We all do, when our immediate risk assessment tells us it is safe enough to do so.
But, according to reports (including one from the venerable Cycling Weekly), a row has erupted between officials from CTT and BC over whether some riders, including eventual medal winners, should have been disqualified for crossing onto the wrong side of the road.
Now lads (and lasses), you should know better, even those of you who don't Time-Trial in Yorkshire (in particular). If swinging out towards a white line isn't heinous enough of a crime, then yer actual crossing of it is "instant ban sine-die" material if ever there is!
We can't mention names here, but various senior District CTT Officials have written to BC and CTT National Officials complaining over the actions of a number of riders. According to Cycling Weekly, "The Commissaire failed to apply a regulation that was printed in the programme which states that any competitor who crossed the (sic) white line should be disqualified."
"It calls into question the safety of the sport and a big fuss needs to be made before the police ban us."
A fair point, after all, if we cannot keep control of ourselves, what position are we in to argue against the multitude of complaints that anyone who has had the pleasure of Time-Trial marshalling on J2/9 receives on a regular basis from the car-driving numpties that populate the road space.
For his part, the UCI Chief Commissaire responded, "Riders were taking the racing line through corners, but I don't believe it was dangerous. The corner in questioned was well marshalled and there was plenty of visibility."
"It was a dotted white line, not a solid white line."
Fair enough comment perhaps, but whose race was this? Wasn't it a Time Trial, held under basic TT rules? Rules that were pretty clear in advance.
However, those rules don't differentiate between solid or broken white lines... And, one marshal observed more than one rider who, not only crossed the "middle-of-the-road" broken white line, but also crossed the solid line marking the opposite verge! You know who you are, coz' you got an earful from the marshal, Nr.s XXX & YYY.
The CTT National Secretary has backed the District's complaint, on the grounds that rider behaviour reflects on the CTT (as well as all racing cyclists participating on open roads). Quite right too, but this argument will continue into the future unless a clear line (broken or solid?) is drawn and examples are set that the rules are there to be adhered to.