# Free lap rule in crits?



## repartocorse40 (Feb 23, 2009)

Ok...So I did my first crit earlier this year...

At one point another rider was swinging wide into a turn with me on the outside and I slammed up onto the sidewalk but did not go down...however it shook me enough to completely take me out of the race for a few seconds which at my fitness level(at the time) made it impossible to chase back on to the pack who had already rounded the next corner. 

I pedaled to the start and asked the official for a free lap...as I thought thats what it was for. I was denied...and was ok with it - i dont think I would have made it anyway.

Now...I raced a crit yesterday and did fine...no need for a free lap. But, apparently the same thing happened to another racer...and per my onlooking girlfriend, he was really angry with the officials decision to not grant him his lap...so my question is what gives? You have to crash to get it? but avoiding a crash doesn't get you it? 

seems like if you are uber competivie you might as well come back around with some scrapes or something or they wont give you your lap which to me seems ludicrous. 

anyone have any wisdom on this? both of our altercations were completely out of the view of the officials.


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

If you don't go down in a crash you have to play for the free lap. Ride up to the line significantly behind the pack with a shorts leg pulled up like you slid, maybe twist your jersey around a little. You really have nothing to lose. I saw a guy twist his handlebar tape off on the end to make like he had crashed. Stuff happens, crashes in front of you can cause a gap, some guy swings you wide and you have to grab your brakes, etc. Just remember, most crits have a free lap cutoff usually based on the number of number of laps or time remaining. Example, a 25 lap crit would cut off the free lap at lap 20. 

The best thing is to stay in the front 1/3 of the pack to avoid the silliness.


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## BassNBrew (Aug 4, 2008)

Someone explain this too me...1 mile course that the field is doing in 2.5 minutes. I flat a 1/3 mile away. How do I get back to the start and change a wheel before they go back by? Does free lap really mean free laps???


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

BassNBrew said:


> Someone explain this too me...1 mile course that the field is doing in 2.5 minutes. I flat a 1/3 mile away. How do I get back to the start and change a wheel before they go back by? Does free lap really mean free laps???


that is up to the official. Most often it is one lap. But I have been in pileups where we were given 2 free laps on a relatively short course such that we could re-enter the pack in a safe manner.


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

BassNBrew said:


> Someone explain this too me...1 mile course that the field is doing in 2.5 minutes. I flat a 1/3 mile away. How do I get back to the start and change a wheel before they go back by? Does free lap really mean free laps???


It means that after you change your wheel, you are put back in the pack still on the lead lap. You don't lose laps. A good wheel pit is located a hundred or so yards before a turn on a wide section so you can accelerate up the inside as the pack slows.


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

Often times free lap does mean free laps if the course is short and the wheel pit/service area is far away. And if the course is short then often it is 2+ laps before a rider gets to the pit, gets a wheel and gets pushed back in.

For the OP, the situation you describe is a difficult one as you did not crash and no other riders crashed as well. To just show up at the pit and say "I nearly crashed" might be interpreted by the official as "I got shelled and I'm trying to get back in". Generally the official is looking for more than one rider, or some sign of crash.

When to take the chance on the lap is a hard call. A few years back I was racing a big P/1/2 criterium (Tour de Gastown in Vancouver). Turn one is more or less a hairpin and often has crashes and tangles. About 15 minutes in, another rider crashed in front of me on the outside of the turn. I had to stop completely and get around him and was now about 20 meters off the back of the field. My instinct was to chase back on as it was not a big gap, instead of taking a lap. I made it back on to the back of the thinning field, but the race was single-file and guys like Danny Pate and Tyler Farrar were launching attack after attack. Guys were blowing in front of me and I was closing gaps, but I never regained good position and eventually I exploded. In hindsight, my best tactic would have been to rub some dirt on my leg and go in for a free lap, then I would have got back in decent position in the field. If I went in with the guy who crashed in front of me I am sure I would have got the lap. So the moral of the story is when racing a crit remember to be conscious of the free lap, if you are legitimately impeded by a crash it is better to take the lap rather than try to chase.


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## repartocorse40 (Feb 23, 2009)

to make this all more confusing ...I recently did another crit where someone got two separate free laps for what I could tell nothing but a minor mechanical(read out of breath)...as I had blown and had to watch from the sidelines(bad day and didn't want back in)

Yet another guy came fully off the course after he had been shattered by the pack...said something to someone he knew then went backwards down the sidewalk to the pit and jumped back in on the next lap...at least thats how it looked...I am not complaining...they didn't win...and I just was not up for racing that day...my problem is I just don't understand how this whole thing works still...The only thing I understand is it seems that is the sole discretion of the official and that there is no rules that they must abide by ... maybe we just have some good officials and some ...still learning the craft


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## asgelle (Apr 21, 2003)

BassNBrew said:


> Someone explain this too me...1 mile course that the field is doing in 2.5 minutes. I flat a 1/3 mile away. How do I get back to the start and change a wheel before they go back by? Does free lap really mean free laps???


It's all in the rulebook. (You do know you're allowed to cut the course, right?)

And another thing, there's no free lap for a crash.


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## asgelle (Apr 21, 2003)

repartocorse40 said:


> ...my problem is I just don't understand how this whole thing works still...The only thing I understand is it seems that is the sole discretion of the official and that there is no rules that they must abide by ...


