Yeah, this all totally makes sense.
USA Cycling on Tuesday reversed course and announced it would ban race radios at national level events, including National Racing Calendar and national championship events.
The organization said the decision was made “based on concerns raised by cycling’s international federation, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).”
Read the rest: http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/03/news/usa-cycling-switches-course-bans-radios-at-nrc-events_164898.
Just over a week after it lifted a radio ban for the National Racing Calendar (NRC) and national championship events, USA Cycling has today reversed its decision.
When USA Cycling made the decision to reintroduce radio contact between teams and their riders, board of directors president Bill Peterson said: “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.”
The UCI objected strongly to the decision, sending a letter of reprimand to USA Cycling
Read the rest: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/usa-cycling-reintroduces-radio-ban.
Oh, dramatic. I should get ten thousand of my friends, and go to one of these races to see what the fuss is about.
It is a rare thing to have anything in the bike industry go without turmoil. I read McQuaid’s rationale for the ban and I wholly support it.
Waffles being what they are, I’m down for the re-ban stateside. Nevermind the embarrassment the USA Cycling makes of it.
There’s cycling in the US…?
Yeah dude! We ride bikes REAL FAST here n the US of A!
It won’t bring VDB back…
What happened to VDB that has relation to race radios?
The UCI certainly isn’t making any friends by threatening riders, teams and now national federations. While the UCI needs to make some stands against certain technologies – like doping, recumbent bikes, etc – the fact that race radios have been allowed for years makes it hard to get rid of them. Most riders also seem to feel that the radios make them safer. Riders already protest some stage finishes that are too dangerous (like some of those sprint finishes in the Giro) and I don’t see the UCI stepping in to help them out there. Maybe if professional bike riders were allowed to have some input at the UCI, or if the UCI was simply more sensitive to their concerns, they wouldn’t feel so alienated and upset when the UCI makes a decision that they disagree with.
The UCI are like FIFA, big sport mafia. We South Africans are a little sensitive about this crap, having just been shafted by FIFA in the 2010 soccer world cup. FUCIKERS.
McQuaid’s letter to the peleton in case you missed it:
source: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-president-mcquaid-addresses-pro-riders-on-radio-ban
I read the letter. If I was a pro cyclist I would think it’s rather demeaning. I guess he’s trying to delegitimize AIGCP and the CPA, by claiming they are probably oppressive, or at least not representative of “what cyclists really think”, and possibly complicit in doping, or at least not doing enough to combat doping?
“And even if the numbers were on the side of those opposing the ban, would you really expect your International Federation to be run based on the outcomes of popularity contests or individual interests within one single stakeholder of cycling? Is that truly a desirable quality to be found in a governing body, or do you not find it more fitting and reassuring that it be guided by the general interest, sportsmanship values and long-term sustainability?”
I wonder if Pat McQuaid has a better way to gauge the “general interest” of the cycling community then by simply listening to what the majority of that community says is the general interest. I wonder how we can be sure that our sportsmanship values and ideas of sustainability are correct if we’re willing to disregard and impugn what the majority of the community says they are.
…quoteth mcquaid “The story of cycling is above all a story of people, and we want it to stay that way.”…
…the reality is that now, more than at any time in it’s history, cycling, ie: bicycle racing, is a big & growing business…
…the union cycliste international is a corporation that actually does span the globe these days whereas in the past it was more that in name with 95% of their business centered in europe along with concerns every 4th year for the olympics & the occasional world championship forays into the americas & elsewhere to more or less ‘test the waters’…
…the promoters for the big races ran their shows, the teams that had the name riders & the budgets to compete in the big races were bound to get invitations because people want to see the best riders & sponsors want their exposure but basically it was “a sport”…
…in my opinion it started becoming this big business about the time our own ‘greg lemond’ influenced the pay structure within the riders ranks, which was in & of itself a good thing as regards the guys who put their lives on the line but the bottom line is that more money = more concerns…it speaks for itself…
…fast forward…the uci organizes teams with a points ranking system which evolves into the ‘pro tour/world tour’ format wherein their rules define who races what…
…major race organizers started aligning themselves with other organizers or race promotion companies were being bought & taken over & basically it’s evolved into a power struggle, one that mcquaid denies is happening because his contention is that the uci & only the uci controls the rules that govern the sport…
…yet it would seem that he who curries favor with mcquaid, verbruggen & the uci stands a much better chance of being heard…ie: the aso…vaughters, bugno & the rider’s organizations aren’t currying any favors right now…
…the riders suggest hell has broken out, mcquaid decries that & contends all is status quo…
…my opinion…
…better racing without tactical info via radios from director sportifs…
…better racing without strategic favoritism by the uci…oh, & fuck you, contador…you deserve 2 years starting now…no retrograding…
Being in the position of McQuaid, and nothing good comes at you. I can’t imagine being able to deal with that. Regardless of the tact, the lack of “respect” for riders, and whatever other emotional motivation there is to be against his logic, the bottom line is that the events are controlled largely by the Directors in the cars.
