Radio Ban is silly

[Carboncrank]

radios should be for rider safety only imo not for tactical use. i hate seeing brakes get chased down right at the line consistently.

Are you under the impression breaks didn't get chased down before radios?

 

[Mellow Velo]

Are you under the impression breaks didn't get chased down before radios?

Reading selectively again, are we?
Which of consistently or on the line, are in line with your blind eye?

 

[Carboncrank]

+1
Simple solution. A neutral channel speaking to riders and the DS.

1 way? It's the riders that usually point out the hazards.

2 way? Subterfuge. Ever hear a race car diver talk about debris on a course that the officials can't find?

Who makes it? Guarantees it can't be tampered with? and pays for it?

For what? To indulge some romantic notions of cycling's glorious past.

 

[bianchigirl]

CC do you actually have any knowledge of the sport's glorious past? I only ask because you come across as if the sport was some sort of club ride until 1999 and the advent of 'SuperLance' and his finely tuned Ferrari engine.

Of course breaks got caught but did you never cheer on Chiapucci as he went mano a mano with Indurain on the road to Sestriere? Perhaps you're not acquainted with 'Chapatte's Theorem' which states that, if a rider has 1 minute advance at 10kms then he will stay away from the peloton (cf Riis at Gap, 1993, who had 56" with 10k to go and was caught metres from the line)? But it was far more enjoyable watching riders think and ride for themselves instead of being little more than robots on bikes.

 

[elapid]

I feel pledged to help you out here. The incident your're referring to took place during stage 16 of the tour de france year 2000.

The most fun part from this story, is that Pantani posed no threat in the GC, it was simply a matter of arrogance/pride.
Armstrong was so psyched that he forgot to eat, and as a natural consequence he bonked on the tough climb of Col de Joux Plane

Actually Pantani didn't even participate in the 1999 edition. Which is evident in the following link.

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1999/tour99/tour99teams.html

Thanks Bike Boy. I knew the story roughly, but was uncertain of the details.

 

[nightfend]

In fact, I highly doubt Lance would have won the World Championship had race radios been around back then.

 

[fatandfast]

This is handing a kid a knife and telling him to cut up a potato. If he's only used a food processor he doesn't know any other way. The is a long pre-radio history that says it can work. It's not like they are asking to go back to toe straps and wool shorts

 

[Bike Boy]

Thanks Bike Boy. I knew the story roughly, but was uncertain of the details.

You're Welcome. Fun story had to bring it up.
Didn't know about the phone call until much later though. Last year I read about in a procycling magazine, the first I heard of it.

 

[Carboncrank]

CC do you actually have any knowledge of the sport's glorious past? I only ask because you come across as if the sport was some sort of club ride until 1999 and the advent of 'SuperLance' and his finely tuned Ferrari engine.

My interest began with Indurain, but it wasn't that easy to follow much cycling here in America. I've become more interested as there's been more coverage here, and then came the net.

Cycling does have a glorious past. So does soccer, baseball and downhill skiing.

I understand that it's natural to be protective of the sport you love best.

I don't favor taking radios out of Formula One either.

 

[smittyjs]

The safety issue is moot, several studies have shown no difference in either the number of accidents or the number of injuries.

If this is an issue let riders carry a radio for emergency purposes only in case of an accident. With all the coverage done from the air and a myriad of cars and cycles it would seem that the safety problem is covered.

At the highest levels radios are still allowed according to what I read. Even so it would be great to see that riders will both be allowed and required to make decisions as to how to carry out the team plan for the day. I agree with forty four

Let the chess board be played out by the riders and not in the chase car. IMO a great step backward.

 

[Barracuda]

What the ???? Are we serious ..

Simple answer is to leave as is ..... just because a DS says jump doesnt mean that the jockey can do it ..... bit like the coach of a footy side pulling the strings ... the cattle on the park still have to produce the goods.

Leave them in the cars and let the chess games unfold.

What happens when the radios are down in the mountains, do the Domestiques rely the messages in that case ???

 

[robow7]

To add to elapid's list, wasn't it the 2000 Olympics when LA's radio was having problems all day and Ulrich and teamate were able to slip away from the breakaway and Lance didn't know they had gone until it was too late.

 

[Inner Peace]

The safety issue supporting radios is a bogus argument.

