Radioshack facing 2 month suspension

[Anonymous]

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/5...riders-suspended-for-Worlds-and-Lombardy.aspx

holy mother of mary, is it april fools day..

On the heels of RadioShack manager Johan Bruyneel's last minute effort to secure an invitation to the Giro di Lombardia Classic, Belgian paper Het Laatste Nieuws is reporting that the team's entire Tour de France squad could be suspended for up to two months. The action is reportedly a result of disciplinary proceedings held by the International Cycling Union (UCI) for breaching the regulations governing riders’ clothing during the final stage of the Tour de France.

Frankly if this happens I will be stunned (and highly amused)

 

[ansimi]

Most of those guys probably wouldn't notice the suspension. I wouldn't want any of their national teams to suffer suspension from Worlds though.

 

[Moondance]

Don't worry. They'll be suspended from November till the first of January. These thing never turn out to be as severe as people think.

 

[hrotha]

I hope they don't because this is silly.

 

[Anonymous]

I hope they don't because this is silly.

i dont think so, I was in paris, everything got delayed because of lance and his silly antics, and then they were parading around paris in their silly shirts. rules are rules, if the uci dont do anything then it gives teams the option to wear whatever they like on the podium.

Wonder how radioshack felt not having their shirts on the podium.

 

[Race Radio]

This is nothing more then a pathetic attempt by the UCI trying to show that Lance's $500,000 payoff did not buy him anything.

So they will suspend them in the off season for wearing the wrong kit but ignore Landis?

The UCI is a joke.

 

[janraaskalt]

It's always a parade during the last stage of the Tour. Several riders are switching shirts, including National Champ jerseys, sometimes even Tour de France leader jerseys. Or they ride in police suits or any clothes they can find. Would be stupid to select just 1 team and ban them without warning.

 

[hrotha]

i dont think so, I was in paris, everything got delayed because of lance and his silly antics, and then they were parading around paris in their silly shirts. rules are rules, if the uci dont do anything then it gives teams the option to wear whatever they like on the podium.

Wonder how radioshack felt not having their shirts on the podium.

Punish the team, not the riders who didn't have a say in the whole mess.

 

[theswordsman]

Does anyone believe the riders were forced to do it against their will? Remember the Team Faded, when one of the Kazakh riders wore the regular jersey with all sponsors showing?

If it's true that jerseys were exchanged in the past, they would have been approved jerseys at the start.

The long delay at the start ran the risk of TV conflicts at the end of the coverage. And some guys still had some serious racing to do in Paris. How about the thousands of people along the route that were kept waiting in the July sun? What if fans in Spain were unable to watch Contador on the podium because a team couldn't be arsed to get the jerseys approved?

Then, they still hadn't had enough, so they broke the rules again, despite a warning, by wearing the jerseys on the podium.

If they don't get punished, then individuals in the future can wear anything they want and expect to get away with it.

 

[roundabout]

A fine is enough.

 

[Francois the Postman]

A fine is enough.

I think the sponsor had promised to pay that.

So the only appropriate punishment would be something that sponsors can't simply waive away, if the UCI wants this to have any preventative meaning.

 

[roundabout]

Is there a middle ground? A ban because of the jerseys seems too draconian to me.

 

[Francois the Postman]

Is there a middle ground? A ban because of the jerseys seems too draconian to me.

Derailing and hi-jacking the flagship event for your own purposes, then repeat offending later that day? Delaying a showcase with broadcasting implications globally?

Sounds to me that a (near) off-season ban is the middle ground, given that they themselves have nullified the fine as a punishment and a deterrent.

 

[janraaskalt]

Delaying a showcase with broadcasting implications globally?

Is that an offence? Ban the whole peloton for riding too slow.

If team Radioshack did something seriously they are not allowed, disqualify them from that event. Now some riders will be affected, while others have no problem.

 

[offbyone]

i dont think so, I was in paris, everything got delayed because of lance and his silly antics, and then they were parading around paris in their silly shirts. rules are rules, if the uci dont do anything then it gives teams the option to wear whatever they like on the podium.

Wonder how radioshack felt not having their shirts on the podium.

