No radios in Tour de France stage 10
Race radios will not be present in stage 10 (JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images)
A teams' protest over the banning of race radios for the 10th stage of the Tour de France failed to prompt any kind of action before the start on Tuesday.
Organisers, following agreement with the International Cycling Union (UCI), have banned the all-important race radios which allow team managers to talk to their riders throughout the race for two stages this year.
Fourteen of the race's 20 teams launched a protest, however Tour organisers and the UCI have stood firm and so far refused offers of a compromise.
The banning of race radios on stage 13, however, is still up in the air.
Garmin team manager Jonathan Vaughters, one of the few managers in the peloton to have "no strong feelings" about the issue, is the president of the international cycling teams' representative body.
Vaughters told AFP before the start of Tuesday's stage the issue did not particularly bother him, but he hoped the UCI would overturn the initial decision and allow teams to race with radios for Friday's stage from Vittel to Colmar.
"Of course we're hoping there's a reconsideration by the management committee of the UCI by Friday," he said. "But we'll have to see on Friday, I don't know just yet."
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Because it is the first stage since the Pyrenees which heads into the mountains, of the Vosges region, the absence of radios could, in theory, benefit the teams hoping to distance the powerful Astana team of Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong.
Astana team manager Johan Bruyneel has been one of the most vociferous protesters against the banning of race radios.
© AFP 2009
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User Comments
There are 4 comments on this post
Showing 1 - 4 of 4 comments
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holiver
Posted Tue 14 Jul, 1:46 pm BST Flag as inappropriate
I think they should be banned for the entire event.
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igamogam
Posted Tue 14 Jul, 2:00 pm BST Flag as inappropriate
The organisers of many races should have the opportunity to run sans-radio events or stages. It would be simple to put the riders on the race-radio channel giving them all the safety and time gap info but not letting the managers interfere and effecting the results. This solution would only require a minor change to UCI rule 2.2.024
UCI rule 2.2.012 already allows time-trials run on normal road bikes but it's strange that it is not used. It would add variety to the races and reduce the silly technical "money/arms race".
Before I'm accused of being a luddite I'm all for improving technology and using new materials but I'm also a big fan of it available to all and racing being about rider ability (both brawn & brains) not the amount of money a team has.
The current state of play is very biased the against tactically astute. A stupid rider with a radio and a good manager doesn't have to think much- just follow orders. It's been a long while since I saw a race won by a rider using his head and outwitting a stronger opponent.
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VeloChef
Posted Tue 14 Jul, 2:35 pm BST Flag as inappropriate
One man's opinion.. I'm not convinced the UCI really has a handle on what's best for the racers. Governments and large companies somehow come o know more & better than the collective knowledge of the people, or so that think. It's completely possible the UCI is suffering from "group think" as well.
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Thanks for to Bike Radar for providing a great site!
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igamogam
Posted Tue 14 Jul, 5:29 pm BST Flag as inappropriate
Unlike the FIA, which doesn't have to worry about whether the man-in-the-street will be able to afford a F1 car, the UCI also has to think of what is best for cycling in general- the cost, safety and usability of bikes.
Like it or not the vast majority of cyclists don't and never will race, the technology involved in bike racing has to be relevant to "normal" cyclists because there is a much quicker technology trickle-down effect for bikes than there is for cars.
The engine of a bike is the person/s riding it, no matter how much new techniques and technology impact on that fact. To most people it's what the riders do that make cycling so impressive and fascinating. The UCI has to draw some line in the sand (no matter how arbritary) to ensure that there is still some connection with what the pros do and what joe-blogs does...
