Astana unprofessionalism?

[Polish]

Why didn't Team Astana just go down to the local Electronics Store and buy some radio equipment?

I understand Tandy has a presence in Australia - surely there is a location in Adelaide.

Of course, the riders would have had to pay for the Radiosets with their own money boohoo.

 

[peloton]

Has anyone seen the stage today? Was Astana pushing the pace at the front, not realizing Davis had been dropped?
That's bad teamwork or then Davis is seriously out of shape.
Not sure why the team didn't bring radios, but doubt that would have changed the outcome.

“It was just a bit of a miscommunication, we didn’t have radios,” Davis added. “I was just riding within myself up the climb and found myself 50 metres behind my teammates and they didn’t realise. They just started pulling and I didn’t realise I was on the back so it left me behind.”
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tdu-title-bid-over-for-defending-champion-davis

 

[ScottyMuser]

So it was ineptness on the part of Davis and his team mates, 1 for riding on his own, presumably day dreaming, the others for not being able to spot they were a man down and wait or whatnot.
TBH, if Fran is taking an active role in anything other than being the most terrible manager a cyclist has had ever, then its no surprise if it was a admin error!
Maybe it was a tactic as a) its not overly hilly so won't have too many breakaways the DS will need to control, b) Davis is out of form so not looking for a win, and c) it sees how the team themselves can adapt to differing situations without having to have the DS on the radio all the time. Imagine if in the TDF, a problem was had with race radios, and a protest held (or not); with this type of competitive riding without 1 Astana would actually be at an advantage vis-a-vis the other teams, and could put some hurt into Contador's rivals if they tactic it correctly

 

[msjett]

I am pretty sure I read somewhere, that due to radios not being used in other races, that Astana did not bring radios for the TDU.

 

[Boeing]

It's not like they can walk into the local Radio Shack and re-up in South Australia

 

[maltiv]

Good excuse for being in bad shape, I guess.

 

[BroDeal]

Good excuse for being in bad shape, I guess.

Ding. Ding. We have a winner.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

"Hey I didn't have a radio, so I didn't know I was supposed to follow the other guys dressed like me."

 

[Hugh Januss]

"Hey I didn't have a radio, so I didn't know I was supposed to follow the other guys dressed like me."

I didn't have a radio to tell me to ride faster up the hill.

 

[rgmerk]

Obviously, the main reason why Allan Davis isn't in GC contention any more is that he's not in top condition.

But, still, I find it hard to understand why, given that a) race radios are still legal, and b) they are an undeniable advantage, a ProTour team spending millions of dollars a year to maximise their results would turn up to a ProTour race without them.

 

[Publicus]

Obviously, the main reason why Allan Davis isn't in GC contention any more is that he's not in top condition.

But, still, I find it hard to understand why, given that a) race radios are still legal, and b) they are an undeniable advantage, a ProTour team spending millions of dollars a year to maximise their results would turn up to a ProTour race without them.

Because a race like the TDU or some of the other single day/stage races are good places to teach young riders like Allan Davis how to function without them. At least that's my guess as to why they didn't bring them.

As far as I can tell his biggest complaint is that he had no one from his team for company. He lost contact with the group, and apparently hadn't communicated with them before the stage about what should happen in the event that he didn't have it (according to him he had bad legs) or simply FORGOT to say something to someone before they got to the bump in the road.

In any event, somehow the other 6 riders managed to make it in with the S.T., so I think his commentary about the radio is more distraction than anything else.

 

[Polish]

What good would the radios have been anyway? The Kazaks do not speak Australian.

Besides, Davis used to ride for Saiz....the DS could have driven up alongside Alan and shouted Venga Venga Venga.

 

[Anonymous]

Because a race like the TDU or some of the other single day/stage races are good places to teach young riders like Allan Davis how to function without them. At least that's my guess as to why they didn't bring them.

I just find it astonishing that a top tier team would or could forget the team radios. That shouldn't happen and they paid for that mistake. You bet it won't happen again or heads will roll. Rather embarrassing mistake.

