Race Radio ban

[Dave_1]

apologies if been covered already. Just wanna ask where you all stand on the race radio ban? I'm for it..want to see amazing lone breaks like 1992 tour of Flanders, Thiery Marie 1991 TDF lone break..lone breaks by Chozas at 1980s TDF mountain stages..

Marc Madiot is for banning race radios but check this slightly OTT usage
http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

 

[ColinJ]

I'd certainly be in favour of at least one full-season ban so that the effects on race tactics and safety could be properly assessed.

I like the idea that riders have to think for themselves out on the road, rather than just being pawns of the team management who are making decisions based on the TV coverage.

 

[raindog]

I'm for the ban. I think most fans are. This generation of riders has never raced without and seem to be terrified of not being told what to do by their DS every minute of a race. To defend radios they always cite the safety aspect, but were riders going down in droves pre-radio days? Nico Roche said "without radios it'll be mayhem" - yes, Nico, that's what we're after.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I'd certainly be in favour of at least one full-season ban so that the effects on race tactics and safety could be properly assessed.

I like the idea that riders have to think for themselves out on the road, rather than just being pawns of the team management who are making decisions based on the TV coverage.

+1

 

[Dave_1]

I think from a DS point of view they will feel much less involved and are really spending much time merely driving a car at 25-30mph...a bit boring, so they are strongly opposed.

 

[zacklaws]

I don't really give it much thought, but without it could lead to more interesting racing. Regarding the safety issue, why not let the riders have radios, but they can only communicate to race officials, all other riders and vice versa and not team cars. If it was a health matter etc, officials could relay to team cars on another net. End of the day it is not rocket science to monitor the frequencies to ensure that no one else communicated to riders apart from officials and if another rider discussed anything other than safety to his team mates, then everyone would hear and nothing be gained, unless they started using codes and tapping morse code out with there "modified shifters".

 

[Dayvo]

Marc Madiot is for banning race radios but check this slightly OTT usage
http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

That would have driven me MAD, and I think I'd have lumped him one after the line!

I agree that radios should be banned: it would make the sport far more interesting and exciting for rider and fan alike.

Imagine if a chess player had his DS in his ear telling him when and where to make a move!

 

[Dave_1]

That would have driven me MAD, and I think I'd have lumped him one after the line!

I agree that radios should be banned: it would make the sport far more interesting and exciting for rider and fan alike.

Imagine if a chess player had his DS in his ear telling him when and where to make a move!

yes, how could mghee concentrate..hope they ban them. Thierry Mare did a 234 km escape to win a stage of the 1991 Tour De France-moves like that and some other fabulous long range breaks are snuffed out now cause of race radios and managers doing the maths precisely on when to ride and how hard to get the break back.

 

[ColinJ]

That would have driven me MAD, and I think I'd have lumped him one after the line!

I'd have stuck it for 5 seconds max, and after that the earpiece would be dangling down at my side. If I could still hear it, I'd have ripped the bloody earpiece out of the radio and chucked it away!

Yikes, I'm meeting a bunch of CCers for a forum ride in about 20 minutes - I'm outta here!

 

[Dayvo]

Yikes, I'm meeting a bunch of CCers for a forum ride in about 20 minutes - I'm outta here!

Have fun!

 

[Flying_Monkey]

I'm also in favour of the ban.

 

[Keith Oates]

As I've posted before I'm also all for the ban and then we can see if some more of the breaks can make it all the way to the line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ferret fur]

Excellent idea above. If it is safety issue then have a radio with a neutral safety only channel which everyone listens to. Simples

 

[mcshroom]

Imagine if a chess player had his DS in his ear telling him when and where to make a move!

It's been done: -

Cheating Accusations at the World Open 2006

...Rosenberg, was leading going into the last round. A victory would have been worth about $18,000.

Before the round began, Goichberg said, a tournament director noticed that Rosenberg was wearing something in his ear and asked to see it. Goichberg said Rosenberg told the director it was a hearing aid. The director wrote down the name and the serial number and looked it up on the Internet.

Goichberg said the device was called Phonito and it was described on a Web site as a wireless receiver ideal for undetected communication between two people. Part of the device, Goichberg said, had to be worn elsewhere on the body to bolster and receive signals.

Goichberg said Rosenberg was wearing a heavy sweater and declined to be searched.

Goichberg said the information did not prove that Rosenberg had cheated, but he felt he had no choice but to expel him from the tournament.

"He had things on him that could be used for cheating," Goichberg said.

As for radios for cyclists. If it makes the period between the start and the final sprint more interesting it will be an improvement, but I do quite enjoy watching some of the less praised riders dragging breakaways back in (like Tony Martin on I think the 18th stage of the TdF last year) which may be less common without radios.

 

[Dave_1]

without radios riders on smaller teams and less strong but with good tactical brains will have a new means to get closer to the top riders as at the moment experienced DSs are deciding what the riders do when if that decision is left to riders...they have one more thing they can use other than brute strength.