Cycling rides the fence between being a human endeavor, and a race of machines. Auto racing has radios which are used to relay technical data and issues of safety – such as crashes on course, but it is the driver who controls the situation. Quarterback’s have radios so that they can be told what play to make. Marathon runners do not have radios. They again, are in control of their race. There’s a middle ground here that the UCI/USA Cycling will probably miss entirely.
Radios? That’s what’s fuck up in cycling? Radios? McQuaid’s a long winded motherfucker isn’t he. I’m guessing he can’t figure out how the UCI could profit by “pinching” the communication company’s supplying radios to teams.
What we have here….is a failure to communicate…..
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/11-major-teams-considering-plans-to-break-away-from-the-uci
13 is a good number for cessation.
…the logistics of starting a new ‘league’ would be a fucking nightmare but maybe that’s what johann bruyneel sees himself as doing (& i’m betting he’d be ‘the commish’) for the next bunch a’ years…
…anyway, here’s a good time-line of the stuff i glossed over in the fight through the last 6 years & if you follow it you’ll note a lotta foes became friends & friends became foes n’ back again…
… http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/six-years-of-the-battle-for-cycling-power …
…maybe they need a new organization, maybe they don’t, maybe they feel like with all the political machinations within the sport over the last few years that this is the only way they’ll be heard in the long run but christ almighty, with all the constant pissing & moaning, all the constant controversies over this issue, that issue & everybody pulling every which way, it’s amazing any of us give a fuck anymore…
…than, along comes that great race, that great stage, maybe just that great 4-rider break & your heart is going “man…fucking beautiful…that was awesome…jeez, i love this sport !!!”…
…what a dichotomy…just sayin’…
The organization said the decision was made “based on concerns raised by cycling’s international federation, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).”
“concerns”??! Seriously? How about threats?
The height of irrelevance, by and of both organizations. Two overgrown children playing hard and upping the ante until one goes crying home to momma would be more noteworthy than this spectacle.
I still don’t buy the whole “safety” argument. The way you hear some people talk, you’d think the majority of riders are just puttering along looking for a fellow cyclist in need to help out with their trusty radio. Have these people actually met any bike racers?
In most auto racing series, safety information is relayed to drivers primarily by a big yellow slow-the-fuck-down light on the dash. There’s no dicking around with trying to relay information through a bunch of two way radio channels. If the pack needs a heads up, a race marshal hits the button, and everyone gets the message.
Besides, all of these bikes are already equipped with RF transponders. For less than the cost of a fresh cassette, they could be upgraded to GPS and used to report crashes real time.
Is it just me or have the race finishes been a little more exciting since the ban?
The motorsports analogy is an interesting one. I think the FIA has gone too far down the techy path. For a couple of seasons there, teams could remap engine ignition, fuel and intake geometry in “real time” as the car lapped the circuit. And after literally billions of dollars sunk into aerodynamics (the big teams run full-scale, full-speed, rolling-floor wind tunnels), the cars look like oragami toys, not cars. Meh.
So yeah, maybe ditch the 2-way comms.
Shit, aside from NPR I never get no good radio ’round here.
I wanna hear what the shaversports get to listen to that’s got Pat’s nuts in a knot.
It must be better than pandora.com on shrooms to cause such a tizzy.
Hell, ban team cars and put ’em all on fixies like the old days.
Straighten that shit right out!
wooo!
I’m drunk and I rode a bike today.
KT
Kilgore— Pandora.com & shrooms would cancel each other out totally. Might as well watch TV.
…wait a minute…you mean if i listen to authentic latin salsa music on pandora.com THAT’S what patty mcquaid means by ‘race radio’ just ‘cuz i’m a white guy ???…holy sheesh…
…i’ll never ‘river dance’ again just to spite that irish so n’ so…
Maybe the race radio should be the same channel for all riders and DS (so they can use secret word “the carrots are raw, I repeat the carrots are raw, er, fuck ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK etc) and whowever won the previous stage gets to choose the music.
People would be leaving their small intestine by the roadside to stop Zabrisky or Thor winning – even their teamates, especially their teamates…
G
…finally the uci has appealed to cas as regards the farce of a ruling by that fucking spaniard contador’s home federation…
…small mercies…
If only L.A. had the support of his government like Contador does. pretty good perspective check, imo.
Chris Owen wins. Fuck the radios.
L.A. does not need the support of his gub’ment. He has the support of corporate america which wields more power anyway. The bonds trial is playing out before our eyes, and Nowitsky evidence gathered out of dumpsters is not being allowed. Will see how it plays out. Will prolly have a lot ot say about how LA’s trial plays out too, although Bonds did not ride on a gub’ment entity sponsored team….and shit.
point being, Spanish gov overturned conviction (or whatever) for its top doper. We throw our top doper to the curb. Interesting jux is all I’m say’n.