And really, if they were trying to teach Davis how to function without them wouldn't you think the DS would have told the whole team what the plan was before the start of the race and have someone look after the leader instead of dropping him?

And if that was the plan to not use radios then someone would have already said something to the media to save face.

It shows you what a new team Astana really is. Can't be confidence inspriring for Contador. Luckily it's the first race of the season so the results aren't important to Astana.

 

[Publicus]

What good would the radios have been anyway? The Kazaks do not speak Australian.

Besides, Davis used to ride for Saiz....the DS could have driven up alongside Alan and shouted Venga Venga Venga.

Maybe you need a little drum and a high hat to go with your routine.

 

[zapata]

I just find it astonishing that a top tier team would or could forget the team radios

It shows you what a new team Astana really is. Can't be confidence inspriring for Contador. Luckily it's the first race of the season so the results aren't important to Astana.

they can't possibly have forgotten to bring them. that's absurd, it would be like a team forgetting to bring wheels for the bikes. if they intended to use radios, I'm sure someone would have thought of packing them. Astana is not that new as a team, and the people involved have been to a bike race before. In my opinion they must have decided against radios, for some unknown reason. Perhaps as training, in case the radio-ban is ever implemented?

 

[Publicus]

I just find it astonishing that a top tier team would or could forget the team radios. That shouldn't happen and they paid for that mistake. You bet it won't happen again or heads will roll. Rather embarrassing mistake.

And really, if they were trying to teach Davis how to function without them wouldn't you think the DS would have told the whole team what the plan was before the start of the race and have someone look after the leader instead of dropping him?

And if that was the plan to not use radios then someone would have already said something to the media to save face.

It shows you what a new team Astana really is. Can't be confidence inspriring for Contador. Luckily it's the first race of the season so the results aren't important to Astana.

I honestly don't know. What you are saying could be 100% right--that there was no plan and that Astana is being run by a bunch of clowns. Or it could be that Allan is looking to deflect attention away from his form. Or it could be somewhere in between (say his attendant simply lost track of him when the racing started in earnest).

Certainly would help if Bontempi spoke to the media to clarify, but he hasn't so all we've got to work with is what Davis has had to say on the matter.

 

[blaxland]

Although not bringing radios might be a sign of bad things to come, Davis did not miss out on GC because of it. He missed the split because he is not in the same form as he was last year.

+1 agreed...and if you ride at the back of the bunch you cant see whats happening up front....thus missing the split...form also has a lot to do with it.....

 

[auscyclefan94]

I honestly don't know. What you are saying could be 100% right--that there was no plan and that Astana is being run by a bunch of clowns. Or it could be that Allan is looking to deflect attention away from his form. Or it could be somewhere in between (say his attendant simply lost track of him when the racing started in earnest).

Certainly would help if Bontempi spoke to the media to clarify, but he hasn't so all we've got to work with is what Davis has had to say on the matter.

astana definetly should of looked after their man davis a bit better but dais is now saying that he is saving is form for later in the season. interesting to hear though that before the race he said he had the same form as last year. A few people said that Davis look overweight at the nationals so maybe he will ride himself into a bit of form later in the week.

 

[Publicus]

astana definetly should of looked after their man davis a bit better but dais is now saying that he is saving is form for later in the season. interesting to hear though that before the race he said he had the same form as last year. A few people said that Davis look overweight at the nationals so maybe he will ride himself into a bit of form later in the week.

He looked like a porker when I saw photos of him at the Crit and the Australian Championships. Especially compared to how lean he looked just prior to the Tour de France.

I think he needs to drop the excuses and just get his a$$ in shape. And Bontempi needs to step up to the microphone. If he and Martenelli don't know what they are doing, it would be good to find out sooner, rather than later.

 

[Anonymous]

Like a lot of you, my first news of this was from the CN interview, and I took it as read. Then I read a bit about the crash, and saw that 39 riders finished the same 8:22 back, including ones from Sky, Quick Step, Caisse, and tons of other teams who presumably had radios. I've also heard from commentators and read quotes from his top competitors that Davis wasn't as fit as last year and wouldn't be a GC contender.

