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It says you can't puppy paws, for example simulate a tribar position by resting forearms.
The reg says "Riders may not...simulate a Tri-Bar position by resting the forearms on the handlebars". The offence is the supporting of the forearms on the handlebars. If the arms were in the same position without support, there's no foul. If the specific bars were used but the rider held the hooks for the duration of the event, there's no foul.
I'm not here to defend the regulations, which are in general and in this specific area an absolute clusterfuck of inept and inconsistent construction, but under any conventional rules of interpretation, the instant your forearm touches the handlebar in a road bike TT, you're in breach of the regulation. The fact that other people were doing it to a greater or lesser extent with different equipment doesn't excuse the main target of the complaints, it means there might be plenty more DQs to come before we get the the final result comprising only those riders who rode in compliance with the regulations.
gbj_tester-
the instant your forearm touches the handlebar in a road bike TT and you simulate a tribar position, you're in breach of the regulation.
It has to be both.
I read the regulation as banning puppy paws, with the added clarification as to forearm support enabling the position you could adopt using tribars being the basis of puppy paws. It's not a separate area of DQ.
I agree, the drafting is as always, full of grey. If the handlebars George used are the issue, then ban them specifically from the road bike category along with trispokes.
Ultimately, riders complaining about this are those with a lot of watts who turned up on the day and lost by a large margin to someone who dedicated time and effort to riding in a very uncomfortable position, and who posted the equipment he was using in advance of the race...whether he keeps his title or not, the whole episode reflects pretty poorly.
onyerbike
I don't really get this. The (intentionally loosely drafted) regs don't say you can't use equipment that makes it easier to do X or Y. It says you can't puppy paws, for example simulate a tribar position by resting forearms.
There are pictures of other riders resting their forearms on handlebars of different types. If the equipment is the issue then there will need to be a lot rider investigations...