- Aug 30, 2010
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Can we make a rule that bans deviating of the fastest line around a corner to talk on the radio?
- Aug 29, 2009
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In his Tour blog, Michael Woods has come up with a solution to reduce some of the danger in cycling: ban TT bikes
"My hatred for the TT stems from many reasons. The main one being that I am terrible at them. I have always struggled in this discipline, and even during my days of focusing on the General Classification, the TT was my Achilles’ heel. However, there are other reasons for my disdain for the discipline.
I think the TT bike and the equipment around it are a detriment to the sport. Most manufacturers find them to be an inconvenience. Consumers don’t buy them, as triathletes now prefer triathlon-specific bikes—which do not meet UCI requirements—and people who used to buy TT bikes now buy gravel bikes. The bikes and equipment create a massive disparity among teams and strain lower-budget World Tour squads that already struggle to remain competitive.
In my mind, to now call it the “race of truth” is disingenuous. Yes, you could probably put Remco Evenepoel on a mountain bike, and he would still be competitive with me in a TT. However, the difference between the best TT setup in the World Tour and the worst is enormous, and the power required to overcome this gap is insurmountable.
TT bikes are also wildly dangerous. It isn’t a coincidence that two men who have won the Tour in the last decade have almost died on TT bikes. To me, it’s crazy that nobody in the cycling community thinks it’s crazy that a TT bike is meant to be ridden without immediate access to brakes. I understand that this setup makes sense on a track; however, on open roads, it is incredibly dangerous.
Everyone knows that the fastest position in a TT is with your head down. To maintain this head-down position, you have to train it, and you can’t just do that on a home trainer.
Under the current UCI regulations, hundreds of pro riders are incentivized to ride on open roads at 50+ km/h with their heads down. That is crazy. Now, one could argue that you can stay on the home trainer (which is not a realistic environment) and only ride the position outside in a race, but just because the road is closed doesn’t mean that not being able to see ahead is “safe.”
I once heard a story of a top-tier time trialist in the World Tour telling his teammates that his plan was to start a TT with his head down, and he knew that after he saw the fifth sewer grate on the road, he would look up to prepare for the course’s first corner. When he started, he counted down the sewer grates, and after seeing four, he waited for five, but it never came. He must have missed one, and he went straight into a gate.
I still think that the TT has the potential to be a cool discipline, but for that to happen, it would have to be done on a road bike. If the TT were ridden on the same bike and helmet that you have to race with in the peloton, it would be way safer, much less of a hassle for teams and manufacturers, and it could start living up to its moniker of “the race of truth.”
michaelwoods.cc
"My hatred for the TT stems from many reasons. The main one being that I am terrible at them. I have always struggled in this discipline, and even during my days of focusing on the General Classification, the TT was my Achilles’ heel. However, there are other reasons for my disdain for the discipline.
I think the TT bike and the equipment around it are a detriment to the sport. Most manufacturers find them to be an inconvenience. Consumers don’t buy them, as triathletes now prefer triathlon-specific bikes—which do not meet UCI requirements—and people who used to buy TT bikes now buy gravel bikes. The bikes and equipment create a massive disparity among teams and strain lower-budget World Tour squads that already struggle to remain competitive.
In my mind, to now call it the “race of truth” is disingenuous. Yes, you could probably put Remco Evenepoel on a mountain bike, and he would still be competitive with me in a TT. However, the difference between the best TT setup in the World Tour and the worst is enormous, and the power required to overcome this gap is insurmountable.
TT bikes are also wildly dangerous. It isn’t a coincidence that two men who have won the Tour in the last decade have almost died on TT bikes. To me, it’s crazy that nobody in the cycling community thinks it’s crazy that a TT bike is meant to be ridden without immediate access to brakes. I understand that this setup makes sense on a track; however, on open roads, it is incredibly dangerous.
