3D.1 Venue - Course design
Comments about this discussion:
Started
Current rule:
3D.1 Venue
These are races held usually on roadways or bike paths.
For any road race over a fixed (traditional) distance, it is encouraged that the course
complies with the requirements for IUF World Records. In short:
(1) The start and finish points of the course, measured along a theoretical straight line
between them, shall not be further apart than 50% of the race distance.
(2) The overall decrease in elevation between the start and finish shall not exceed 1:1000,
i.e. 1m per km (0.1%).
Please refer to the IUF World Records Guidelines for details.
The article on venue does not specify requirements for the design of race course. It is especially important that the race course is safe for riders at speed.
I would like to propose this wording:
Comment
I think I would structure rule 3D.1 Venue differently - the basis for this would be a complete list and description of the official road racing disciplines in section 3B. Based on this, I would list the requirements or recommendations for the corresponding disciplines. So roughly the following structure:
3D.1 Venue
3D.1 Fixed Distance Races
3D.2 Free Distance Races
3D.3 Criterium
3D.4 Time Trials
Your suggestion about course design probably applies to all raod races - this could be put directly under 3D.1 before the specific requirements of the individual disciplines come up.
Comment
I agree in principle with adding the paragraph proposed by Maksym.
I also agree with Jan that this is relevant to all road races.
Regarding the structure of the rulebook, I understand that it will need to be revised, but at this stage, it seems difficult to determine how to organize the sections.
I have also planned to propose safety recommendations for the finish area, but this would only apply to confrontation races (heat start and mass start).
I would prefer to move forward with the ongoing discussions rather than starting new ones. I hope this will give members who have not yet shared their opinions the opportunity to participate in the current discussions before proceeding to a vote.
Comment
Here is a proposed revision to section 3D.1 Venue:
3D.1 Venue
1. Courses are usually held on roadways or bike paths.
2. The course must be designed with rider safety as a top priority. It should include clear signage, road barriers where necessary, and an adequate number of marshals to guide and protect participants.
3. The road surface must be smooth, durable, and free of hazards such as deep potholes, cracks, off-camber sections, or uneven terrain. Rough surfaces, narrow segments, and other obstacles should be avoided or adequately managed to ensure rider safety. If bicycle paths are used, they must be sufficiently wide to accommodate riders at speed and free of any hazards. Objects adjacent to the course—such as benches, trees, or metal posts—must be considered potential risks and properly safeguarded.
4. Throughout most of the course, riders must have enough space to overtake safely.
3D.1.2 Start and Finish Area (for Mass Start and Wave Start Races)
1. The start area must be wide enough to accommodate several riders launching simultaneously in safe conditions.
2. It is recommended that the finish area is not downhill, as downhill finishes increase the risk of crashes. Organizers may choose to place the finish on flat or uphill terrain. The final few hundred meters of the course should be straight, with no sharp turns, to allow for safe sprint finishes.
3D.1.3 Fixed Distance Races
For any road race over a fixed distance, it is encouraged that the course complies with the requirements for IUF World Records. In short:
(1) The start and finish points of the course, measured along a theoretical straight line between them, shall not be further apart than 50% of the race distance.
(2) The overall decrease in elevation between the start and finish shall not exceed 1:1000, i.e. 1m per km (0.1%).
Please refer to the IUF World Records Guidelines for details.
Comment
I basically like the proposal, but I have a few thoughts on the individual paragraphs:
3D.1 Venue
1. Courses are usually held on roadways or bike paths.
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This does not currently take into account the special characteristics of the Criterium and Time Trials. The “usually” gives room for these special characteristics, but I think we should still explicitly address these standard special cases here. Either directly in paragraph 1, via separate subsections of paragraph 1 or via separate subsections of 3D.1.
Suggestion:
1. Depending on the discipline, courses are usually held on one of the following options:
1.1 Fixed and Free Distance Races are usually held on roadways or bike paths. It is recommended to use a point-to-point courses without loops. For Fixed Distance Races additional requirements are described in 3D.1.3.
1.2 Criteriums are held around city block(s) or within a large parking lot, allowing the course to have left and right turns and multiple laps with a recommended lap length of 500 m to 1000 m.
