit with cross is tired and played out. Race your eyeballs out and then drink a beer with your friends in the parking lot. Don't spend all week trying to come up with the cleverest heckles; maybe ride your bike instead?


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## crosscat (Dec 9, 2011)

Hand ups or not I race CX because it is a blast. I got a handup at Cincy3 though that I am pretty sure was Everclear. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. Hard to race while going blind! Perhaps flammable handups should be banned.


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## locobaylor (Mar 11, 2008)

pretender said:


> Beer hand-ups is like the hipster version of edible underwear. Two great things--CX racing and beer--don't become better by combining them.
> 
> All the peripheral bullshit with cross is tired and played out. *Race your eyeballs out and then drink a beer with your friends in the parking lot.* Don't spend all week trying to come up with the cleverest heckles; maybe ride your bike instead?


What about YOU race your eyeballs out and don't take a beer hand-up if it's there, and if I want to, why not? Nobody is forcing you to take a beer hand-up.


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## pretender (Sep 18, 2007)

locobaylor said:


> What about YOU race your eyeballs out and don't take a beer hand-up if it's there, and if I want to, why not? Nobody is forcing you to take a beer hand-up.


I've taken hand-ups of many kinds, in many different events, over the years. But if the USAC official is actually going to take his job seriously, and actually enforce the rules, I'm not going to whine about it.

Oh, here's another rant: If you want to do something that is against the rules..._be sneaky about it!_ I guess that way you don't get Instragram proof of how goofy and nonconformist you are. But you can drink beer during just about any cyclocross race you care to compete in, if you pick your spots.


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## jroden (Jun 15, 2004)

I'm not sure how it is in other regions, but we have seen a real increase in novice riders the last couple years. It's been a really good thing for the sport, but we are spending a lot of time every week reviewing kind of basic stuff like number pinning, how to use the pit, the need to check results during the protest period, etc. etc. Half the time riders are yattering away on the start line and ignore the instructions.

The challenge that I see in the coming years is bringing new riders into the fold and educating them about how races operate and why we do some things in this sport. Things like waving bacon slices around is funny, but ultimately a bit of a distraction to this effort.

It is up to our officials to read the few pages in the rule book dedicated to cyclocross, take the time to actually walk the course and inspect it and enforce rules. I want to see people have "fun" in races, but I also want to express to all riders that we take them and their efforts seriously, no matter what place or what category.


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## c-lo (Sep 30, 2008)

jroden said:


> It's good to see someone teaching a junior racer that the rules don't really matter much as long as everyone is having some zany fun.



you didn't answer my question....but if you are referring to that video I posted....that's my junior. don't preach. he knows right from wrong and is one of most responsible and mature 12 year old's I know and that's not coming from me...that comes from his teachers and his coaches. 

Having said that....I get your point.


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## addctd2adrnlne (May 6, 2010)

I actually asked an official at my last race this very question, in particular over beer handups (of course to riders of legal age only). He mentioned that hand ups were not permitted to prevent a rider from getting an unfair advantage over the next rider. 

He then commented that he was watching the front runners primarily in the Pro/1/2 race, meaning the front three. Even though that race paid out 6 deep and I was with in seconds of 6th place, he wasn't worried about me getting an unfair advantage from a beer hand up, which I told him I avoided since I knew I was close to getting my entry fee back.

So, depending on your judges and which class you are racing in, I wouldn't be too worried about hand ups (beer, bacon, the occasional giant rice crispy bar)at local races, now for UCI races...that's a different story.


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## jroden (Jun 15, 2004)

c-lo said:


> you didn't answer my question....but if you are referring to that video I posted....that's my junior. don't preach. he knows right from wrong and is one of most responsible and mature 12 year old's I know and that's not coming from me...that comes from his teachers and his coaches.
> 
> Having said that....I get your point.


No, I meant the young man a few posts above holding a slice of bacon. Juniors are especially impacted by silly rules like gear restrictions, so it's part of the development process to teach young riders the often confusing and inconsistent rules of the sport. 

Saying a rider can't wear a sleeveless jersey has nothing to do with "knowing right or wrong" it's just some goofy rule of bike race. As is the prohibition against handing crap to riders in a race. There's nothing "wrong" with it, it's just a rule violation for the rider who accepts the feed in a USAC or UCI sanctioned race.


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