Drastic Action Needed

[boianchimoon]

Radios may make racing seem more boring to some, but for the people actually making a living doing it they are necessary tools.

Never heard such nonsense! the only truly 'necessary tools' in cycling are the bikes. The arguments been made many times racing is sanitised to a greater or lesser degree by the use of RR, just as it is in Formula 1. the people that matter in a sponsor led sport are the public and by taking every opportunity to add the possibility of something unusual or unexpected to happen will only add to the spectacle. RR and the use of is, by it's very nature a way of taking away risk and controlling the spectacle.

 

[Oldman]

Never heard such nonsense! the only truly 'necessary tools' in cycling are the bikes. The arguments been made many times racing is sanitised to a greater or lesser degree by the use of RR, just as it is in Formula 1. the people that matter in a sponsor led sport are the public and by taking every opportunity to add the possibility of something unusual or unexpected to happen will only add to the spectacle. RR and the use of is, by it's very nature a way of taking away risk and controlling the spectacle.

And one last time: who introduced radios to the pro peloton? Motorola? Did they sponsor any adds during the races their team competed in? YES. YES. YES. Did the riders like them? NO. NO. NO. Most of them turned them off, took the ear pieces out or ignored them. Many of the best riders made the domestiques wear them to fetch bottles, which may have actually been safer. Did any fewer crashes occur? I really doubt it.

 

[Granville57]

Though it could be argued that the DS doesnt have access to the most important information - how the rider is feeling. Do they have it in them to make that attack etc.

Are you referring to a scenario of having radios or not having them? Because with radios, this would seem like one of the easier things to ascertain, as in,
"How do you feel Ryder, can you attack on the final climb?"

 

[Granville57]

Rider advisory boards are merely window-dressing and the AIGCP is powerless, short of taking “drastic action”, to make substantive changes.

What I haven't seen discussed yet is, What action, specifically, are we likely to see? As far as I know, neither JV nor anyone else has shown their hand yet.

This action will not be made public at this time, but the UCI will be informed of its content.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/aigcp-threatens-drastic-action-if-radio-ban-is-not-repealed

So my question is: What, when and where?
Any thoughts?
What might they do?
What should they do?

 

[raddone]

Never heard such nonsense! the only truly 'necessary tools' in cycling are the bikes. The arguments been made many times racing is sanitised to a greater or lesser degree by the use of RR, just as it is in Formula 1. the people that matter in a sponsor led sport are the public and by taking every opportunity to add the possibility of something unusual or unexpected to happen will only add to the spectacle. RR and the use of is, by it's very nature a way of taking away risk and controlling the spectacle.

So you want uncontrollable spectacle. Take away race officials. What are they doing there? Controlling the spectacle. Take away the barriers. Let the fans mingle with the riders, push and even stop them, just for the show. Bring their dogs too.

 

[boianchimoon]

So you want uncontrollable spectacle. Take away race officials. What are they doing there? Controlling the spectacle. Take away the barriers. Let the fans mingle with the riders, push and even stop them, just for the show. Bring their dogs too.

yeah, seems like we're poles apart. I prefer my sport undiluted. Each to their own

 

[ksmith]

So you want uncontrollable spectacle. Take away race officials. What are they doing there? Controlling the spectacle. Take away the barriers. Let the fans mingle with the riders, push and even stop them, just for the show. Bring their dogs too.

Have a cup of coffee, you'll be OK afterwards.

 

[Frank Tuesday]

I love that the riders representatives can't even stay on-message. They always say it is about safety, but they can't seem to resist throwing a non-safety bit in as well.

“Radios are important for rider’s safety just as much as say helmets are. The riders need them to be told of dangers up the road and in case they crash or puncture,”

Yeah, dangers up the road are safety related. I'll even give them crashes, but tell me how informing the DS you have a puncture is a safety issue. You can't undo the puncture. All you can do is reduce your time loss. Losing time is not a safety issue.

 

[Granville57]

Tour of Beijing boycott

So now we finally have confirmation of what that "drastic action" is going to be.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/peloton-threatens-to-boycott-tour-of-beijing-over-race-radios

Threatening to boycott the Tour of Beijing is an interesting tactic.

1. The teams don't have to worry about alienating any sort of hardcore fans.
2. They stand to cause McQuaid a tremendous amount of embarrassment in front of Chinese organizers.
3. Considering the logistics of getting personnel and equipment over there, it makes it an easy target for unity among the teams.
4. The UCI has no leverage when it comes to "canceling" this particular race--who among the teams would care?

There's no way the UCI will let themselves be so easily manipulated in such a public way without some sort of push-back.
So what's the next move...from both sides?