Originally Posted by
southernfox
I ended up asking one of the UCI officials and she said 'yes' that I'd be allowed one...
...oh well.
Did you explain the situation the same way as you did here?
If I can say that my foot came off of the pedal yet remain engaged within the strap with no visiable proof that it happened, at that point, it's based on my word.
No athlete is given a do-over based on their word in
any sport. If so, the floodgates would be open for mulligans.
You have to
prove that you had a mechanical malfunction that is outside of your control before being granted a do-over.
From the UCI Rulebook rule number 3.2.021:
If your pedal didn't break and you can prove it, you don't get a do-over.
I'm not disputing that the UCI official told you that...but (s)he was wrong. I have a hard time believing that you can tell them that you unclipped underneath your straps and in the face of the rule above they would grant you a do-over. If you got one, it was a courtesy, not based on the rule.
EDIT:
Here is a link to the
UCI Track Rulebook. The rule cited above is at the beginning, on the bottom of page 7 in the General Observations section.