Vroomen on Cycling Vehicles - The Soloution
OK, so the problems with race vehicles should be clear from the yesterday's post about the Crostis . The solution is pretty simple: Get rid of most of them. I would propose four steps: (yesterdays post in link at the end..)
Step 1: No more team cars.
1. It makes no sense to have 20 or in Grand Tours 40 cars drive the entire route to hand out food & drinks and the occasional rain jackets, give tactical advice and assist with mechanicals. Yep, I am wearing a bullet-proof vest while I type this.
2. Food & drinks could be done by neutral support vehicles (of which you would then need far fewer).
3. Tactics could be done either by having the riders decide it all for themselves or through radios (I'm not getting into THAT debate this time).
4. Assistance for flat tires would be given by neutral support, just as it happens today. Same for small problems and adjustments. If you break your bike, you're out (unless you can find a local blacksmith to weld your carbon bike back together).
5. Not only does this mean we can clean up the race, it also incentivizes teams to use equipment that can take a beating, and it forces equipment suppliers to focus their efforts on reliability instead of stupidity. Imagine the technology that could be developed in that case and go straight into the market for regular consumers (who also have to survive without a team car for assistance).
6. If we decide there is some reason sports directors should talk to other sports directors or riders, why would you put them in a car with its bumpy ride and bad reception anyway? There is no advantage to being "in the race" if that means looking at a team car in front of you and a team car behind you. They rarely get close to the riders and when they do, that's exactly when the problems occur. Put them in a central location, with good TV access, good communication tools and even the chance for the media to interview all of them during the race. THAT's entertaining.
Step 2: Photographers
1.Why are there a dozen photographers? They aren't that special. For sure there are some really good ones, but the majority is just average, all shooting the same photos (good thing I'm still wearing that bullet-proof vest from yesterday). But that sameness is exactly the problem, while going for the same photo they tend to clog up the race and foul it up.
2.The conclusion of #1 has to be, these photographers are not really providing us with a service, they are only serving themselves. So let's reduce it to 2 or 3, the ones that are actually very good, and ditch the rest. This is already done for the closing stages of the race (where they have a photographer pool and they are sharing the images). Let's do it for the whole race.
3.Now, I can already hear the media complain that they are independent and to do their job properly they need to independently gather their material including photos. But can an industry that has shown absolutely zero critical attitude towards the misgivings of cycling really take that moral high-ground? What is the last time that good investigative cycling journalism unearthed anything? There are very few journalists in cycling, it's mostly "reporters". And just like the reporters on TV can all share the same moving images, other media can share the same still images. (Boy, I'm never taking that vest off again!)
Tomorrow steps 3 and 4. Let me know what you think in the comments section.
http://www.cervelo.com/en_us/news-blog/ ... stis/2758/
Step 1: No more team cars.
1. It makes no sense to have 20 or in Grand Tours 40 cars drive the entire route to hand out food & drinks and the occasional rain jackets, give tactical advice and assist with mechanicals. Yep, I am wearing a bullet-proof vest while I type this.
2. Food & drinks could be done by neutral support vehicles (of which you would then need far fewer).
3. Tactics could be done either by having the riders decide it all for themselves or through radios (I'm not getting into THAT debate this time).
4. Assistance for flat tires would be given by neutral support, just as it happens today. Same for small problems and adjustments. If you break your bike, you're out (unless you can find a local blacksmith to weld your carbon bike back together).
5. Not only does this mean we can clean up the race, it also incentivizes teams to use equipment that can take a beating, and it forces equipment suppliers to focus their efforts on reliability instead of stupidity. Imagine the technology that could be developed in that case and go straight into the market for regular consumers (who also have to survive without a team car for assistance).
6. If we decide there is some reason sports directors should talk to other sports directors or riders, why would you put them in a car with its bumpy ride and bad reception anyway? There is no advantage to being "in the race" if that means looking at a team car in front of you and a team car behind you. They rarely get close to the riders and when they do, that's exactly when the problems occur. Put them in a central location, with good TV access, good communication tools and even the chance for the media to interview all of them during the race. THAT's entertaining.
Step 2: Photographers
1.Why are there a dozen photographers? They aren't that special. For sure there are some really good ones, but the majority is just average, all shooting the same photos (good thing I'm still wearing that bullet-proof vest from yesterday). But that sameness is exactly the problem, while going for the same photo they tend to clog up the race and foul it up.
2.The conclusion of #1 has to be, these photographers are not really providing us with a service, they are only serving themselves. So let's reduce it to 2 or 3, the ones that are actually very good, and ditch the rest. This is already done for the closing stages of the race (where they have a photographer pool and they are sharing the images). Let's do it for the whole race.
3.Now, I can already hear the media complain that they are independent and to do their job properly they need to independently gather their material including photos. But can an industry that has shown absolutely zero critical attitude towards the misgivings of cycling really take that moral high-ground? What is the last time that good investigative cycling journalism unearthed anything? There are very few journalists in cycling, it's mostly "reporters". And just like the reporters on TV can all share the same moving images, other media can share the same still images. (Boy, I'm never taking that vest off again!)
Tomorrow steps 3 and 4. Let me know what you think in the comments section.
http://www.cervelo.com/en_us/news-blog/ ... stis/2758/
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Comments
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Interesting angle with some good points.
Tbh, it is quite horrible having all those cars around. Watching the TdF for instance, you have a ton of cars before the riders driving sometimes at ridiculous speeds then you have a ton of cars behind. Very unpleasant, loud, polluting and many of which are pointless.
The issue with photographers is a little tricky though as those people are making a living.Contador is the Greatest0 -
I remember being surprised by this last year (on the local tour coverage):
http://www.tv2sporten.no/sykkel/tdf/boe ... 23116.html (Dag Otto Lauritzen driving)
I can't quite understand why there are so many cars are allowed to follow the race like this...
Team cars, well if you try and ban those I can imagine the response, it's bad enough with the radios!0 -
Yes and having been at L-B-L earlier (first pro race), I was surprised by how many cars appear before any cyclists. The whole caravan of advertising takes about 30 mins to drive past, team cars etc etc. Its ironic that cycle racing has such a big carbon footprint! I agreee with all those points. Also if you had people on motorbikes handing out the supplies it would be so much easier for the riders to get what they needed quickly.0
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Step 1
What is a team car for?
Let's look at a picture of a team car.
It's a bloody great mobile bill-board!
It's an advertisment for not only the other team sponsors, but for a car company too.
Step2
Let's say I'm not one of your chosen few, how am I supposed to earn my living?
Nice ideas in theory, but like a lot of theory, turns to stupidity in practice. Save bandwidth & scrap whatever you've got in mind for steps 3 & 4.Remember that you are an Englishman and thus have won first prize in the lottery of life.0 -
OffTheBackAdam wrote:Step 1
What is a team car for?
Nice ideas in theory, but like a lot of theory, turns to stupidity in practice. Save bandwidth & scrap whatever you've got in mind for steps 3 & 4.
To be fair to the OP - they are not HIS ideas. They are Cervelo Founder Gerard Vroomen's.0
