SBS and RadioShack DS fined after today's stage?

hommelbier

Seems that the Directeurs Sportif of both Saxo Bank and Radio Shack have been fined following today's stage for unbecoming conduct towards race / UCI officials - is this connected to the SBS appeal to have Contador's time gap for stage 1 reduced to 34 seconds??

http://www.velo-club.net/article?sid=63287

Edit

update

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/blazing-row-over-saddles-tour-france-180848624.html

ddraver

Sounds like typical UCI stupidity to me....

afx237vi

For once, I think Bruyneel is right.

skut

Sounds like a stupid rule to me. If someone wants to ride with an angled saddle, why stop them?

Tusher

I completely agree- this is the height of UCI stupidity.
Professional cycling is exhausting and demanding. Why refuse the riders a little pleasure by insisting their saddles can't be risen a little at the tip?

Bruyneel and McGee are correct to draw a line in the sand. The UCI hope they'll set a precedent by introducing this pointless rule to the male peloton first in the hope that none of them will notice.

Thank goodness for Johann Bruyneel. (A sentence I never thought I'd type.)

top_bhoy

As pedantic as it sounds, there were 20 other teams who were able to abide by the rules. Given the teams had prior warning to the TdF on the strict enforcement of the rules, it simply looks like Bruyneel and McGee trying to point score. If they wanted the rules changed, they had the opportunity to raise the matter earlier. Repeat...20 other teams understood and abided by it!!

FJS

Top_Bhoy wrote:

As pedantic as it sounds, there were 20 other teams who were able to abide by the rules. Given the teams had prior warning to the TdF on the strict enforcement of the rules, it simply looks like Bruyneel and McGee trying to point score. If they wanted the rules changed, they had the opportunity to raise the matter earlier. Repeat...20 other teams understood and abided by it!!

I think Rabobank has had some issues with this too - Lars Boom has had a couple of rants on this sudden enforcement yesterday - on twitter though, not to the commissaires

StageWinner

Top_Bhoy wrote:

As pedantic as it sounds, there were 20 other teams who were able to abide by the rules. Given the teams had prior warning to the TdF on the strict enforcement of the rules, it simply looks like Bruyneel and McGee trying to point score. If they wanted the rules changed, they had the opportunity to raise the matter earlier. Repeat...20 other teams understood and abided by it!!

Not sure, but thought I read that ALL teams were caught out by this. It's just Rhiis and Bruyneel that complained to the point of being fined.

PBo

apparently sky were caught out too.

no-one comes out looking good do they?

UCI look like like a right tit for even having the rule in the first place (what possible good reason could there be?) , and then apparently not enforcing it in recent tours but getting heavy this time.

So called professional teams look like a left tit for not following rules - however silly they think they are - and for not taking a stance against the rule in the first place through proper channels.....

markyboy2005

Why does it matter so much about seat angle?

I would have thought this is a very rider specific preference, everyone is a bit different, and it doesnt really need to have rule, especially one so strongly enforced.

If I am missing a glaring point, let me know.....

Pokerface

If they start enforcing this rule in my (UCI) races, I'm screwed. My saddle (Adamo) is actually designed to be ridden with the tip pointed ever so slightly down. If it was completely level, it would be uncomfortable. I've never heard of this rule before!

And yet, there are other rules on the books (especially when it comes to TTs) that seem to be completely ignored. Things like skinsuits and aero shoe covers are against the rules, but to date - they have let it slide. But I've heard rumblings that they will start enforcing the overshoe rule at some point.

avoidingmyphd

markyboy2005 wrote:

Why does it matter so much about seat angle?

I would have thought this is a very rider specific preference, everyone is a bit different, and it doesnt really need to have rule, especially one so strongly enforced.

If I am missing a glaring point, let me know.....

You aren't missing the point. They got fined for objecting too much to the sudden enforcement of a daft rule. So there's lots of trivial and not so trivial stuff going on - a fight about whether there should be such a rule, a fight about the UCI's weird approach to rule enforcement, a fight about how nice Bruyneel has to be to officials and so on.

top_bhoy

FJS wrote:

Top_Bhoy wrote:

As pedantic as it sounds, there were 20 other teams who were able to abide by the rules. Given the teams had prior warning to the TdF on the strict enforcement of the rules, it simply looks like Bruyneel and McGee trying to point score. If they wanted the rules changed, they had the opportunity to raise the matter earlier. Repeat...20 other teams understood and abided by it!!

I think Rabobank has had some issues with this too - Lars Boom has had a couple of rants on this sudden enforcement yesterday - on twitter though, not to the commissaires

Fair enough, other teams had issues also. I agree 100% though with PBo comments, no-one comes out with any credibility.