…all the legal pundits out here say the very worst case scenario for barry bonds is house arrest for a limited time…the precedent was already set by the same judge for several others involved…
…now, his friend & trainer greg anderson is ‘doing time’ & won’t role over on him so the speculation is that there will be a nice pay-off for greg, somewhere down the road…
…as far as the armstrong situation: they might make him or at least his lawyers ‘sweat’ for a while (despite his claims of non-concern) but he ain’t going to jail nor should he…
…sorry to disappoint some of you but it ain’t gonna happen…
..to channel a ‘chauncey gardiner’ theory: “…& while it takes stinky horse manure to grow a good rose garden, in the end, the bad smell fades & everything flourishes…”…
…while some people may look critically at mr armstrong when the full scope of the investigation comes to light, i’ll guarantee you that in the end, lance fucking armstrong will come out smelling like a rose…
the anti-la sentiment doesn’t make any sense to me. I guess people are just offended that their is no more fairy tale. Dude has my vote just because he beat the system. He’ll be this system that is against him too, as you suggest, bgw.
…& as far as spain is concerned ???…they definitely have a love affair with themselves…
…maybe after years of living under franco it’s somewhat “understandable” but that doesn’t mean it should be accepted when it involves the outcome of a situation with international implications…
difference btwn what bonds did and how he profited and what LA did and how and who he profited is night and day. I don’t recall Bonds turning a disease into a brand….for immense profits.
I don’t see how that makes a diff. people believed in both. fraud is fraud.
…& popularity is popularity & both those guys are popular despite allegations directed at them…
…the lance-ster has got the whole ‘world wide’ thingy going on & while bonds may get vilified in a lotta ball towns, it’s different here in the bay area…some a’ the locals might find that “the bloom is off the rose” but i highly doubt he’s paying for his own drinks unless he prefers to…
Fraud is fraud true. My point is it is one thing to dupe people into believing you achieved sporting greatness on your own record breaking selfishness, it is another thing to then use that fraud to dupe people into supporting a a cancer foundation and a cancer “brand”. I believe that once you start fucking with people’s loved one’s hope on survival of cancer and once you you turn that hope into profits it becomes a whole new animal. If LA only took drugs to win then it is the same thing but in my opinion what LA did took sporting fraud to a whole different level with the whole Livestrong BS.
Big picture Nowitsky and the gub’ment are not just taking on LA, the are taking on Nike and big Pharma corporate $…..
well, I guess I concur to that extent. My bet however, is that when this whole thing concludes, nothing will have changed. Big Pharma is too big to be affected I’m guessing. Maybe L.A. will become the patsy.
Armstrong’s win went beyond not only cycling, but sport
itself; the universal dread of cancer and his triumph over
it made him an inspiration and symbol of hope for
millions around the world, showing there could not only
be life after cancer, but a better life than before.There is
no better evidence of this than the ubiquitous Livestrong
bracelet, introduced in May 2004.Almost overnight, it
became a cultural icon, and to date, more than 60 million
have sold worldwide for at least $1 each or been given
away with Nike merchandise.Imitation being the
sincerest form of flattery, colored rubber bracelets are
now a generic item, made for most any purpose.
As his agent, Bill Stapleton explained, “In the beginning
we had this brash brand of Texan…a phenomenon.Then
you layered in cancer survivor, which broadened and
deepened the brand, but even in 1998 there was very
little corporate interest in Lance.Then he won the Tour
de France, and the brand was complete.You layered in
family man, hero, comeback of the century, all these
things.And then everybody wanted him.”
With a team of handlers to shape his image and guide his
every move, Armstrong was ready for the ensuing deluge
of multimillion dollar endorsements and media coverage…..”
So Dude made mill’ns on hope? What about “hope” isn’t fraudulent anyway?
This shit smells just like warm apple pie!
Hope as fraud. Interesting. Hope is fraud? Hope can be fraud? Is the inverse also true, does fraud = hope?
…gianni, i’d agree that ‘hope can be fraud’ but then again hope can be a huge inspiration & help in defining ones willpower…
…think about when you were recovering from the major body slam you took…weren’t there times when you felt so lousy that you had to use hope to bring yourself back around ???…maybe the thought of riding again was pretty fucking intense but i’ll bet you hoped you could get back out there on the bike despite what had happened…
…personally, right after my major heart surgery whilst still in the hospital & literally feeling weaker than i had ever felt before in my entire life, i would look up at the top of mt tamalpais & i would say both to myself & the mountain – “i’ll be back, you wait & see”…
…initially, i could only walk ever so slowly holding a pillow to my chest for support but i had serious fucking hope to ride & feel free on a bike again…& with a lotta hard work, determination, focus, willpower & hope, before a year was up, a buddy & i rode to the top of that mountain on our cross bikes…
…nothing wrong with hope if you’re an intelligent human being…banking on hope to solve ones problems might be stupid but using hope as a tool for direction can help work it’s own miracles…
…just sayin’…
So now we’re to the point that hope is inspiration. Millions gained willpower because of the inspiration that the L.A. machine has fraudulently provided. He should be commended for giving that to the unfortunate army of cancer victims, and not condemned. Hope is a dangerous thing.