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Monday, May 17, 2004

The Masters 45+ field was DQ’d in yesterday’s Turtle Pond Circuit Race, with 1.5 laps remaining. The official in the follow car saw a rider toss a water bottle back onto the lawn adjacent to the parking area and immediately halted and DQ’d the field. A breakaway group of 3 was allowed to finish.

At the start line, the officials had given plenty of warning of the types of behaviors that would not be tolerated, so we have no one to blame but ourselves. The guilty individual identified himself and immediately apologized to the field and to the officials. (Members of the field promptly threw the miscreant into a large pricker bush.)

Folks, let this be a lesson to everyone. The promoters, the officials, and the towns will not tolerate our rude, inconsiderate, and selfish behavior. The result is that entire fields will get DQ’d: no ifs, ands, or buts, no refunds, nothing – just a DQ and go home.

New England has a long, rich history of great cycling events. Unfortunately, many of these "classics" are no longer around; many due to problems created by the cyclists themselves. If we don’t change the way we approach races and the way we conduct ourselves before, during, and after races, we’ll have nothing but industrial park crits.

Spread the news: Bad behavior will not be tolerated. Adjust your attitude and actions accordingly or find another activity. How much more clear does this need to be?- Mark Hagen

photos by Jonathan McElvery, Jack Milton, and BikeReg.com