The last day of the tour de france is suppose to be full of silly antics. This is over the top. If they really want to do something then fine them, but suspending the riders, c'mon.

 

[Francois the Postman]

Is that an offence? Ban the whole peloton for riding too slow.

If team Radioshack did something seriously they are not allowed, disqualify them from that event. Now some riders will be affected, while others have no problem.

No, but when TV stations pay the TDF organisers great sums of money and schedule it in their program, it is the task of those responsible to make sure that the race takes place as scheduled, and avoidable delays do not take place. Any chance in the allotted window has great consequences for many of the broadcasters, some more than others (and the longer the delay, the bigger the impact, etc).

So only delays that occur due to the way the racing itself develops are reasonable.

Surely you can see the difference between a race coming in late due to a slow pace and a race that is disrupted by one team intended to flout the rules for a private stunt that would detract from the normal race (and its rightful winners, their sponsors, etc). These jersey rules are there for very good reasons.

I'm less bothered by that it was just 15 minutes, than that RadioShack felt it was perfectly ok for them to place the Tour Organisers in an awkward spot regarding its obligations to a whole host of people it has contracts with, without consultation.

And yes they broke rules. We are talking about appropriate penalty, not if they were out of bounds.

 

[Andrichuk]

they'll be suspended from november till the first of january.

oh nooo!!!!

 

[Benotti69]

Punish the team, not the riders who didn't have a say in the whole mess.

well maybe 1 had a big say in the whole shenanigans

 

[hrotha]

well maybe 1 had a big say in the whole shenanigans

That's why I didn't put a comma between "riders" and "who"

 

[peloton]

Wonder how radioshack felt not having their shirts on the podium.

This.

I find it incredible they go on the podium not wearing their sponsors jersey???

 

[soOpOSMthanks!]

If team Radioshack did something seriously they are not allowed, disqualify them from that event.

RIGHT ON!

Oh...wait...what they did WASN'T/ISN'T allowed.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

They should have simply told RSH to change their shirts at the time, and told the rest of the race carry on and leave them behind. If they wanted to retain their team classification lead, they could have tried to TTT to catch up with the peloton (but GCE might have decided to drive the peloton at higher than typical last day speeds).

 

[Willy_Voet]

Once again, the UCI misses the point and looks to enforce the most insignificant rule.

The race is about publicity. Remember Cipollini/Saeco and all their shinnanigans? There were probably 10 different uniform/bike issues over a 2 year period. So long as the team is all wearing the same jersey, it's the ****ing team jersey. Racing was over, last day is a parade.

How about focusing on drugs, eliminating stupid equipment rules (try using a Selle Italia Flight saddle when you're 5'6" without sawing the tip off...), and really supporting races (ASO is winning this with Tour du Faso).

Come to think of it, I think the UCI exists purely to set the sport back. The whole "mondialisation" bit the ProTour seeks has been almost exclusively been executed by the ASO.

 

[Arnout]

Once again, the UCI misses the point and looks to enforce the most insignificant rule.

The race is about publicity. Remember Cipollini/Saeco and all their shinnanigans? There were probably 10 different uniform/bike issues over a 2 year period. So long as the team is all wearing the same jersey, it's the ****ing team jersey. Racing was over, last day is a parade.

How about focusing on drugs, eliminating stupid equipment rules (try using a Selle Italia Flight saddle when you're 5'6" without sawing the tip off...), and really supporting races (ASO is winning this with Tour du Faso).

Come to think of it, I think the UCI exists purely to set the sport back. The whole "mondialisation" bit the ProTour seeks has been almost exclusively been executed by the ASO.

Whereas everyone knew Mario was trying to be funny (which he was) and RadioShack had other goals with their action.

But before judging, I would like to know the facts as I was abroad during the last stage and didn't watch it.

What happened exactly in terms of time, protests and time after they were ordered to change their outfits?

 

[luckyboy]

Whereas everyone knew Mario was trying to be funny (which he was) and RadioShack had other goals with their action.

But before judging, I would like to know the facts as I was abroad during the last stage and didn't watch it.

What happened exactly in terms of time, protests and time after they were ordered to change their outfits?

They wore the black kits from the start, then were ordered to change. Then they wore them again on the podium.