UCI to ban supertuck descending starting April 1st.

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Jul 1, 2015
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What about the "seat tuck", "superman" and the famed "back down"?

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Can't dissociate 'Superman on a bike' from 'heading into a roadside sign post'
 
May 5, 2010
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I can see some arguments towards banning it, mainly the "Not wanting to give amateurs any ideas" thing. And... that's kind of the point; these guys aren't amateurs! In the pro peloton it's only the guys who know what they're doing who're doing it. I would probably be a little nervous if Zakarin was to attempt it, but then again; I think "a little nervous" might be the default setting whenever Zakarin is descending...

At any rate; I definitely think this should be pretty low on the UCI list of safety priorities. Like... not even on the list until they fix those other issues.
 
Feb 18, 2015
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The weirdest thing here is that there was no incident sparking this or anything. This goes to the extent where I think there is literally not a single case in the pro peloton of a rider crashing because of the supertuck. Like, if the answer to why you can't ride without a helmet is "it's dangerous", is the answer to why can't you use the supertuck position "it looks dangerous"?
 
Feb 1, 2011
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What about the "seat tuck", "superman" and the famed "back down"?

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Well, the Super Tuck is undoubtedly the least stupid of these. I think I'd try the Superman before the Seat Tuck (wtf? seriously) and I don't even know what the "Back Down" guy is thinking he's doing.
 
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Nov 16, 2013
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Well, the Super Tuck is undoubtedly the least stupid of these. I think I'd try the Superman before the Seat Tuck (wtf? seriously) and I don't even know what the "Back Down" guy is thinking he's doing.

Isn't Nibali the "back down" guy?
 
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Feb 1, 2011
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Isn't Nibali the "back down" guy?

Apparently, and Seat Tuck is some guy named Pantani or whatever (so maybe I'm the idiot for calling it stupid), but why the hell is he grabbing the seat stay between his legs? I'm scared for his fingers just looking at the picture.

edit: looking closer I am an idiot, that's his leg.
 
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Sep 2, 2011
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Is this one of those situations where riders, teams, etc unanimously accept the proposal because nobody cares to actually read the whole thing and then they start complaining about how unfair the UCI is?
 
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Dec 23, 2019
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idk if it decreases opportunities for Carlton Kirby to say the phrase "singing alto," then I'm all for it.
The UCI can allow supertuck again once he adopts some variations, such as "pouch pop" or "bruised almonds."
 
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Aug 4, 2010
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It's not for safety reasons. It better not. It's for pure aesthetic reasons, and all the better for it. Any proper cycling connaisseur can't have this ridiculous style take hold. People who want to do this should stay on Zwift.
 
May 5, 2010
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It's not for safety reasons. It better not. It's for pure aesthetic reasons, and all the better for it. Any proper cycling connaisseur can't have this ridiculous style take hold. People who want to do this should stay on Zwift.

And I think it looks amazing. When a rider who knows what he's doing does it, and again; a guy like Zakarin is unlikely to try it.
 
Nov 16, 2013
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I also think it looks quite stylish when the rider in question does not pedal. When Sagan, Kwiatkowski and Vanmarcke were on the attack in Flanders 2016 and all did it, it looked like three missiles on the loose.

And actually, I would like to know whether the position itself is being banned or if it's only the "pedalling while sitting on the top tube" that will become a no-go.
 
Nov 16, 2013
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Apparently, and Seat Tuck is some guy named Pantani or whatever (so maybe I'm the idiot for calling it stupid), but why the hell is he grabbing the seat stay between his legs? I'm scared for his fingers just looking at the picture.

edit: looking closer I am an idiot, that's his leg.

Okay, I'm 97 % that it's not Pantani.
 
Jun 4, 2009
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And this 'not wanting to give amateurs/juniors any ideas' thing: Everybody's a beginner once. Evolution is a fact. Copying is the oldest form of learning. Rinse and repeat.

Dangerous techniques and manouvers are bad example, thing just being that there's no bad history with this style of downhilling.

It's not for safety reasons. It better not. It's for pure aesthetic reasons, and all the better for it. Any proper cycling connaisseur can't have this ridiculous style take hold. People who want to do this should stay on Zwift.

Actually Mohorič did it before Zwift was founded..:rolleyes:
 
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Jun 16, 2015
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Is this one of those situations where riders, teams, etc unanimously accept the proposal because nobody cares to actually read the whole thing and then they start complaining about how unfair the UCI is?

Kind of, yes. It seems like CPA requested this back in october (It's in the first document) and UCI approved it in december. So cry season is a bit late this year.

 
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May 5, 2010
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Kind of, yes. It seems like CPA requested this back in october (It's in the first document) and UCI approved it in december. So cry season is a bit late this year.


Still doesn't really explain why this was even talked about.
 
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I'm with the rest that think this is ridiculous. Now I would be fine with banning pedaling in the super tuck, but not the super tuck it's self.
That was my understanding of the proposal when this was in the news about 4 weeks ago.

Given the UCI's history on framing and applying rules, it would be interesting to see just how they legislate on this: "can't ride with perineum lower than nose of saddle"?
 
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Jun 25, 2015
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Silly, pointless etc -- everything that everyone else on this thread has said. It's really cool to see a new tactic in the peloton and riders like Alaf who are hell bent for leather descenders have really used it to their advantage.

Now, if the UCI was really serious about safety, they'd ban water bottles. I'm sure GT would agree afte his Giro crash.
But think about it -- how many times have we seen loose bottles cause an accident? Plenty. And what about the ethics of "turbo bottles," let alone all the CO2 released when team cars are accelerating up and down the peloton to hand up bottles? And the PET pollution when they get tossed away.

I'm actually serious about bottles. I'd love to see the UCI mandate hydration bags like Camelbaks, with refills allowed in designated feed zones. On a really hot day you could bring back the old Coke sponsored motos and equip them with a water tank to spray down riders to cool them off...

...and while we're on unfair advantages, the UCI needs to look at riders like Hirschi (just as an example) who use computer mounts as impromptu aero bars.
 
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Feb 20, 2012
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That was my understanding of the proposal when this was in the news about 4 weeks ago.

Given the UCI's history on framing and applying rules, it would be interesting to see just how they legislate on this: "can't ride with perineum lower than nose of saddle"?
Poor Nibbles.

Has to get out of saddle cause cojones always close to ground