Race Radios - Good or Bad?

JesseD
JesseD Posts: 1,961
edited February 2009 in Pro race
I have returned to cycling after about 15 years off and it seems to me that with all pro teams using race radios to stay in contact at all times with riders/director sportif's etc when racing that the racing is a bit sterile.

Lone breaks go off the front of the bunch only to be reeled in 1km from the line so the sprinters can fight it out, or a group goes off the front and as the bosses in the cars know who exactly is there no-body chases until the final couple of miles so again the spinters can fight it out.

I personally think it would be more entertaining if radios were banned and the riders had to fend for themselves, that way not only would they have to be the fastest/fittest etc but also tactitcally astute as well, I reckon it would mix things up a bit and would provide some great entertainment watching all of Quickstep/Astana/CSC etc panic as they suddenly realised that a major contender had slipped off the front and was sticking time into their team leader.

What do you guys think, or am I just missing the point?
Obsessed is a word used by the lazy to describe the dedicated!

Comments

  • radios = rubbish. Let's get back to the days of a man with a blackboard.
  • LangerDan
    LangerDan Posts: 6,132
    I'd agree. I was watching Stephen Roches Worlds-winning move on Sufferfest the other night - there is no way that would have worked if race radios were in use. A quick shout of "he's on the inside" from the DS and such moves are dead. There are also a number of current top riders who may not be so successful without direction from the team car.

    Give the riders an earpiece for "safety" messages from the commissaire, if you must, seeing as most DS justify them on the basis that they can warn the riders of upcoming hazards.
    'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'
  • Many past pros have lamented the use of radios, and how they have made the sport boring.

    But, they have to go all the way and ban in-car cell phones. A lot of race direction is taking place between DSs in the cars by cell phone.

    This has been discussed by the UCI and ASO repeatedly.

    I'm also a fan of banning the time trial bike.
  • LangerDan wrote:
    Give the riders an earpiece for "safety" messages from the commissaire, if you must, seeing as most DS justify them on the basis that they can warn the riders of upcoming hazards.

    Great idea. They've got the technology to do that, so there's no excuse.
  • micron
    micron Posts: 1,843
    Agree with all of the above
  • Dump 'em, confiscate all mobile phones, sew up all the DS's mouths and let battle commence.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • woody-som
    woody-som Posts: 1,001
    the use of radios means that it's no longer a race, but a bunch of guys doing what someone in the car watching on Tv tells them. lets dump the radios, and get back to the riders having to think for themselves.
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Dump 'em, confiscate all mobile phones, sew up all the DS's mouths and let battle commence.

    Nah, having a smart DS is all part of the game. Some will listen, some won't.

    Just coz your avatar doesn't like being radio controlled... :wink:
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • deejay
    deejay Posts: 3,138
    iainf72 wrote:
    Dump 'em, confiscate all mobile phones, sew up all the DS's mouths and let battle commence.

    Nah, having a smart DS is all part of the game. Some will listen, some won't.

    Just coz your avatar doesn't like being radio controlled... :wink:

    Well if he can manage without one, then why not the others, Killer!!! :idea: 8)

    Sew up DS mouths....that will make the Spanish Teams happy in the Time Trials.
    Organiser, National Championship 50 mile Time Trial 1972
  • Yes , ban the wretched devices . Maybe that would enliven the vacant features of Lance whilst JB is whispering in his ear .

    Furthermore - a bit OT, and given that I were the Ayatollah of cycling - I 'd BAN TEAMS entirely . As in T & F , make it a race of the individual . TRUE COMBAT . As it used to be , way back .

    I'd suppose the time trial is closest to my ideal except that they all look preposterous with their quaintly uninspiring looking bikes and garb . Also , it isn't what road racing is about where , it ought to be , I feel , a head to head tussle . Not a few Man U type cycling teams giving gyp to each other plus a few token 'also-rans' . I haven't checked but I'd suppose MTB racing is close to my ideal . Likely I'm wrong but I can't see how a team would work there .

    Were it to come to pass ( unlikely , I know ) I expect the logistics of making oodles of loot for the individual cyclist and manufacturers would take care of itself in the fullness of time . It works in T & F .

    Needless to say I have a natural antipathy toward most team sports - particularly with a ball as the centre of interest - and that road racing nowadays , to me , is a case of ' same as ' , 'same as ' .

    Just a thought . :)
    "Lick My Decals Off, Baby"
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,547
    You appear to be missing the most intriguing part of cycling mercsport, i.e. the bluff and counter bluff of teams as they try to execute on their race strategies as the race unfolds. I find that intriguing, especially in one day races.

    The big classics see this every year and it usually ends up with the team leaders going head to head in the closing stages. Sometimes it can be fascinating but other times, and last year's Paris-Roubaix is a good example, it can be pretty dull.
  • andyp wrote:
    You appear to be missing the most intriguing part of cycling mercsport, i.e. the bluff and counter bluff of teams as they try to execute on their race strategies as the race unfolds. I find that intriguing, especially in one day races.

    The big classics see this every year and it usually ends up with the team leaders going head to head in the closing stages. Sometimes it can be fascinating but other times, and last year's Paris-Roubaix is a good example, it can be pretty dull.

    You're probably right . However , surely the same idea applies to 'Team Individual ' . Except that it would be more likely that more of the mob would be scrapping to be in front . In other words - racing .
    "Lick My Decals Off, Baby"
  • teagar
    teagar Posts: 2,100
    The main defense the riders put up is that the feel that race radios stop team cars constantly driving up alongside riders which they feel nowadays with all the street furniture as more dangerous.

    Also they feel that race radio tells them important safety information on upcoming dangers.


    Why not give all riders the same, neutral cyclists' race radio, to tell them how far the break is, say, if it is more than 2 minutes away.

    That way the saftey information can be relayed to all the riders, but the strategy left untouched.
    Note: the above post is an opinion and not fact. It might be a lie.
  • agree with Madiot in this months Procycling. They do stifle creativity in the riders and makes the races less ad hoc or random.
  • LangerDan
    LangerDan Posts: 6,132
    Just remebered another reason why I don't like race radios - I worry about how much the poor DS have to do in the car - sweat profusely, bellow"Venga, Venga,Venga" for 50 minutes at a time, phone the coach, phone the guy with the baggage van to see if the hotel is ok, hand up "turbo bottles", keep the road book on one knee and the GC list on the other, watch the little telly screen to see if Eurosport have stopped the snooker coverage and are showing your race, flick the channels back and forth to watch "Lost" 'cos the race is sooo boring, have lunch ("mmmm, ham rolls - again"), cut a deal with Lefevre, and make the occasional check that they haven't ploughed through a crowd mainly composed of kids from the local orphanage. Everyone might be safer if they took the radios from the DS at least.
    'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'