General News Thread

[ashhutch1997]

If the TTT was an ITT, it would be close to perfect. Still a good route, though, and if the presence of Auron says anything about any plans for the Tour that would be the icing on the cake.

Agreed, hopefully they are testing it like they did with the Col de la Couillole. It's just ashame they aren't using it this year as that would've worked so well instead of Isola 2000.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

The route for the first RCS run edition of the women's Giro has also been revealed today.
The main highlights are the opening 14.6 km ITT in Brescia, an 11 km finishing climb on day 3 and the Passo Lanciano-Blockhaus combo on the penultimate stage.

It's of course still a shame there's only 8 stages, but overall it isn't too bad IMO.

 

[Aimar16]

It's 25 days more than anyone else who punched someone before (like Molano in the Dauphiné in 2022) so I really don't know what you're saying. It starts jan 2Oth so it's also not in the off season.

It's also 25 days more than the one who did the initial (probably even more) dangerous behavior.

Just because others have received a leniency or no punishment does not mean it is not a joke punishment. Hitting someone should be unacceptable, and if there were much harsher punishments, it would happen less often. What was his racing schedule? To miss a lower catagory one-week race in early February is not really a punishment and certainly not the highlight of the season.

 

[Izzyeviel]

Phillipe Gilbert has been a good boy but has been found guilty of doing a Bertrand Gachot.

 

[Tim Cahill]

The UCI, in a stunning return to form, are banning turned-in brake levers.

UCI has turned-in brake levers in its sights with new regulations set for 2025

This sees the latest bike position trend of the pro peloton fall foul of UCI regulation changes

www.globalcyclingnetwork.com

 

[Izzyeviel]

Absolute thieves of joy. what is the point?

 

[Squire]

If the TTT was an ITT, it would be close to perfect. Still a good route, though, and if the presence of Auron says anything about any plans for the Tour that would be the icing on the cake.

Was gonna come here to say exactly that. I like that they've done away with the massive MTF that they have put in quite often in recent years.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Absolute thieves of joy. what is the point?

Besides the fact that they look stupid they almost don't function as brake levers when set up at that angle. If the UCI really cared about rider safety however, they would have a look at time trial positions. Stefan Kung (remember him from the Worlds) said in an interview that he is basically riding blind when in his TT position.

 

[awavey]

Hugh Roberts and Mick Bennett are set to retire at the end of this year from Sweetspot, the company they founded, who resurrected the Tour of Britain, created the Womens tour, Tour Series,initial Ride London legacy event, among many other races or cycling events in the UK they were involved in

Where that quite leaves either of those two major UK races, or Sweetspot's future itself is unknown.

 

[Izzyeviel]

and not a thing of value was lost.

 

[Netserk]

Tirreno 2024 route:

H/t @ammattipyoraily

Lacking a good hilly stage, but nice to see the mountain(s) around Cagli used in the race, unfortunately as a simple uphill finish this time and after the better stage. I don't get why they don't climb San Giacomo from Ascoli Piceno, but it's also nice to see a new side used.

 

[zlev11]

thats a pretty disappointing route

 

[tobydawq]

Tirreno 2024 route:

H/t @ammattipyoraily

Lacking a good hilly stage, but nice to see the mountain(s) around Cagli used in the race, unfortunately as a simple uphill finish this time and after the better stage. I don't get why they don't climb San Giacomo from Ascoli Piceno, but it's also nice to see a new side used.

That seems a bit lame... I hope stage 3 and 4 are more interesting than they look like on those profiles.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

The Tirreno has forgotten how to Tirreno.

 

[zlev11]

That seems a bit lame... I hope stage 3 and 4 are more interesting than they look like on those profiles.

they're even less interesting than they look because they're long stages, the terrain has to be squished into the graphic more, making the hills look sharper than they are.

does anyone have a profile of the San Giacomo climb from stage 5? the stage is very short and not very hard before that climb either, this could be 5 days of nothing until the MTF. RCS is really disappointing me this year.

 

[Netserk]

does anyone have a profile of the San Giacomo climb from stage 5?

No, but the overall stats from the stage profile is 11.8 km at 6.3 %.

 

[Netserk]