I don't know what the deal is with the radios. At the camp in Pisa, Astana had to borrow vehicles, and they were pretty much starting from scratch with everything. I'm mostly following the TDU to see how the new Astana riders are in terms of preparation and motivation. Davis has months to change, but right now seems like the first weak spot.

 

[Publicus]

Like a lot of you, my first news of this was from the CN interview, and I took it as read. Then I read a bit about the crash, and saw that 39 riders finished the same 8:22 back, including ones from Sky, Quick Step, Caisse, and tons of other teams who presumably had radios. I've also heard from commentators and read quotes from his top competitors that Davis wasn't as fit as last year and wouldn't be a GC contender.

I don't know what the deal is with the radios. At the camp in Pisa, Astana had to borrow vehicles, and they were pretty much starting from scratch with everything. I'm mostly following the TDU to see how the new Astana riders are in terms of preparation and motivation. Davis has months to change, but right now seems like the first weak spot.

I think the confusing part is that Davis says that he was only 50 meters back on the climb going at his own pace and then the team took off.

Here's a good explanation of what happened:

Their tempo also forced the peloton to split into three groups at the summit, leaving Davis (Astana) in the second group and waving goodbye to his overall hopes. After placing 96th and in a group of 38 riders at 8.22 to Greipel, he agreed: ''For sure. It would have to be a big miracle now.''

Davis said his fate was due to ''a bit of miscommunication. We didn't have radios. I was sort of riding within myself up the climb and just found myself 50 metres behind my teammates and didn't realise. They just started pulling because we were just off the back of those front guys and they didn't realise I wasn't on the back and left me behind. It's no problem. It's just one of those things. I was having a bit of a bad day as well. That's bike racing.''

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

I didn't have a radio to tell me to ride faster up the hill.

You're not a pro, so you don't need one. Pro cyclists are specialized people. You can't go around expecting them to think and pedal at the same time.

 

[Anonymous]

I think the confusing part is that Davis says that he was only 50 meters back on the climb going at his own pace and then the team took off.

But I just read this at the Specialized site:

Davis fell behind on the day's climb up Menglers Hill, 27 kilometres from the finish. He said that another rider blocked him when his team was busy working on bringing him back into the action.

http://iamspecialized.com/road/news-article/down-under-overall-slips-from-davis-hands

I haven't followed the guy in the past, so all I have to go on right now is that other riders - Greipel might have been one of them - and commentators said he was out of shape, he blamed the time loss on Astana not having radios, but he also blamed it on an unknown rider, and he was "remarkably unconcerned" about it all. It's just one day in the life, and maybe I'll be cheering him on later in the season, but if there was a pro cycling fantasy league, I'd pick someone else.

I wish there was live coverage of the race (instead of appearance money), so I could see for myself what happened, but on twitter I saw a guy from the UCI comment on the radio thing and two team managers respond. No one is noticing the 38 other riders who finished with the same time as Davis. I'm not sure why.

 

[Publicus]

But I just read this at the Specialized site:


http://iamspecialized.com/road/news-article/down-under-overall-slips-from-davis-hands

I haven't followed the guy in the past, so all I have to go on right now is that other riders - Greipel might have been one of them - and commentators said he was out of shape, he blamed the time loss on Astana not having radios, but he also blamed it on an unknown rider, and he was "remarkably unconcerned" about it all. It's just one day in the life, and maybe I'll be cheering him on later in the season, but if there was a pro cycling fantasy league, I'd pick someone else.

I wish there was live coverage of the race (instead of appearance money), so I could see for myself what happened, but on twitter I saw a guy from the UCI comment on the radio thing and two team managers respond. No one is noticing the 38 other riders who finished with the same time as Davis. I'm not sure why.

Because it serves their purpose (getting rid of the radio ban) to point only to Davis.

 

[Polish]

Alan Davis was on the "pre-race" radio coverage before the start of todays stage. Paraphrasing some of his comments....:

* He did not know why the radios were not there
* But the Astana team is still getting organized so that may explain it
* The team that split apart from Astana took the electronics with them.
Alan did not mention any names.
* Astana will be racing without radios for the entire TdU.