Radios are gone?

[Race Radio]

http://www.velonews.com/article/98391/uci-votes-to-ban-radios

Some more good news from the UCI. Of course the teams will whine so much they will make Cadel look calm and rational.

 

[Anonymous]

just read this on liggets twitter...

um...

OM*G

 

[flicker]

radios

I feel that the radios should be eliminated. The riders need to make their own decisions. The riders need to know how to react without a comforting voice.
Also the team cars need to get out of the way of racers. I see team cars dragging teams around.

I know it will be tough for Lance, without Johann there to boss the minions.
Hopefully Taylor Phinney won't shrivel up without Axels' "husky sexy Belgian" accent to comfort him.

I know the Princesses on 2 wheels will cry and shriek without their radio, but man up Fabian and Lance.

 

[Race Radio]

I feel that the radios should be eliminated. The riders need to make their own decisions. The riders need to know how to react without a comforting voice.
Also the team cars need to get out of the way of racers. I see team cars dragging teams around.

I know it will be tough for Lance, without Johann there to boss the minions.
Hopefully Taylor Phinney won't shrivel up without Axels' "husky sexy Belgian" accent to comfort him.

I know the Princesses on 2 wheels will cry and shriek without their radio, but man up Fabian and Lance.

Agreed. Radios were a step backward. It will be good to see real racing again, not calculators.

 

[Moondance]

Hmmmm, the teams will scream bloody murder I imagine. I'm gonna wait before there actually is an implementation plan before I organize a funeral.

 

[BroDeal]

http://www.velonews.com/article/98391/uci-votes-to-ban-radios

Some more good news from the UCI. Of course the teams will whine so much they will make Cadel look calm and rational.

Looks like you will have to change your name again. This has been way too long in coming.

I cannot wait to see the hissy fit that Bruyneel throws. The protest at the TdF was disgraceful.

 

[Boleyn]

Looks like you will have to change your name again. This has been way too long in coming.

I cannot wait to see the hissy fit that Bruyneel throws. The protest at the TdF was disgraceful.

Well, JB and LA can always withdraw their application for a PT License for Team Retirement Shack if they don't like it, or the UCI can say "you want a license? Then no radios!"

 

[Boeing]

http://www.velonews.com/article/98391/uci-votes-to-ban-radios

Some more good news from the UCI. Of course the teams will whine so much they will make Cadel look calm and rational.

Dude that is funny. For and Aussi Cadel whinges more than a Kiwi.

Radio didn't help bring back Lotto boys to pull Cadel back to the front after his flat either. hahahahaha

 

[Anonymous]

And they should make them use steel bikes weighing 20-21lbs with 7-8 spd downtube shifters as well... In fact, get rid of carbon altogether! LOL! It's technology and a natural progression of the sport.

The past is exactly that, the past. You can't relive or revive racing of old because you miss the way it used to be. Like it or not radios are a part of the sport.

Get rid of it in the lower ranks to teach kids tactics and what-not but when you step up to the big boys where the field is more even in terms of fitness, ability and experience then you get to play with big boy toys.

If you get rid of that aspect of technology then you better get rid of everything else that has come along over the last 20+ years, according to this group think-tank.

 

[Race Radio]

And they should make them use steel bikes weighing 20-21lbs with 7-8 spd downtube shifters as well... In fact, get rid of carbon altogether! LOL! It's technology and a natural progression of the sport.

The past is exactly that, the past. You can't relive or revive racing of old because you miss the way it used to be. Like it or not radios are a part of the sport.

Get rid of it in the lower ranks to teach kids tactics and what-not but when you step up to the big boys where the field is more even in terms of fitness, ability and experience then you get to play with big boy toys.

If you get rid of that aspect of technology then you better get rid of everything else that has come along over the last 20+ years, according to this group think-tank.

This is a weak argument for radios as they do nothing to make a rider faster like wheels, frames, etc.

Radios were a step backward in the sport. They allowed the riders to be nothing more then engines with the DS calling all the shots.

Banning radios is a step forward for the sport.

 

[titan_90]

We haven't heard the end of this. The teams and riders wont let them go without a fight.

 

[sashimono]

A few years ago OLN put a camera in the team car with Bruyneel and all he did with the radio was yell "go, go, go, go, go, boys, go, go, go, go, go" et cetera.

If I were riding for Bruyneel, I'd be delighted.

 

[Race Radio]

Looks like you will have to change your name again.

No need. There will still be a race radio. For decades every team car has had a Race Radio and this is the radio I took my username from.

The Race Radio receives information that is broadcast from various commissars in moto's and cars. If there is a crash they say "Shunt" followed by the race number involved. They relay the numbers of the rider in the break, who has their hand up for assistance etc. The break will also get info from the chalk board. For all UCI races the info is broadcast in French and English.

The team radios are a control issue, nothing more.

 

[Anonymous]

For a Pro, at what point do the carbon wheels and frames make you faster when the weight limitations are all the same between teams? It's the engine that makes you faster or better than the next guy on any given day.

Race radios should stay put because it still takes a rider's ability to win. And when the poop hits the fan the good riders will still use their best judgement and make tactical decisions themselves. Just ask AC in this year's Tour.

