News update

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Race Radios to be permitted in NRC competition again

(March 11, 2011) — After gathering input from U.S. teams, riders, organizers, officials and other stakeholders, USA Cycling has determined that teams will be allowed to once again use race radios in National Racing Calendar (NRC) competition and at the USA Cycling professional and elite national road championship events.

Following international precedent in 2010, USA Cycling banned the use of race radios in national-level events with subsequent plans for evaluation on all aspects of that decision at the end of the year. After review, the U.S. Professional Racing Organization board of trustees recommended lifting the radio ban.

“As we approached the 12 month anniversary of the radio ban in domestic races, we listened to input from the various affected stakeholders including officials, race directors, team directors and riders,” said USA Cycling CEO Steve Johnson. “In the process, we considered all of the categories of the racing environment that are impacted by radios including rider and spectator safety, caravan and peloton management and team/rider communication, frankly, radios won on every count.”

“The vast majority of athletes, teams and event managers agree that safety cannot be compromised, and that progressive sports use more communications technology, not less,” stated Bob Stapleton, owner of HTC-Highroad professional cycling team and USA Cycling board of directors USPRO representative. “The goal is to make cycling both safe and exciting and to ultimately bring the audience further into the action.”

“The decision was made because we believe race radios bring a unique level of strategy that is good for cycling, provide for innovation opportunities with our broadcast partners, and gives everyone in the peloton an additional safety measure,” stated USA Cycling board of directors President and USPRO representative Bill Peterson. “We have spent considerable time discussing this issue with many experienced racers, team managers, and race organizers; we have yet to find anyone make a convincing case to eliminate race radios. Therefore we are allowing radios within the races we control, and I suspect many countries around the world will follow our lead.”

“We’ve based our decision on several factors including the nature of racing in the United States and the inherent safety and liability issues that we feel are extremely important,” explained professional cyclist and U.S.P.R.O. board of trustees athlete representative Nick Reistad. “In my own cycling career, I can detail examples where race radios were critical in relaying information regarding safety hazards, including emergency vehicles traveling backwards on the course, which could have put my life, and the lives of those racing with me, in imminent danger.”

The first 2011 NRC event, the Redlands Bicycle Classic will take place March 31 – April 3.

About the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar
Currently in its 15th season, the National Racing Calendar (NRC) is the premier season-long domestic road cycling series sanctioned and owned by USA Cycling. With an overall ranking system that determines the best individual male and female cyclists, as well as the best teams in the U.S., the NRC features the nation’s top Pro-Am road race events, boasts a total prize purse of more than one million dollars, and is open to both professional and amateur cyclists. For more information on the NRC, visit www.usacycling.org/nrc. Recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling is the official governing body for all disciplines of competitive cycling in the United States, including road, track, mountain bike, BMX, and cyclo-cross.

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About Marty

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

8 Replies to “News update”

  1. “Progressive” sports use more comm tech? What the fuck is “progressive?” Is that some gay password? Or sponsorship dollars from Motorola? You fucking kids wouldn’t recognize human communication if it bit you in the face like screaming, rabid weasel. Progressive, my ass. For fuck’s sake.

  2. …meanwhile, back in the euro pelican…

    …headline – “Could SMS messages be a way around the radio ban?”
    “Text messages between riders and directors might be the way forward”

    http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/7598/Could-SMS-messages-be-a-way-around-the-radio-ban.aspx

    …now here’s a wonderfully absurd idea when the idea of ‘race & rider safety’ is of major concern…

    …let’s have busy team directors texting while driving in crowded race conditions wherein their riders, already in close & obviously dangerous proximity, can spend time reading information off of little handlebar mounted devices…

    …bravomundo…the great minds of cycling apply themselves once again for the benefit of our glorious sport…

  3. I’m not sure if this is ridiculous or not, but couldn’t the whole issue of rider safety be fixed by allowing race radios, but only on a single public channel? That would allow riders to learn of dangerous crashes, but would restrict tactical discussions, would it not?

    I’m not a rabid follower of pro cycling, more of just a hobbyist rider, and I don’t pretend to know the whole story or anything like that. But that seems like a good idea to me.

  4. …nothing ridiculous whatsoever, luke…it’s been suggested by you, me n’ plenty of others but nary a word of that particular compromise by the uci…

    …here, now, maybe saner minds (ie: those not looking to be in control of every aspect of the riders lives) will prevail…

    “ASO chief Christian Prudhomme weighs in on radio controversy…
    Wants to have compromise with only security info relayed to the riders”

    http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/7749/ASO-chief-Christian-Prudhomme-weighs-in-on-radio-controversy.aspx

    …perhaps it’s a start…

  5. Yeah…it’s maybe okay for the pro-dogs. The problem is that every Cat 3 team of douches will be riding around with earbuds so they can discuss how much power they make while surfing the group…