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• #2002
Ah yes, read his caption wrong.
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• #2003
Ah. Me too :-(
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• #2004
Denied. Surely it won't be long before we get in-race footage though.
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• #2005
We've had it before, back in the Giro in the late 1990s, when a camera was placed in the seat post of a bike. Needless to say, it wasn't very good and the main thing I recall about it is a vague feeling of seasickness from all the swaying.
The in car cameras at the Tour of Flanders have added to the televisual presentation of the race, so extending that would see to be a good idea. Let's hope the current UCI regime, who have generally done the right thing so far, look at how the sport is presented on tv and make changes which will enhance the coverage.
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• #2006
Is there a practical argument against helmet cams? Weight?
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• #2007
Aesthetics mainly.
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• #2008
My mini round-up of the Spring Classics is on my blog now. As always, feedback welcome: 'Methods in the Madness.' http://thejerseypocket.wordpress.com/2014/04/27/methods-in-the-madness-spring-classics-round-up/
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• #2009
One minor thing - you say Boonen didn't start Flanders, but he did (and finished 7th). It was Milan-San Remo he missed due to personal issues.
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• #2010
How quickly did you read that?
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• #2011
Almost as quick I wrote it I guess. Thanks for the spot.
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• #2012
How quickly did you read that?
Howard tweeted the link earlier.
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• #2013
Is there a practical argument against helmet cams? Weight?
Safety - something attached to a rider's helmet could snag in the case of a crash and put force on a rider's neck (mentioned briefly here). I guess with a little effort they could try and integrate one into the surface of the helmet, but from the design of that one in the photo, it doesn't really look like they have any intention of trying to package them neatly...
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• #2014
Is that what he means?
Helmet cams are out because they’re dangerous in a crash, helmets are not designed for an impact while a camera’s attached.
I understand that he means that if the camera gets trapped between a helmet and a surface (like a road) during a crash, then the camera provides a sharp, hard object to crack against the helmet.
I'm not sure if I buy that anyway.
If you fell off and the camera mounted on your helmet hit or caught something, would the mount not just snap straight away? They're only plastic clips or rubber bands effectively.
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• #2015
Depends on the type of crash and equally how its mounted (the mount shown is both massive and pretty robust looking) - but imagine someone slipping out on a descent, whilst sliding down the road, if the camera where to hit the ground whilst sliding, it could cause the rider's head to jerk even whilst the camera was in the process of falling off, or if the rider fell directly onto it, it could cause the head and neck to pivot around it.
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• #2016
Safety - something attached to a rider's helmet could snag in the case of a crash and put force on a rider's neck (mentioned briefly here). I guess with a little effort they could try and integrate one into the surface of the helmet, but from the design of that one in the photo, it doesn't really look like they have any intention of trying to package them neatly...
Plenty of room in the poc helmets for cameras
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• #2017
would love to see the footage
good job that's probably really aero...
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• #2018
We've had it before, back in the Giro in the late 1990s, when a camera was placed in the seat post of a bike. Needless to say, it wasn't very good and the main thing I recall about it is a vague feeling of seasickness from all the swaying.
HTC Highroad have done it before with Go Pro cameras.
It was on youtube ages ago.
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• #2020
how clean do people reckon the sport (at the highest level) is these days?
obv don't have the widespread systemic doping that plagued it before introduction of the blood passport. but to some extent there must be 'doping' going on in all teams, even if it's just pushing sanctioned drugs to the allowed limits and use of non-banned but questionable drugs (eg tramadol)
too hard to say?
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• #2021
There's a doping thread in the general forum, we ahem* mostly talk about doping there, although it gets mentioned here a lot too.
I don't think the problem has gone away, it may be less of a problem or ideed the problem may have changed, as new drugs become available. Speculating about bike riders is like shooting fish in a barrel, there isn't too many riders you could point at and say 'I'm certain he is clean'.
You hope the UCI will take the lead now Cookson is in charge, independent testers, independent T&R Commission, greater budgets and better testing, although clearing Rogers isn't the best start, since it creates a double standard since Contador was banned for the same thing.
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• #2022
Not exactly the same thing - Contador claimed to have eaten tainted meat brought, especially for him, from Spain where Clenbuterol contamination is not known to be the widespread problem it is in China. His story lacked credibility in general.
Though I agree the Roger's decision does go against the principal that riders are responsible for what they consume and a team like Saxo, *especially *a Team like Saxo after Contador's experience, might have been expected to be more careful about what they let their riders eat in Beijing. -
• #2023
^^ The key difference is they believed Rogers and they didn't believe Contador based on evidence. They did annul the race result from China.
^ Remember they also found plasticisers in Contador's blood ten times those of a regular athlete.
Doping thread >>>
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• #2024
End of 2nd stage of Turkey was a bit mad. Viviani especially, not sure what he was doing.
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• #2025
The sport is much cleaner than it was, that's for certain. The biological passport has been very successful in deterring riders from doping and has meant that you can win all the major races clean. There are, of course, still riders doping but the commitment to doping now is total, i.e. you have to dope all year round if you're going to manipulate blood via transfusions or micro doses of EPO in order to keep your blood profile within the realms of 'normal'. That takes a logistical and medical effort that is beyond the resources of anyone but the most committed (and well funded).
Some argue that the decline of doping is being reflected in the cautiousness of racing in most of the one day classics, I certainly think yesterday's dull race was in part due to a cleaner peloton in what was, not so long ago, the race where doping was essential if you wanted to win.
That is a camera he used during the recce a few days ago I think, not in the actual race.