Bye Bye UCI

[Keith Oates]

Not in my book, it's a recumbent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[NickM]

 

[andy_wrx]

It's possible to buy and ride on the road motorbikes which aren't very far from those raced by the pro's.

But F1 racing cars don't bear much relation to roadcars.

 

[Chuffy]

You'd end up with a technology race Nick, not a bike race. I can see why you'd be frustrated but I can also see why the UCI's dogged conservatism keeps the focus on the riders and not what they're riding.

Has anyone said 'it's not about the bike' yet?

 

[NickM]

You'd end up with a technology race Nick, not a bike race.

And what we have now is a pharmacology race, not a bike race. One that, in the minds of its emotionally-attached fans, still clings to its last tattered shreds of "genuineness" no matter how often it is revealed as bogus.

And professional cycle racing is bogus. It only takes the presence of a few cheats in a race to invalidate its result, regardless of whether a cheat wins.

 

[mondobongo]

And what we have now is a pharmacology race, not a bike race. One that, in the minds of its emotionally-attached fans, still clings to its last tattered shreds of "genuineness" no matter how often it is revealed as bogus.

No its a bike race given that not everyone is charging up if they were then it could be called a pharmacology race.

So following your logic if we had a big race with HPV'S driven by Pro Hpvers then that would be bogus.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Nick, you are very naive if you think that being able to ride recumbents would stop people taking drugs - it would just be a pharma-techno-race.

And besides, as has been pointed out several times, this isn't really the issue here - the teams are not leaving because of the UCI stance on bike development.

 

[Chuffy]

And what we have now is a pharmacology race, not a bike race. One that, in the minds of its emotionally-attached fans, still clings to its last tattered shreds of "genuineness" no matter how often it is revealed as bogus.
And professional cycle racing is bogus. It only takes the presence of a few cheats in a race to invalidate its result, regardless of whether a cheat wins.

Riiiiiight....
Cheating is a fundamental problem in all human activity sport Nick. By your logic, no sport can be valid if anyone involved is cheating (drugs, match fixing, ball tampering, whatever) and I defy you to point me towards a sport where cheating is impossible. If HPVs were admitted to UCI sanctioned events, do you honestly believe that the problem would suddenly vanish? We'd have a double whammy of who had the best drugs and who had the best tech on their vehicle. If you think that's less bogus then you're more naive than I ever thought.

 

[Chuffy]

Cross-posted with FM! Great minds, blah, blah, blah....

 

[NickM]

...Cheating is a fundamental problem in all human activity sport Nick...

Yes, I'm sure you are quite right. Show me where I have said otherwise. It makes no difference whatever to my point... which is that the constantly reiterated insistence that UCI-limited professional cycling is somehow a more legitimate sport, drug cheats and all, than unlimited cycling would be is quite bafflingly devoid of logic.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

It makes no difference whatever to my point... which is that the constantly reiterated insistence that UCI-limited professional cycling is somehow a more legitimate sport, drug cheats and all, than unlimited cycling would be is quite bafflingly devoid of logic.

It is actually entirely logical. When throwing the javelin, you aren't just allowed to throw any old javelin, but one that has particular dimensions and weight. Poles in pole-vaulting have particular allowed materials and standards. This means that the sport is conducted on an equal footing. You can't compare what is legally allowed as the basis for a fair sport to what people are doing illegally. Nor can you argue logically that a technological free-for-all is fairer than controls on technology.

And besides no-one is stopping anyone organising an international recumbent racing league... and once again, this isn't what this discussion is about.

 

[Chuffy]

Yes, I'm sure you are quite right. Show me where I have said otherwise. It makes no difference whatever to my point... which is that the constantly reiterated insistence that UCI-limited professional cycling is somehow a more legitimate sport, drug cheats and all, than unlimited cycling would be is quite bafflingly devoid of logic.

Because unlimited cycling would have the same problems. The guys in the TdF are riding bikes which are pretty much interchangeable. One of the most fundamental parts of the playing field is flat. We can focus on the issue of the athlete's performance, not on the performance of his vehicle. Do you want to see cycling turning into F1?