Everyone knows that the fastest position in a TT is with your head down. To maintain this head-down position, you have to train it, and you can’t just do that on a home trainer.
Under the current UCI regulations, hundreds of pro riders are incentivized to ride on open roads at 50+ km/h with their heads down. That is crazy. Now, one could argue that you can stay on the home trainer (which is not a realistic environment) and only ride the position outside in a race, but just because the road is closed doesn’t mean that not being able to see ahead is “safe.”
I once heard a story of a top-tier time trialist in the World Tour telling his teammates that his plan was to start a TT with his head down, and he knew that after he saw the fifth sewer grate on the road, he would look up to prepare for the course’s first corner. When he started, he counted down the sewer grates, and after seeing four, he waited for five, but it never came. He must have missed one, and he went straight into a gate.
I still think that the TT has the potential to be a cool discipline, but for that to happen, it would have to be done on a road bike. If the TT were ridden on the same bike and helmet that you have to race with in the peloton, it would be way safer, much less of a hassle for teams and manufacturers, and it could start living up to its moniker of “the race of truth.”
The TT is Dog - Michael Woods - Pro Cyclist
â¨After two consecutive days of hard racing, Iâm now sitting in my bed at a Best Western just outside of Pau, excited for what will be our final TT of this race. Iâve stayed in this Best Western before, during the 2021 Tour. Often, your memory of hotel rooms on the Tour becomes a homogenous...
michaelwoods.cc
How about no radios, no chopping the wheels of the serious contenders out of sporting courtesy?
Make all the riders draw numbers from a dice pot then ride in line with 4 meters between each rider to the finish that should sort it out
- Oct 1, 2014
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If you spend a minute with your hands off the handlebars struggling to put on a rain jacket thats fine, but put your hands on the wrong place of the handlebars for a second you get dq'd.
Make it make sense!
Make it make sense!
- Aug 30, 2010
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I Originally got these wheels for gravel with 38m tires. I tried some 30mm Pirelli P Zero on them. 50 psi and they again are great. I want another set, maybe what you have. Aero 50. 😁
Armchair Cyclist
Moderator
- Mar 22, 2010
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That's.... not really the case, is it.
There is plenty that it is valid to criticise the UCI for, so no need to make up anomalies that don't exist as criticism.
- May 5, 2010
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Skjelmose has a pretty good tip:
Don't attempt to jump a traffic island when you're not 100% sure there isn't a sign in the way.
Don't attempt to jump a traffic island when you're not 100% sure there isn't a sign in the way.
- Oct 1, 2014
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Fits here..here is what can be done ..I can't watch this video too many times!!
Really it is glaringly clear that the people in this thread care way more about reducing crashes than the racers do so maybe we should start (and maybe end) there.
So in 2025 there are now products on the market that weight less then 1kg and cost less then 1k with replacement cartridge costing around 50€. Time to i guess start integrating airbags in cycling jerseys and hopefully to start making inroads into the pro peloton soon(ish) as a pro kit.
- Aug 13, 2011
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So far the best product you’ve shared based on their description and specifications. It’d be nice if they described more how the system deploys or what it uses to detect a fall. It’d be nice if a professional tested it out for them and we saw it in use.
So in 2025 there are now products on the market that weight less then 1kg and cost less then 1k with replacement cartridge costing around 50€. Time to i guess start integrating airbags in cycling jerseys and hopefully to start making inroads into the pro peloton soon(ish) as a pro kit.
Air vests have been in use in equestrian sport for years now. They offer more coverage than the one shared, but then they do need to protect from a horse potentially landing on top of the rider so need to be a bit more robust! The vest has a cord that attaches to the saddle, and if the rider falls from the horse and the cord is pulled, the vest inflates. I always wondered if something similar could be made for cycling, but thought the inflation system might not work as the rider isn't necessarily separated from their bike in a crash. This one seems to be battery powered and have some sort of crash detection system. I assume it's been fairly rigorously tested but would be interesting to see some data.
