It is impossible to explain it without knowing where your father was. There are plenty of places in MT where both the map directions are confusing and there are multiple minor roads/trails going similar directions. This is made much worse under snow cover. All I'm saying there might be a less sinister explanation than 1/3 of the field cheating to gain a marked advantage.
Short-cutting does happen, accidental or not. The whole point of declaring "short-cutting" based on a animated SPOT track meant for entertainment purposes is ridiculous, as there are far easier ways to short cut the course than flying "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" style over the terrain.
The easiest way to short cut is using a major paved route (e.g. Ovando-Lincoln) to avoid major passes. This is easy to catch with a consistent SPOT track, otherwise it has to be caught by other riders on the ground. Speculation is pointless and ultimately, tracking or no, the race comes down to the personal integrity of the racer. We have no control over that.
It is impossible to explain
It is impossible to explain it without knowing where your father was. There are plenty of places in MT where both the map directions are confusing and there are multiple minor roads/trails going similar directions. This is made much worse under snow cover. All I'm saying there might be a less sinister explanation than 1/3 of the field cheating to gain a marked advantage.
Short-cutting does happen, accidental or not. The whole point of declaring "short-cutting" based on a animated SPOT track meant for entertainment purposes is ridiculous, as there are far easier ways to short cut the course than flying "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" style over the terrain.
The easiest way to short cut is using a major paved route (e.g. Ovando-Lincoln) to avoid major passes. This is easy to catch with a consistent SPOT track, otherwise it has to be caught by other riders on the ground. Speculation is pointless and ultimately, tracking or no, the race comes down to the personal integrity of the racer. We have no control over that.
-A previous route/race rider.