But how about coming to a happy meduim? Would you be more apt to let the radios stay if only one rider on each team had the radio? That would certainly change race tactics. Food for thought...

 

[Race Radio]

For a Pro, at what point do the carbon wheels and frames make you faster when the weight limitations are all the same between teams? It's the engine that makes you faster or better than the next guy on any given day.

Race radios should stay put because it still takes a rider's ability to win. And when the poop hits the fan the good riders will still use their best judgement and make tactical decisions themselves. Just ask AC in this year's Tour.

But how about coming to a happy meduim? Would you be more apt to let the radios stay if only one rider on each team had the radio? That would certainly change race tactics. Food for thought...

Carbon frames, Wheels, Egropower shifters, were all in production prior to the introduction of the weight limit. Many would say that todays best wheels are just knock off's of 10 year old Lightweights/ADA's that Ulrich and Riis won Tours on.

I am looking forward to the return to more unpredictable racing that rewards riders who are smart as well as strong.

 

[egtalbot]

If you get rid of that aspect of technology then you better get rid of everything else that has come along over the last 20+ years, according to this group think-tank.

I could take or leave radios, but how exactly does your statement follow? Some technology is allowed and other technology is not. We don't allow aerobars in a road race. We require bikes have certain characteristics even though there are plenty of designs out there different than what is allowed.

If you want to make a reasoned argument for keeping radios, I'm sure it would get reasoned responses even if they disagreed, but just saying we can't get rid of technology because we haven't gotten rid of technology is a pretty weak argument.

 

[flicker]

Radio silenc

Pro cyclists will keep race radios. Between the scandels and radios pro cycling will wither up and die. Oh well.
At least I can ride my bike and make decisions without analysis by my director sportive.
Like American football cycling becomes more predictable and duller through radios and scandal.

 

[Cobber]

Looks like you will have to change your name again. This has been way too long in coming.

I cannot wait to see the hissy fit that Bruyneel throws. The protest at the TdF was disgraceful.

Damn you beat me to it!

I agree with above posters that removing radios is a good idea. Some good news from the UCI, for a change!

 

[thehog]

No need. There will still be a race radio. For decades every team car has had a Race Radio and this is the radio I took my username from.

The Race Radio receives information that is broadcast from various commissars in moto's and cars. If there is a crash they say "Shunt" followed by the race number involved. They relay the numbers of the rider in the break, who has their hand up for assistance etc. The break will also get info from the chalk board. For all UCI races the info is broadcast in French and English.

The team radios are a control issue, nothing more.

Correct. One way radio communication will still be allowed. The only change is the rider cannot radio back to the team car.

 

[pedaling squares]

I would love to see a season without team radios to see what difference it makes. I suspect that with better advance planning and decisions being made in the peloton by experienced road captains, we'd see some very interesting races. I don't see a parallel between these radios and advances in equipment. Apples and oranges. The radios don't improve the cyclist's ability to ride, they only allow communication between rider and DS. You will still get that communication when cars are alongside riders, it just won't be as constant and as instant as it currently is. Riders will have to make more tactical decisions. I would like to see the team cars once again be support vehicles instead of control pods. Just don't give The Hog a bloody loud-hailer.

 

[Anonymous]

Correct. One way radio communication will still be allowed. The only change is the rider cannot radio back to the team car.

so really it theyve got it the wrong way around...

the team can still control the race, but the riders cant call for medical or mechanical assistance...

i wouldnt worry, garmin are building text messaging into the next sat nav..

 

[derailleur]

And they should make them use steel bikes weighing 20-21lbs with 7-8 spd downtube shifters as well... In fact, get rid of carbon altogether! LOL! It's technology and a natural progression of the sport.

Agreed.

Henry Desgrange prohibited everything in the early years of the Tour. Freewheels, derailleurs, sponsors, mechanics, even deliberately leading a rider to give him your draft.

His goal was to make the sport more a pure test of a rider's endurance and strength. But that denies the most basic feature of the sport: the bicycle is a mechanical and ergonomic advantage for the human body. To achieve his goal he would have had to turn the TdF into a footrace (although he almost did when he introduced the mountains and their unpaved, rutted, muddy roads, forcing riders to push their bikes up).

Once you put the bicycle in the system, you might as well allow all of the paraphernalia and competitive methods that don't involve producing the energy for the rider.

Letting a team coordinate itself over the radio doesn't change the fact that the riders on the team have to have the skill and power to carry out the plan.

 

[sully67]

race radios

This is the best news of the year.I was thinking if pro cycling doesnt get out of this rut of predictabilty of either one of the two: A team like Columbia calculating and reeling in a breakaway in the last K's or like Astana marking and covering every threat on a climb by its team of bought off rivals then we're in for another awful season of predictable racing.Who is with me on the TDF as one of the worst stage races in racing history.Great job U.C.I by banning radios.

 

[hfer07]

Radio shack/LA/Bruyneel will lead the campaign against radio banning- and as always, UCI/Pat McQuaid will bend over and remove it to please them....

 

[sully67]

race radios

I say let them do all the doping they want because they are obviously still doing it.Just hand over the radios and return to real racing.Does anyone buy that Valverde is riding clean. I dont think I saw him really suffer the whole Vuelta.Ive heard of poker face but at least look like your breathing on a 10% climb.