1.3 Distance-based Time Trials in officiall competitions are held on the same courses as Fixed and Free Distance Races. Outside of officiall competitions they can also held on the same courses as Time-based Time Trials.
1.4 Time-based Time Trials must take place on a closed circuit, either on a road or a track with a (recommended) lap length of 200 m to 1000 m.
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2. The course must be designed with rider safety as a top priority. It should include clear signage, road barriers where necessary, and an adequate number of marshals to guide and protect participants.
3. The road surface must be smooth, durable, and free of hazards such as deep potholes, cracks, off-camber sections, or uneven terrain. Rough surfaces, narrow segments, and other obstacles should be avoided or adequately managed to ensure rider safety. If bicycle paths are used, they must be sufficiently wide to accommodate riders at speed and free of any hazards. Objects adjacent to the course—such as benches, trees, or metal posts—must be considered potential risks and properly safeguarded.
4. Throughout most of the course, riders must have enough space to overtake safely.
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This point does not really apply to time trails outside of official competitions, which could be taken into account.
Suggestion:
4. Throughout most of the course, riders must have enough space to overtake safely. This is not nesseccary for individual Time Trials outside of official competitions.
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3D.1.2 Start and Finish Area (for Mass Start and Wave Start Races)
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I would take the addition "for Mass Start and Wave Start Races" out of the brackets.
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1. The start area must be wide enough to accommodate several riders launching simultaneously in safe conditions.
2. It is recommended that the finish area is not downhill, as downhill finishes increase the risk of crashes. Organizers may choose to place the finish on flat or uphill terrain. The final few hundred meters of the course should be straight, with no sharp turns, to allow for safe sprint finishes.
3D.1.3 Fixed Distance Races
1. For any road race over a fixed distance, it is encouraged that the course complies with the requirements for IUF World Records. In short:
(1) The start and finish points of the course, measured along a theoretical straight line between them, shall not be further apart than 50% of the race distance.
(2) The overall decrease in elevation between the start and finish shall not exceed 1:1000, i.e. 1m per km (0.1%).
Please refer to the IUF World Records Guidelines for details.
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I would change "encouraged" in paragraph 1 to "recommended" and excange (1) and (2) with i and ii.
Suggestion:
1. For any road race over a fixed distance, it is recommended that the course complies with the requirements for IUF World Records. In short:
i The start and finish points of the course, measured along a theoretical straight line between them, shall not be further apart than 50% of the race distance.
ii The overall decrease in elevation between the start and finish shall not exceed 1:1000, i.e. 1m per km (0.1%).
Please refer to the IUF World Records Guidelines for details.
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Comment
> This does not currently take into account the special characteristics of the Criterium and Time Trials. The “usually” gives room for these special characteristics, but I think we should still explicitly address these standard special cases here. Either directly in paragraph 1, via separate subsections of paragraph 1 or via separate subsections of 3D.1.
It's the same problem as for section 3D.10: the rules were designed for flat races over varying distances. I don't see what's gained by adding specific elements of criterium and time trial here. It could appear as a duplicate, but I wouldn't want to remove it from the dedicated sections.
> I would take the addition "for Mass Start and Wave Start Races" out of the brackets.
For me, these rules apply to all road races except individual time trials."This section could instead be titled "Start and Finish Area (except for Time Trials)". We could apply this rule to all races, but I find it interesting to identify that the start and finish area of a time trial is less important than for other races.
> I would change "encouraged" in paragraph 1 to "recommended" and excange (1) and (2) with i and ii.
I agree
Comment
> It's the same problem as for section 3D.10: the rules were designed for flat races over varying distances.
Right, but if we are going to include more/other official disciplines, then we need to make sure that the existing general rules - and these are the rules in section 3D - not only cover specific disciplines, but really apply to all disciplines.
> For me, these rules apply to all road races except individual time trials.
However, the conditions are mainly based on the fact that a large number of participants are expected to start and finish at the same time. But this is only the case with wave starts and mass starts. If there is a individual start, then I see no reason why the start area should be wide enough for several riders to start at the same time. So it seems logical to me to set these requirements for all races with a wave or mass start, but it doesn't seem necessary for an individual start.
So why should we mention specific disciplines here if the conditions are actually only determined by the way of starting the race?