Maybe it only appears that way to you because, as you admit, you still don't understand what's going on. Why not read the rules and interpret what you saw in light of them?


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## Andrea138 (Mar 10, 2008)

asgelle said:


> It's all in the rulebook. (You do know you're allowed to cut the course, right?)
> 
> And another thing, there's no free lap for a crash.


Every single time I've had the free lap rule explained by an official before a race start, they always say "mechanical or crash."


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## bill (Feb 5, 2004)

I just read the rules. I suppose I wish I had read them before this weekend, when I was a lap down, was not pulled, and could have, but chose not to, reintegrate. I guess I could have.


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## asgelle (Apr 21, 2003)

Andrea138 said:


> Every single time I've had the free lap rule explained by an official before a race start, they always say "mechanical or crash."


Doesn't make it right. The book is quite clear that free laps are only awarded for mishaps (which are also defined therein).


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## bill (Feb 5, 2004)

From the book:

1A13. A mishap is a crash or a mechanical accident (tire puncture or other failure of an essential component). However, a puncture caused by the tire coming off due to inadequate gluing is not a mechanical accident, nor is a malfunction due to miss-assembly or insufficient tightening of any component. A recognized mishap is a stoppage that meets the above conditions. An unrecognized mishap is a stoppage where the above conditions are not met.
A broken toe strap or cleat is a mishap. A worn or misadjusted cleat or toe strap is not a mishap. If more than one toe strap is used on a pedal, breakage of one is considered a mishap. Any mishap not immediately inspected by an official is unrecognized.


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## asgelle (Apr 21, 2003)

bill said:


> From the book:
> 
> 1A13. A mishap is a crash or a mechanical accident (tire puncture or other failure of an essential component). However, a puncture caused by the tire coming off due to inadequate gluing is not a mechanical accident, nor is a malfunction due to miss-assembly or insufficient tightening of any component. A recognized mishap is a stoppage that meets the above conditions. An unrecognized mishap is a stoppage where the above conditions are not met.
> A broken toe strap or cleat is a mishap. A worn or misadjusted cleat or toe strap is not a mishap. If more than one toe strap is used on a pedal, breakage of one is considered a mishap. Any mishap not immediately inspected by an official is unrecognized.


So while all mishaps are crashes or mechanical accidents, not all mechanicals are mishaps.


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## lucer0 (Apr 13, 2007)

Realistically, they can't let people take a free lap every time sh!t happens. Without enough officials to see every rider all the time, "I got shoved off the side" won't cut it. Bridging gaps makes you stronger!


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## repartocorse40 (Feb 23, 2009)

asgelle said:


> Maybe it only appears that way to you because, as you admit, you still don't understand what's going on. Why not read the rules and interpret what you saw in light of them?


Fairly put...I guess what I was trying to say is that I have now seen a denial of a free lap for avoiding an altercation and I have seen one granted for being out of gas...the one rider was dropped for many laps and you could see the evolution of him dropping off the back and the pain in his face

I think if you were going to grant the lap it would come for the former not the latter hence my confusion and assumption of discretion

indeed the rule says that referee must judge if the "mishap" was "legitimate" 

apparently mine was not and his was...again im not salty i was just trying to learn here


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## SilasCL (Jun 14, 2004)

repartocorse40 said:


> Fairly put...I guess what I was trying to say is that I have now seen a denial of a free lap for avoiding an altercation and I have seen one granted for being out of gas...the one rider was dropped for many laps and you could see the evolution of him dropping off the back and the pain in his face
> 
> I think if you were going to grant the lap it would come for the former not the latter hence my confusion and assumption of discretion
> 
> ...


I saw a free lap given when someone was behind a crash. He unclipped, put a foot on the ground and immediately turned around to go to the officials. Everyone else caught behind kept racing. That guy attacked on the next lap and won the race solo. What are you gonna do...


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## vanjr (Sep 15, 2005)

I am not sure how technically feasible it is to get a free lap on some short courses. It would take a quick mechanical or a quick wheel change to do in the time before the pack gets back to the start-especially if your wreck or mechanical happened on the other side of the course. Plus with a hard wreck I can't see being able to ride in the 2 minutes I may have before the pack laps me.


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## bill (Feb 5, 2004)

you can get two if you need them on a short course. you also (usually) can cut the course.


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

With respect to mechanicals, it is very much at the comm's discretion. I have seen a comm refuse a free lap to a rider who had his handlebars slip in the stem. Ditto for a rider on frame with horizontal dropouts who had the wheel pull sideways. Then again I have seen a free lap given for a slipping seatpost. Things like punctures and broken spokes are the most common acceptable free lap mechanicals. Something more traumatic like a broken handlebar or even a saddle snapped off will get a free lap but would probably require a neutral bike (if available). But a free lap should not be given for someone who did not tighten his skewer tight enough or tighten the seatpost clamp tight enough. The standard of judgement applied should be: is this mechanical avoidable?


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## asgelle (Apr 21, 2003)

Eric_H said:


> The standard of judgement applied should be: is this mechanical avoidable?


You mean something like this?

1A20. A mishap is a crash or a mechanical accident (tire 
puncture or other failure of an essential component). 
However, a puncture caused by the tire coming off due to 
inadequate gluing is not a mechanical accident, nor is a 
malfunction due to mis-assembly or insufficient tightening of 
any component.


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