Astana leads protest against radio ban

[180mmCrank]

Obviously we don't see much, but on the Versus coverage they flip to Garmin's or Columbia's car and what Brian Holm or Matt White say to the riders is lame anyway: "there is a climb coming and it..uh...goes up hill for 3KM and then turns and then goes up some more..." duh.

I am sure we would all agree that's probably not very representative of when the team car can and does play a role in guiding tactics and providing key time gap info.

There is a big difference between team radio and a guy with a chalk board hanging of fthe back of a motorcycle.

I am genuinely interested to see what effect it has - I am not expecting anything particularly extraordinary but hey you don't get if you don't try.

 

[croix_de_fer]

I still like what Hinault said when he raced. They'd meet each morning and Guimard would sit down with the map, and they'd discuss the route, and wind direction. From there, it was racing. I know a lot of people don't like Hinault. But he was a great champion and one of the most bold, and exciting racers ever. And a great tactician. He could read the road, and read the other riders, and knew when to attack (anywhere on the course, anywhere, not just the last 3km) and break the race apart.

Hinualt was a master tactician. He was one of the last great champions. I did not agree with some of his tactics, but he was a bold and exciting rider. Someone who was not afraid to attack his competition before the last 20KM.

What we would have if radios were banned in all stages is a return to long breakaways and more exciting racing. I'm all for progress, but come on, when a rider is told of every turn in the road during a TT, is that really racing!? What makes a great champion is being able to read the race, read the competition, and respond to the challenges that are in front of you. Racing should not be as predictable and programed as it has become.

 

[Epicycle]

BigBoat is right. But no one can try a Landis like attack because with radios everyone will always know the gaps and be able to time counter attacks to insure the breakaway rider is caught before, or near the line. The reason why Floyd's worked was because first he fooled everyone into thinking it was pure suicide he knew he'd get caught going from that far out on so hard of a stage, which meant when he attacked, he knew they wouldn't chase right away, when in reality he had a real plan and went for it with everything he had. Second, when it came time for the others to chase, they could be seen bickering. Kloden, Rasmussen, Sastre, the Schlecks, none of them wanted to work with Pereiro, or each other, until it was too late. And when they finally did chase, they didn't work together very well. The odds of that happening again are close to zero. Without radios, riders will either have to chase down every attack, or let someone go and try to gauge how they're doing, and when to counter. It requires learning other riders, learning the course, and being able to judge both your own and your opponents ability, skills and stamina, all on your own, while racing.

And he was absolutely jacked out of his mind in a Tour that had been rocked and affected by Puerto.

DiLuca is a great example of a guy who knows what he's doing without a radio link to the team car.

 

[davidg]

...when a rider is told of every turn in the road during a TT, is that really racing!?

I had to laugh at this. Imagine the dialogue from the BBox car during the TTT

"Ok guys, fast right hand corner coming up, might catch you out"
..
..
brief pause
..
..
" Yep, that's the one"

 

[Bala Verde]

Big mouth Poodle Lefevre threatens with a strike on Tuesday woof woof woof

*The petition objecting the decision wasn't signed by 5 French teams and Garmin. The Frenchies had already gone 'earless' in the natl championship race without problems. I guess Nocentini will win the TdF then, or perhaps Wiggins?*

 

[BroDeal]

And he was absolutely jacked out of his mind in a Tour that had been rocked and affected by Puerto.

I don't think FLandis was more jacked than any other of the contenders. He was able to pull it off for the the reasons that Alpe listed. Periero was able to gain time in that 30 minute break for the same reason, no team wanted to do the work to chase. The route was also almost all up or down, and FLandis is a great descender. Throw some flat spots in the route and his escape would not have worked as well.

I hope the fourteen teams stage a sit down protest, and the french teams and Garmin ride off at the scheduled time. .

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think FLandis was more jacked than any other of the contenders. He was able to pull it off for the the reasons that Alpe listed. Periero was able to gain time in that 30 minute break for the same reason, no team wanted to do the work to chase. The route was also almost all up or down, and FLandis is a great descender. Throw some flat spots in the route and his escape would not have worked as well.

I hope the fourteen teams stage a sit down protest, and the french teams and Garmin ride off at the scheduled time. .

I would love to see it. I am sick of Astana tantrums. They pulled this shit during the Giro with their little huff party in Milan AND in the final TT. Now they feel emboldened to pull this weak reasoned, pussified, attention seeking bullshit. They are worse than Paris Hilton.

 

[Animal]

Bunch of gigolos on wires!

I heard yesterday that there will still be earpieces, but with a neutral race information service to provide safety information about crashes and hazards and the like.

So now what's their objection?

Pussies.

 

[Animal]

I hope the fourteen teams stage a sit down protest, and the french teams and Garmin ride off at the scheduled time. .

That would be great.

 

[Alex99]

Make them ride without the team radios. That will make for much more interesting racing. Let's see if JB is such a tactical mastermind indeed. And let's finally unleash the rider's instincts again!

 

[Parrot23]

Silence, Garmin, Rabo, Cervelo etc. should find a way to work with the French teams to put some time into the Astana train, instead of most of them complaining. Perhaps their only opportunity to break up the Astana train.

Would be interesting to hear Hinault's views on this right now.

 

[lostintime]

The protest is just a paper tiger. Me-ow.