- CYCLING IS DANGEROUS!!! Should we ban cycling? I hear a "hell no!!!"

- Paris-Roubaix is dangerous - we don't ban that do we? Hell no!

- Cycling in the rain is dangerous - do we call off races? Hell no!

- Riding in 35+ degree heat is dangerous - do we call off races? Hell no!

I'm not a big fan of 'rules and regulations and restrictions' in general, but in the case of radios, i'm for the ban...

 

[SpeedWay]

i dont understand why so many people want to go back in time . . .

Anything to return to a world that will never exist again. It shouldn't surprise you that while the rest of the world is making use of communication technology cycling is going the other way. The dumbing down of cycling continues. Race radios are the new PED's. At least they can beat their chests for successfully being able to enforce something while the rest of the civilized world is laughing.

 

[Anonymous]

Anything to return to a world that will never exist again. It shouldn't surprise you that while the rest of the world is making use of communication technology cycling is going the other way. The dumbing down of cycling continues. Race radios are the new PED's. At least they can beat their chests for successfully being able to enforce something while the rest of the civilized world is laughing.

Hang on. You're saying getting rid of radios and making riders think for themselves is cycling dumbing down?

And your "while the rest of the world..." statement is a load of garbage. Cycling isn't a nation/community requiring advanced communications, it's a sport.

 

[Ripper]

Anything to return to a world that will never exist again. It shouldn't surprise you that while the rest of the world is making use of communication technology cycling is going the other way. The dumbing down of cycling continues. Race radios are the new PED's. At least they can beat their chests for successfully being able to enforce something while the rest of the civilized world is laughing.

This is some funny stuff. You are joking, right?

Banning radios does nothing to limit technology. Take a look at all of the technological improvements over the past decade ... lighter and more aerodynamic bikes, power meters, training strategies, etc. Radios have had no impact on these. However, success in many sports has been a combination of attributes that also included racing savvy. It may be an arguable point, but I feel that this savvy has been watered down by the use of radios.

 

[Ripper]

Michael Barry provides an interesting perspective on the radio ban: ... He argues the radio warning of road hazzrds actually make the racing more dangerous

Good point ... to add to it, the racers could just read the race guide.

To address the point of another poster - comparing cycling to racing cars at incredible speeds is not really logical.

 

[dpcowboy]

The Chalkboard

What happened to using the guy on the moto with the chalkboard....seems kinda analog to me, but geez...it always has worked, hasn't it? Radios I have worn, although not in the last five years, and find them annoying as hell. A lot of protour pros say the same thing...there's only so much info or direction, or 'venga, venga,...' one can stomach!

I also favor neutral wheel support, the elimination of all tows (medical and mechanical and otherwise) and caravan pulls back to the bunch, but then...I'm just an old crusty roadie.

 

[bianchigirl]

Sorry Speedway but, outside motor racing, which team sport uses communication technology? Certainly not football/cricket/rugby (are there any other team sports that truly matter? )

 

[theyoungest]

As Bruyneel is adamant to have race radios, you'd think that's enough reason to remove them.

 

[Carboncrank]

Sorry Speedway but, outside motor racing, which team sport uses communication technology? Certainly not football/cricket/rugby (are there any other team sports that truly matter? )

They are used in American football.

The only reason they aren't used in other sports either has to do with no real reason to do so or physical problems in contact sports.

I know of no team sport that prohibits them.

 

[Carboncrank]

Hang on. You're saying getting rid of radios and making riders think for themselves is cycling dumbing down?

And your "while the rest of the world..." statement is a load of garbage. Cycling isn't a nation/community requiring advanced communications, it's a sport.

Well, you certainly aren't making it smarter by reducing communication throughout a team.

 

[Race Radio]

They are used in American football.

The only reason they aren't used in other sports either has to do with no real reason to do so or physical problems in contact sports.

I know of no team sport that prohibits them.

Basketball, soccer, NHL, even in the NFL it is only the quarterback that has a radio

 

[Carboncrank]

Basketball, soccer, NHL, even in the NFL it is only the quarterback that has a radio

they are prohibited. they just aren't practical in contact sports.

 

[Cerberus]

they are prohibited. they just aren't practical in contact sports.

Because God knows that Soccer is such an impoverished sport that a few busted radios would ruin the clubs.