UCI Road World Championships 21st-29th September 2019 - Yorkshire - Race Thread.

[Eyeballs Out]

Also "The incident was immediately reported by the VAR to the jury, but could not be checked until after Eekhoff and the rest of the lead group had crossed the line."

VAR takes over an hour in cycling ? That's even slower than in football

 

[RedheadDane]

In some way I also feel sorry for Battistella. Yes, he's the official UCI U23 Road World Champion, but I suspect he'll always been known as the guy who got the title because another was DQed.
I suppose it's a good thing he's moving up to the WT next year, so he'll never get to ride in the jersey... (or at least not much.)

 

[roundabout]

It's UCI UCIng.

I don't think we're talkinb about incompetence. They frankly don't give a *** about the image of the sport.

As opposed to people who seemingly think it's a right to draft behind the team car to get to the caravan?

 

[Rollthedice]

Nils on twitter:

 

[Pricey_sky]

VAR takes over an hour in cycling ? That's even slower than in football

Yeah that just doesn’t make sense, these things need to be sorted out ASAP to avoid the shambles of today.

If he did indeed do a combination of drafting and holding on to the team car for over a minute, then you always run the risk of these things happening, even though the inconsistency of the UCI is laughable.

 

[Red Rick]

As opposed to people who seemingly think it's a right to draft behind the team car to get to the caravan?

Yeah cause this is absolutely the first time the UCI makes questionable decisions.

 

[roundabout]

Yeah cause this is absolutely the first time the UCI makes questionable decisions.

Yes/no question, is expecting to be taken by your team car back to the convoy good for the image of the sport?

 

[Danskebjerge]

In some way I also feel sorry for Battistella. Yes, he's the official UCI U23 Road World Champion, but I suspect he'll always been known as the guy who got the title because another was DQed.
I suppose it's a good thing he's moving up to the WT next year, so he'll never get to ride in the jersey... (or at least not much.)

You mean, in general - that winning after the disqualification of an opponent is a bad thing? Or is it because the jury's decision in this case is unpopular?

Oscar Pereiro won the Tour de France after Landis was stripped of his victory. I've never felt pity for Pereiro because of that.

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

You mean, in general - that winning after the disqualification of an opponent is a bad thing? Or is it because the jury's decision in this case is unpopular?

Oscar Pereiro won the Tour de France after Landis was stripped of his victory. I've never felt pity for Pereiro because of that.

Bit different, Landis swallowed a bunch of pills that would make Armstrong jealous. Meanwhile Eekhoff drafted behind a car, which every pro has done atleast hundreds of times before retiring.

 

[Danskebjerge]

Bit different, Landis swallowed a bunch of pills that would make Armstrong jealous. Meanwhile Eekhoff drafted behind a car, which every pro has done atleast hundreds of times before retiring.

I'm not sure there was much of a difference back in 2006.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

At this point just disband the UCI all together. They keep messing up everything. What a disgrace today was.

 

[jaylew]

It's a real shame how this went down but his coach has admitted letting him draft the car for "a little over two minutes"

More from the coach in the car:

“If they follow their rules, they are right, but sometimes it’s also good to look at your rules in the way of cycling, and they clearly didn’t do that. It feels like they maybe wanted to make an example or something. It was not the ending this beautiful race deserved.”

“It’s true. I took him behind the car after the crash, but I did it in a decent way. I didn’t put him by the car with the bottle – just behind. I brought him back to the caravan, then he made his own way back to the bunch.”

“I don’t know what is too long. I don’t even know the rules. What I understood – which is now totally false – is that after such an incident you can bring your rider back to the caravan, then he has to move up himself,"

I hate how this all happened but do we want it to be ok to draft behind your team car for over 2 minutes? And how is it possible the coach "didn't know the rules"

 

[Danskebjerge]

I hate how this all happened but do we want it to be ok to draft behind your team car for over 2 minutes?

Well, I don't. Many don't. But there is a long tradition in pro cycling of supporting the riders no matter how many rules they break. So I suppose a lot of enthusiasts will still be angry at the UCI because of this - despite the clear violation.

 

[The Hegelian]

Demare gently smiles......

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

At this point just disband the UCI all together. They keep messing up everything. What a disgrace today was.

The problem here is, that the DS was simply pushing his luck, it seems. Yes, we all know "it happens". Drafting is done all the time after a crash or a mechanical. But for two minutes, and supposedly (from what i read on other forums, like Wielerflits) at speeds of 100km/h... sorry, then you simply are taking advantage and you KNOW the UCI can't let that slide, because if they do, then everybody will do it. Instead of 30 seconds at 70km/h, everybody will be going 100 for 2 minutes; and why stop there.