New High Temperature Protocol among measures to protect riders' health in 2024

www.uci.org

H/t @ammattipyoraily

New High Temperature Protocol among measures to protect riders' health in 2024​

UCI21 Dec 2023

---

Just a few weeks before the 2024 UCI Women’s WorldTour and UCI WorldTour get underway in Australia with the Santos Tour Down Under (12 January for the women and four days later for the men), the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) provides an update on measures to protect riders’ health for the upcoming season.
The newest element among the UCI’s safety measures is a protocol to be introduced in the first part of the season, after finalisation and approval, to deal with high temperatures at road races. This will be in addition to the Extreme Weather Protocol, introduced by the UCI in 2015, which covers all adverse weather conditions, not just those associated with high temperatures. In view of the climate changes that the world has been facing in recent years, the UCI wishes to better define the optimal conditions for organising road races in hot climates, with a new High Temperature Protocol.
The components of this protocol will remain the same as those of the existing Extreme Weather Protocol: when conditions at an event necessitate, a working group will be convened by the President of the Commissaires Panel at the request of the UCI, the teams, the riders or the organisers, to agree on an action plan to mitigate the risks to riders’ health and safety.
The aims of the new High Temperature Protocol are to provide a practical and easy-to-use objective assessment of the environment - based on temperature and relative humidity data published in real time by weather stations - and to propose measures to be taken by organisers and teams to reduce the risk of heat-related accidents. Such recommendations could be, for example, moving start zones to shaded areas, supplying teams with cold drinks and crushed ice during the race, increasing the number of refueling motorbikes, altering the start time or potentially neutralising sections of the race. It should be understood that these measures will only be recommendations, depending on the severity of the climatic conditions, and their application will remain the responsibility of the working group.
The UCI’s Medical Director Professor Xavier Bigard presented the protocol to cycling stakeholders at the UCI Women’s WorldTour and UCI WorldTour Seminar in Lausanne, Switzerland, last week. It will now be submitted to the UCI Management Committee for approval at its next meeting, to be held in Prague, Czechia, from 31 January to 2 February 2024.
Also with a view to the new road season, the UCI issues a reminder that the UCI’s Tramadol Programme will come to an end on 31 December 2023 due to the introduction of the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) ban on the substance in competition from 1 January 2024. The presence of tramadol in riders' bodies will therefore be investigated as part of the anti-doping programme implemented in cycling by the International Testing Agency (ITA).
It should be remembered that this substance has been banned from cycling competitions since March 2019 for medical reasons (risk of drowsiness and addiction), and not because it improves performance. Noteworthy elements from the UCI’s testing programme - based on the analysis of dried blood spots using a scientifically validated method – include the following:

• nearly 2200 tests were carried out at the finish of road races;
• three cases of use of this substance were identified, all of which were first offences and resulted in disqualification from the event in question and a fine;
• the prevalence of tramadol use in cycling fell from between 4% and 6% before March 2019, to between 0.2% and 0.5% after that date.

Still on the topic of rider safety, the UCI stresses the importance of the Concussion Protocol. Concussion is a brain injury that needs to be detected, diagnosed and treated to ensure full recovery of the brain functions affected.
Although a protocol validated by international scientific bodies already existed for the rapid diagnosis of concussion, the UCI adapted and transposed the protocol so it could reply to the specificities of cycling’s different disciplines, including road cycling.
While the diagnosis of concussion remains a medical matter, the detection of the first signs of concussion concerns all those involved in cycling who are not health professionals (team members, mechanics, Commissaires, officials, the riders themselves, etc.). The UCI has developed recognition tools for this purpose, which are available to everyone by means of a simple QR code.
It is an obligation to declare any case of concussion to the UCI Medical Department, and to declare any return to competition of the rider concerned, using the documents available on the UCI website.
Another health protocol, which at this stage has been judged no longer necessary for the 2024 season, is that relating to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Covid-19 Protocol was introduced by the UCI in June 2020 for the prevention of infections by the virus responsible for Covid-19. This protocol, which has since been regularly adapted in line with the state of the pandemic, enabled road races to resume rapidly at the height of the pandemic.
The virus is still circulating today, and with the winter season, there has been a slight resumption of the epidemic. Thanks to extensive vaccination campaigns, however, forms of the disease remain relatively mild, including in susceptible individuals.
Wearing a mask, hand hygiene and ventilating enclosed spaces - all effective measures during a pandemic - are still relevant. People who test positive are no longer obliged to isolate, but the continuation of barrier measures remains essential. These are the responsibility of team doctors as part of standard prevention against respiratory infectious diseases.
UCI President David Lappartient said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our cyclists are of the utmost importance. That is why the UCI is continually working to respond to new situations and adapt its protocols in line with the changing environment in which cyclists evolve. I am delighted by the work that the UCI, led by Professor Xavier Bigard, has carried out with a view to establishing a High Temperature Protocol, and I also encourage all cycling stakeholders to familiarise themselves with the Concussion Protocol. When it comes to the use of tramadol, I am extremely satisfied with the work that the UCI has carried out to rid this from cycling and welcome WADA’s ban on this substance from the beginning of next year.”

 

[gavia88]

Tirreno 2024 route:

H/t @ammattipyoraily

Lacking a good hilly stage, but nice to see the mountain(s) around Cagli used in the race, unfortunately as a simple uphill finish this time and after the better stage. I don't get why they don't climb San Giacomo from Ascoli Piceno, but it's also nice to see a new side used.

oei, very disappointing route

 

[nightowl]

No, but the overall stats from the stage profile is 11.8 km at 6.3 %.

The middle 7km is at ~7% which might be enough to make attacking possible especially early season. It would rely on some aggressive tactics though.

 

[awavey]

and not a thing of value was lost.

That's unfair imo

 

[Leadbelly]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1738150506244026610

View: https://twitter.com/VoltaCatalunya/status/1738150506244026610


No surprises.

 

[Izzyeviel]

That's unfair imo

They do owe me a lot of money.

 

[Wyndbrook]

and not a thing of value was lost.

Isle of Wight resident by chance?

 

[Max Rockatansky]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1739705346812211711

View: https://twitter.com/LasterketaBurua/status/1739705346812211711/photo/1


Mother of God...this looks incredibly hard. Mount Kigali is the highest point at 1.772m.

 

[Squire]

Lenny Martinez world champion confirmed.