Race Radio?

[krebs303]

I am going the way of no radio. I enjoyed in the ToC when the radios went down.
I grow a little weary of the computerized chase.

 

[mr. tibbs]

Race radio = lame

 

[cyclelicious]

When riders/team cars start texting back and forth maybe I'll say get rid of all modern conveniences.

Race radio is part of modern racing. Deal with it.

 

[Henri Desgrange]

Race radio leads to sterile racing, which leaves many riders unable to think for themselves, I understand that they are needed for safety reasons, but there is no way they should be used to give time gaps of breaks and who is in them. Make riders think for themselves!

 

[Argon Man]

And keep the guys with the chalk board on the motorbikes in a job

 

[wewallac]

When riders/team cars start texting back and forth maybe I'll say get rid of all modern conveniences.

Race radio is part of modern racing. Deal with it.

not exactly adding to the conversation or being constructive.

I agree, I think race radios make the racing predictable and the racers become robots. You don?t see hockey or football players carrying radios and making plays based on orders. In pro tennis they don't even allow the players to speak to their coaches. The fact that these sports make the players think for themselves and make split second decisions on their own creates much more excitement.

 

[cyclelicious]

not exactly adding to the conversation or being constructive.

I agree, I think race radios make the racing predictable and the racers become robots. You don?t see hockey or football players carrying radios and making plays based on orders. In pro tennis they don't even allow the players to speak to their coaches. The fact that these sports make the players think for themselves and make split second decisions on their own creates much more excitement.

point taken wewallac

It's a team effort to get the team leader to the finish in the shortest time possible. Team strategy is part of the game. Race radio is a tool for doing that and one all teams have equal access to. As for predictable racing I feel most of the races this season with the exception of TOC have been anything but predictable.

Is there anyone besides Di Luca who doesn't use race radio?

I'm not well versed on Hockey and Football but aren't the coaches sending in plays?

 

[Notso Swift]

When riders/team cars start texting back and forth maybe I'll say get rid of all modern conveniences.

Race radio is part of modern racing. Deal with it.

Actually I would be more in favour of text messages than radio, you could limit the information and frequency so that only important information came (safety issues, crash) and time gaps were given at (say 5km) intervals, simple handle bar mount, weigh about 50 grams, you could have official, team or single rider texts.
Think laterally!

 

[Greg Johnson]

Race radio leads to sterile racing, which leaves many riders unable to think for themselves, I understand that they are needed for safety reasons, but there is no way they should be used to give time gaps of breaks and who is in them. Make riders think for themselves!

Indeed. I'd like to see a safety radio. A channel solely for safety information which only the race director or a nominated person UCI/event official can broadcast over.

Spice it up a little.

Cheers
Greg Johnson

 

[LugHugger]

My personal opinion is that race radio sterilizes racing. I've also heard the suggestion that only the team captain on the road wears a radio and that it becomes his responsibility to pass team orders during the race. This could make for some interesting riding and team tactics. Of course, this doesn't address the safety issues that exponents of race radio always use when justifying it's universal application. Playing devil's advocate here, if lack of race radio led to lower average speeds in races on safety grounds, would this improve racing as both a spectacle and pharmaceutical event? Discuss.

 

[tifosa]

Race radio is part of current racing tactics.

That's not to say things can't or won't change.

Get rid of the race radio. I would very much like to see a rider rely on his own ambition and instinct--which cannot be "coached" by earpiece. If a rider needs and earpiece with his DS yelling "VENGA! VENGA! VENGA!" for 200k, or yelling the time splits during a ITT, the spontaneity and individual drive to push yourself to race is lost.

 

[Angliru]

When riders/team cars start texting back and forth maybe I'll say get rid of all modern conveniences.

Race radio is part of modern racing. Deal with it.

It is only necessary as a means of maintaining the utmost safety for the competitors. If it were allowed exclusively to be for race officials to inform the riders of potential dangers on the road that would be ideal. The fact that they have experimented with teams not using them means it is not a done deal. It has been shown that the racing is less predictable and more exciting minus race radios in the team cars.