Reduce the Number of Cars and Motos!

[jmdirt]

drones, we need more drones

100% agree!

 

[RedheadDane]

My favorite shots are the bike-mounted cameras. I thought we’d see more of them.

I just wish they'd stop writing the name of the "camera carrier" on the screen.
Don't know how many times I've gone "That's not... oh... he's the one who has the camera on..."

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I understand that drone technology isn't ready yet to cover an entire race, but you would expect more drones to be used for specific parts and scenarios. Yesterday on Pradel, was a perfect scenario for instance. Steep climb, narrow road, mountain pass... Heavy motors get in the way of riders and team cars, have difficulty riding a slow pace alongside riders because these motos with 2 people and camera equipment can weigh 450-500kg. They risk overheating or falling over at these slow speeds, with plenty of potential issues as a result (rider safety, spectator safety, influencing race dynamics etc).
Another example is the last kilometer before the finish, perfect for drone footage. Also certain sectors in Paris Roubaix, where motos are an actual danger to riders as well as to spectators. Ideal for drone footage. Let motos take a detour and get back on the main roads. Drone technology is already good enough for these scenarios. Organisers, UCI should gain experience, so that whenever the technology is ready for longer flights, farther range, better image quality, that at that time the transition can happen quick and easily.

 

[Wyndbrook]

Definitely need more drones, but I'm not sure what's Pogs problem, was , a decent lead and not going to be caught, just sit back and the let the police clear the way. Less risky than riding into the throng alone.

 

[jmdirt]

I understand that drone technology isn't ready yet to cover an entire race, but you would expect more drones to be used for specific parts and scenarios. Yesterday on Pradel, was a perfect scenario for instance. Steep climb, narrow road, mountain pass... Heavy motors get in the way of riders and team cars, have difficulty riding a slow pace alongside riders because these motos with 2 people and camera equipment can weigh 450-500kg. They risk overheating or falling over at these slow speeds, with plenty of potential issues as a result (rider safety, spectator safety, influencing race dynamics etc).
Another example is the last kilometer before the finish, perfect for drone footage. Also certain sectors in Paris Roubaix, where motos are an actual danger to riders as well as to spectators. Ideal for drone footage. Let motos take a detour and get back on the main roads. Drone technology is already good enough for these scenarios. Organisers, UCI should gain experience, so that whenever the technology is ready for longer flights, farther range, better image quality, that at that time the transition can happen quick and easily.

They may be ready now.

 

[awavey]

Definitely need more drones, but I'm not sure what's Pogs problem, was , a decent lead and not going to be caught, just sit back and the let the police clear the way. Less risky than riding into the throng alone.

theres nothing worse on a climb when youre in a rhythm that your managing your effort on, to find you have to ease off like that, because its really difficult to pick up the same cadence again, it can be very disruptive which can mean you lose time.

which obviously none of the riders chasing suffer, because by then the police riders are doing their job properly and clearing the crowds.

as for drones, the problem is always going to be rider safety the drones will have to operate some distance away from the riders at the least, and how you get the pictures back to broadcast.

and it still means your drone pilot has to be moving alongside with the race, they cant as they do at CX or in skiing stand on a hillside and wait just for the race to pass, and the easiest way to do that is in a vehicle, so are we really solving the problem using drones, or just because it looks different favouring it as new tech.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

as for drones, the problem is always going to be rider safety the drones will have to operate some distance away from the riders at the least, and how you get the pictures back to broadcast.

and it still means your drone pilot has to be moving alongside with the race, they cant as they do at CX or in skiing stand on a hillside and wait just for the race to pass, and the easiest way to do that is in a vehicle, so are we really solving the problem using drones, or just because it looks different favouring it as new tech.

On a climb, you can have drones really close to the riders, as they can hover over the cliff or rockside. You can also have multiple drone operators in one vehicle (like a van) which can be hundreds of meters ahead or behind the riders, so unlike cameramotors they don't need to be riding among the cyclists directly disrupting the flow of the riders and causing all sorts of danger.
As for broadcast, not much would need to change. All the equipment that is on each cameramotor to relay the feed to the plane, should be able to fit in the van.

 

[jmdirt]

as for drones, the problem is always going to be rider safety the drones will have to operate some distance away from the riders at the least, and how you get the pictures back to broadcast.

and it still means your drone pilot has to be moving alongside with the race, they cant as they do at CX or in skiing stand on a hillside and wait just for the race to pass, and the easiest way to do that is in a vehicle, so are we really solving the problem using drones, or just because it looks different favouring it as new tech.

Logic mosgtly answered this, but I'll emphasize that the vehicle (moto, car...) with a camera has to be very near the riders, while a drone vehicle doesn't.

Two other points to address: 1) Its not new tech, and 2) there are virtually no safety concerns. In comparison to all of the other methods drones would be musch safer.

I posted this in 2016:
"There is a guy here who makes videos of cyclocross races using a "homing device" mounted on his bike. He programs the parameters for the CQ (how high, how far ahead/behind it follows, zoom, etc...). In three years, he has had zero fall out of the sky while filming (CX is only an hour so I don't know how that will translate to longer races). His CQs even avoid objects automatically (trees, bridges, signs, people...)."

 

[RedheadDane]

Question.
There's a tower on the top of Mont Ventoux, how far could someone standing in that tower reach with a drone?
Use the tower as a vantage point to see when the riders are close enough to use the drone.

And I'm pretty sure there are other mountains that have towers on top. In fact, I know there are.