In a video posted to the official Unbound Gravel Instagram feed, the organisers of the biggest gravel race of the year urge participants to keep their race number plates flat and clearly visible on the front of their bikes, stating that “If you wrap your plate, the timing chips on the back cannot be read by our timing mats and could result in disqualification.”
Though the wording of the post is relatively vague, it appears that the threat of disqualification isn’t because of any rules being broken, but more due to the fact that Unbound claims that modifying the number plate could result in damage to the timing chip on the back, or perhaps not allow it to be read properly by the timing mats, and resulting in no time being read, rather than a disqualification for a breach of rules.
The arbitrary nature of the wording of the Instagram is also reflected in the slightly ambiguous wording of Rule 11 of the Unbound rulebook, which states:
“Athlete ‘Race Plates’ MUST be affixed to the front of the handlebars. Athlete ‘Race Plates’ MUST NOT be bent, folded, wrapped around the head tube, or in any other position than flat against the handle bars. Improper attachment of the race plate will cause timing chips not to register and may be cause for disqualification.”
Again, the official rules seem to offer up a grey area where it is the malfunction of the timing chip, rather than the bending of the plate itself that is cause for a DQ.
Comments on the post have been almost universally negative, citing the significant aero losses that running a flat plate on the front ones will entail.
One of the men’s pre-race favourites, Matt Beers (Specialized Off-Road), weighed in, commenting: “‘Could be disqualified’ I’ll take the risk.”
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The best gravel race bikes are fast becoming as aero-optimised as road bikes are, and while pros on the road have the advantage of race numbers pinned to a jersey and tucked behind the seatpost, the mass participation nature of events like unbound mean that the pros vying for the win have to pin on the same number that members of the public have to.
The race number plates themselves appear to have changed in size and shape pretty drastically over the last few years. The 2021 edition saw large rectangles, and the sprint finish at the line of the men’s field was won by Ian Boswell with a folded number plate, tucked up and under his aero bars, beating Laurens Ten Dam, with a flat plate.
The 2022 edition the numbers were much smaller, so far less of an aero disadvantage. Last year’s plates are much the same as this years; larger, rectangles, with no cutouts on the corners or anything of the sort.
Given one major purpose of these plates is for the event photographers to effectively tag the rider numbers, and for riders to find themselves in the post-event galleries put on, it stands to reason that the pros, who start separately from everyone else, could easily be given a separate setup. RFID chips aren’t large, and on the road are easily mounted to fork legs. Race numbers could also very simply be mounted behind the saddle.
What’s more, given the often filthy nature of the event, as well as its duration, the race numbers are often totally obscured by mud, rendering their purpose as an identification device useless.
Cyclingnews has reached out to Unbound for comment and clarification on the rules.