The ones used in equestrian sport are extremely effective. You can see one in action here
. This was in 2010 too, so hardly the most recent model! As you can see, it protects the rider from the weight of a very large horse flipping and landing on top him. Similar falls have killed other riders. The rider who falls in the video has represented GB at the Olympics and was on their eventing gold medal winning team at Tokyo, so you can see they are in use at the very top level of the sport. The difference of course is that in equestrianism, aero is not a problem, so no-one minds riding with a bit of extra padding.
In the UK, there was something of an annus horribilis in the late 1990s when something like five riders died in competitions in one season. This led to a lot of the safety innovations the sport has today. The air vests aren't compulsory, but a lot of top level riders wear them.
- Aug 13, 2011
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There’s been shared before of one that will inflate when the rider leaves the saddle or shoulders go to far forward in front of the handlebars. Professional cycling still has a ways, especially if it’s in the clothing.
Cookster15
Moderator
- May 14, 2011
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Are there pics wearing this device under a jersey?
I get that these are early days. Maybe when they get the cost down by a factor of 75% and figure out how to minimize the aero drag penalty?
But as it stands, this is another ~1K € added to already hugely more expensive top end bikes in recent years. I can’t see this being very popular unless mandated by governments similar to how helmets were.
If the UCI want to drive people out of the sport they could make these vests mandatory. And as mentioned don’t look very aero?
Might work for commuters and recreational riders who are happy to spend that money for their personal safety but professional cycling? I can’t see that without major improvements.
I get that these are early days. Maybe when they get the cost down by a factor of 75% and figure out how to minimize the aero drag penalty?
But as it stands, this is another ~1K € added to already hugely more expensive top end bikes in recent years. I can’t see this being very popular unless mandated by governments similar to how helmets were.
If the UCI want to drive people out of the sport they could make these vests mandatory. And as mentioned don’t look very aero?
Might work for commuters and recreational riders who are happy to spend that money for their personal safety but professional cycling? I can’t see that without major improvements.
It's all electronics, sensors and algorithms these days doing their job, a couple of hundreds times per second. It seems that over time they might expand it to the hip area as they did some concepts a while back.
No, this apparel goes on top of the jersey but i do imagine that pro peloton orientated kits will be integrated, likely sub 500g. 1k is peanuts for pro peloton, not even worth mentioning. In comparison to rider down time and health costs that can go up to tens, hundred thousands or more. And besides pro kit can't even be that cheap, nobody would buy it. I expect it will cost more. UCI should be the one but unfortunately it turned out they usually tend to be the last ones on where it comes to riders safety so best if riders and teams start experimenting by themself. For now i likely wouldn't make it mandatory beyond maybe some racing event to show commitment. That whole GPS fiasco was telling too. Besides, it will only take a crash or two, for each individual rider in pro peloton, to change their mind. Like suggesting leave your helmet at home, imagine the response you would get.
Anyway, we are not there yet but we are getting closer. And once there will be road peloton pro kit on the market rest assured that we all will wear it, too cool not to.
FIS Council approves additional measures to further strengthen athlete safety
At its meeting on Tuesday, the FIS Council maintained a strong focus on athlete safety, approving a comprehensive set of measures designed to enhance safety culture across the snow sports ecosystem – with particular emphasis on the speed disciplines of Alpine Skiing.
In terms of safety FIS will start mandating for athletes to wear airbags on training sessions too.
- May 5, 2010
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FIS Council approves additional measures to further strengthen athlete safety
At its meeting on Tuesday, the FIS Council maintained a strong focus on athlete safety, approving a comprehensive set of measures designed to enhance safety culture across the snow sports ecosystem – with particular emphasis on the speed disciplines of Alpine Skiing.www.fis-ski.com
In terms of safety FIS will start mandating for athletes to wear airbags on training sessions too.
I feel like we've been here before...
What works in skiing will not necessarily work in cycling.
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