In a video posted to the official Unbound Gravel Twitter feed, the organizers of the year's biggest gravel race urged participants to flatten their race license plates so they can be clearly visible on the front of the bike, saying, "If you wrap the plate, the timing chip behind you cannot read on the timing mat and you will be disqualified."Instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrams." It is possible that you will not be able to do so."It's a very important thing," he said.According to an instagram post, the organizers of the 2018 Gravel race said:"

The wording in the post is relatively vague, but it seems that the threat of disqualification is not because the rules have been broken, But more because of the fact that changing the license plate results in damage to the timing chip on the back, or perhaps the Unbound claim that it allows it to be read properly by the timing mat and, resulting in time being read, cannot be disqualified rather than disqualified for violation of the rules. 

The arbitrary nature of the wording in Instagram is also reflected in the slightly ambiguous wording of Rule 11 in the Unbound rulebook.

"The athlete's 'race plate' must be affixed to the front of the handlebar. The athlete's "race plate" must not be bent, folded, wrapped around the head tube, or placed in a position other than flat relative to the handlebar. If the race plate is not installed properly, the timing chip will not be registered and may cause disqualification."

Again, the official rule seems to provide a gray area that is not the bending of the plate itself, which is the cause of the dq, but the malfunction of the timing chip.

Comments to this post were almost universally negative, citing the large aero losses that running a flat plate on the front would entail. 

Cyclingnews contacted Life Timem, the event's organizer, to provide some additional clarity. 

"If after a race a rider approaches us claiming that his result is not in the system and brings a cut bike plate across the tag or its integrity is not maintained, our tendency is to DQ that rider as being against the rules.

"Once the tags are removed along before the lower race, they are not bigger than the plate in the past, in fact, they are actually smaller than some recent years

"Following the timing issue of 2021, it is the 3rd year in the year that created this video. This rule is also in the 3rd year. Many events create the same content and have the same problem.

"In addition, each bike plate in our amateur field is customized under their own name as a memento for the rider. The majority of our amateur fields are not there to "get aero", they are there to enjoy the adventure, find their limits and finish

Matt Bias (professional off-road), which is one of the favorites before the men's race, commented ""May be disqualified"" It was the first time I had ever seen a woman in my life.

However, the lifetime has confirmed that elite riders will be given smaller, more aerodynamic race numbers than amateurs. 

"The bike plate in that [Twitter] post is intended for amateur riders and the timer verifies that the rider has passed all the timing mats on the course and the lai tag cannot work if it is heavily processed or wrapped around metal.Instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrammed instagrams.

"The Elite Bike plate is different from the bike plate shown in the post. Our Elite bike plates are different and are very small and can be seen in the attached image [below].

Beyond creating memorabilia, it raises the question of why we use number boards, especially for elite riders. RFID chips are not large and are easily installed in WorldTour road races, for fork legs or chainstays. The race number can also be attached to the back of the saddle very easily.

In addition, given the often filthy nature of events and their duration, race numbers are often completely hidden by mud, and their purpose as identification devices is useless.