So the main culprit here seems to be the DS, who didn't really know there are rules that regulate this behaviour. Not Eekhoff. So i'm gutted for this kid, but fck that guy behind the wheel of that car who should have known better.

 

[luckyboy]

Two minutes behind the car is kind of a lot. How much energy would he expend on the same distance without any help? And would he have lost the sprint as a result? Or maybe not even made it back to the front in the finale..

 

[carton]

I will add that for as much as I think they flubbed the execution, and that Eekhoff earned his stripes, this is still a step in the right direction. Caravan surfing is stupid dangerous and often just as fickle as the misfortunes it supposedly addresses.

 

[oldcrank]

He was banned for drafting, not a sticky bottle, just the Anglos making sure one of their own is on the podium, hope him and the agent wins the lawsuit.

Here are UCI's own rules of what to do in case a rider taking advantage of a slipstream behind a vehicle, make up your own minds.

Yup those damn Anglos! Also interesting an Italian and a Swiss were members of the Commissaires Panel ... as well as the small town mayor's brother!!!

 

[movingtarget]

That's how blatant it's become. They know the cameras are on them but they still do it. The sport is paying for letting rule flouting go for years and applying it inconsistently. if they don't apply the rules properly at the senior level what hope in the younger races ? Still the timing was exquisite as usual. The italian couldn't win by sitting on and looked a bit bemused at the finish when he was beaten as if to say , the freshest legs usually win............caravan surfing is part of the sport as you have to get past the vehicles to get back but blatant drafting is different to momentary drafting. Still, I have seen blatant drafting in the TT and nothing has been done so .........maybe also ban fans from standing on traffic islands if they want to get serious for a change.

 

[jaylew]

Honestly can’t tell if you’re being serious or not. If you are, then I ask you to take a deep breath, remember that this was four years ago and adequately punished, and calm down. Hatred of complete strangers, according to various made up studies, is the number one cause of madness in members of cycling forums.

I can't believe you took the bait. He had that one teed up and ready to go.

 

[Pirazziattacks]

I will add that for as much as I think they flubbed the execution, and that Eekhoff earned his stripes, this is still a step in the right direction. Caravan surfing is stupid dangerous and often just as fickle as the misfortunes it supposedly addresses.

It seems to have crept into normal road riding outside of races too, I've seen idiots drafting cars that don't know they're there at 50-60kph on the way to the local crit track. And this was in traffic too, if the car brakes suddenly they're getting sandwiched between two cars. Nuts.

 

[jmdirt]

I agree with eyeballs out , but I just saw a video and DQ was the correct decision. I feel like the UCI needs to be more consistent with motorpacing rules, but this was clearly a violation.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I agree with eyeballs out , but I just saw a video and DQ was the correct decision. I feel like the UCI needs to be more consistent with motorpacing rules, but this was clearly a violation.

I've seen a video (which was actually in the live broadcast because i remember seeing it, thinking he was going insanely fast) where he's being slingshot from behind the car, at an insane speed, blasts past the caravan, which in turn had other riders draft in between cars at a normal speed. He blasts past them as if they were standing still. Then, as his speed starts to drop, the car pulls back up again, and hands him a sticky bottle he gives back his old bottle first and gets pulled. Yes, this was blatant, and not a normal case of "a bit of drafting". If indeed, he had been drafting at such a speed for roughly two minutes (which was info we didn't have during the race), imho, the DSQ is very much deserved and the only one at fault is the DS behind the wheel of the team car. The kid probably thought he was doing nothing wrong because he trusted his DS.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1177646094647476225

View: https://twitter.com/Eurosport_NL/status/1177646094647476225

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1177662328399155200

View: https://twitter.com/alexfalkeman/status/1177662328399155200

 

[wirral]

It is that "superb" Dutch management style giving us yet another Rabofail moment. They are too transparent to do sneaky, too rigid to be adaptable, they panic unnecessarily and when the going gets tough, they surrender. Watch them screw it up somehow for Van der Poel on Sunday.

Rabofail - the gift that just keeps giving.

 

[IndianCyclist]

The problem for UCI was that they did not do the DSQ in race as they have done in the past for fights etc. I would say that someone thought that the guy was injured so he would not be in contention.
The other things about UCI rules is that they are archaic. It is easy to check if somebody is benefiting unduly from drafting. Just compare the total energy spent by a crashed rider returning to a rider in the peloton or just carry out a study in controlled circumstances and formulate a time limit. Some crashes are no fault of the riders except for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.