This is however another example of ASO making it's own rules as they go. Radios or no radios . . . I don't care . . . but be consistent. The TDF is no place for an experiment. Do your experiments in any of the build up races to the tour, where the outcome isn't as big of a deal. ASO thinks they are bigger than the race itself.

 

[Doug Laipple]

Why does Bruyneel need to communicate with his riders? Contador doesn't pay any attention to him anyway.

 

[Animal]

Yes, so there's one guy who is more than a gigolo on a wire. Good for him!

 

[rolfrae]

Bunch of gigolos on wires!

I heard yesterday that there will still be earpieces, but with a neutral race information service to provide safety information about crashes and hazards and the like.

So now what's their objection?

Pussies.

The neutral radio will also give time checks. They will get all the safety/timing info as normal but they won't have Papa Johan telling them who to race for.

 

[Carlo Algatrensig]

Does anyone know when the decision was taken to make the 2 stages radio free?

If it was decided a few months back the teams should have made their protests then. If the decision was taken within the last few weeks then I can understand their protest more but I do still think its a good thing to have a couple of stages without radio communications to the DS

 

[whiteboytrash]

The protest is just a paper tiger. Me-ow.

This is however another example of ASO making it's own rules as they go. Radios or no radios . . . I don't care . . . but be consistent. The TDF is no place for an experiment. Do your experiments in any of the build up races to the tour, where the outcome isn't as big of a deal. ASO thinks they are bigger than the race itself.

What are you talking about ? To much Hog juice for you. They have been testing the radio ban all year. French races, national championships, all under-23 races & womens races. It has worked very well and the UCI agree. ASO are bigger than the race cos they run it. That's the way it should be.

 

[nz-tim]

Its not just about Bruyeel controlling the race, its abouting him trying to stop his team imploding on the road.
With no radio, Lance will have more freedom to attack Contador (you know he wants to) and vice versa Contador can thrash him up a hill

 

[marcbx]

Bruynel.. of course

These two stages are the only ones where he won't have complete control of the peleton... of course Bruyneel's freaked. Why not allow one-way communication from the race officials to the riders - they could warn of any dangers (and then Jens could use his brakes if required)... ridiculous.

Other than Ventoux, these are the stages I'm most interested in.

 

[Animal]

So, it will be interesting today.

I can see why they are nervous, I bet they are totally used to constant communication, and have allowed the sense of self-reliance to lapse, and it probably feels scary.

I know how they feel a little. My mobile phone is knackered (battery won't hold charge), so when I went on a business trip to Florida recently, I just left it at home, relying on good planning, and old fahsioned common sense. Of course it was no problem, but it felt like going out on a limb with no security blanket!

 

[Archibald]

So, it will be interesting today.

I can see why they are nervous, I bet they are totally used to constant communication, and have allowed the sense of self-reliance to lapse, and it probably feels scary.

I know how they feel a little. My mobile phone is knackered (battery won't hold charge), so when I went on a business trip to Florida recently, I just left it at home, relying on good planning, and old fahsioned common sense. Of course it was no problem, but it felt like going out on a limb with no security blanket!

yep, we've lived without mobile phones for centuries and been just fine.
TdF's been run for decades without race radios and been just fine...

would love to see astana being the only team sitting down while the rest ride - just to see the worried looks on la n co's face to see how long he lasts before jumping up to rejoin the race

 

[Coach Hawk]

1) Safety? Other than a lot of whining, I have not heard a single fact to support this. How about an example of someone getting hurt that could have been avoided if they had a race radio? Nope? Didn't think so.

2) This is the PRO peleton. Being pros, they should be better at cycling than everyone else, all of whom manage to race quite successfully without radios. So the amateurs can do it, but it's too complicated for the pros?

 

[colwildcat]

1) Safety? Other than a lot of whining, I have not heard a single fact to support this. How about an example of someone getting hurt that could have been avoided if they had a race radio? Nope? Didn't think so.

2) This is the PRO peleton. Being pros, they should be better at cycling than everyone else, all of whom manage to race quite successfully without radios. So the amateurs can do it, but it's too complicated for the pros?

I love it, another example of people bashing those that they have an agenda against. Folks, 14 of the teams, that's 74% for those keeping score, opposed this experiment. But, let's just bash Astana? Makes perfect sense.

Their safety concern is people having to continually come back to team cars to get updates, strategy, etc. Yes, I realize that people come back to the cars now for bottles, etc.

So, they caught them in the last km today. Doesn't that blow everyone's theory that somehow racing would be more exciting without radios? We got the same exact outcome we would have with them.

 

[Azdak6]

I love it, another example of people bashing those that they have an agenda against. Folks, 14 of the teams, that's 74% for those keeping score, opposed this experiment. But, let's just bash Astana? Makes perfect sense.

Their safety concern is people having to continually come back to team cars to get updates, strategy, etc. Yes, I realize that people come back to the cars now for bottles, etc.

So, they caught them in the last km today. Doesn't that blow everyone's theory that somehow racing would be more exciting without radios? We got the same exact outcome we would have with them.

Contrived nostalgia almost always results in FAIL.

 

[colwildcat]

Contrived nostalgia almost always results in FAIL.

Perhaps we should take the headphones off of NFL players and coaches and make them go back to hand signals. That'll make the NFL more exciting.

Then we can take radios out of Nascar helmets. They can fly blind too. That'll help.

Oh, and we can eliminate that little phone between the bullpen and the dugout in baseball. Maybe they can use smoke signals to get a guy warming up.