Tour de France 2009

the tour is not just about winning GC it is about winning hearts and minds too..

what on earth are you talking about?

yes, they didn't do it on the second day after the riders had a massive huff.

i'm not sure what i think about it, really - i'd have to see racing over a period of several days without radios to be able to see all the differences it might make. certainly i don't have a problem with them using them

+1 it has the potential to make things more exciting but most of the riders don't like it so they'll just end up having a go slow again..

A lot of the riders were citing safety as a main reason for using radios. I agree with them as the cyclist, DS, and doctor could be notified a lot quicker. Voigt's crash in the tour was one instance where riders descending behind could slow/avoid him on the ground.

Tactics-wise radios probably eliminate the romantic notion of the solo breakaway but I'd take safety over the notions of the glory days of cycling.

The UCIs limitations on TT equipment makes far less sense than banning radios.

They still had radios - it was the feed from their director sportif that they didn't get. They still had the 'race radio' which gave them news of crashes etc, and they could still use them to call for a mechanic when they have a puncture.

really? i didn't see any of them wearing earpieces. i thought it was a complete ban on radios of any kind.

Not what I read in the paper. It was the TImes mind..

i'm not sure how they would eliminate the DS commments and keep the other feeds in their earpieces. just checked some pics from the stage, and couldn't see earpieces.

"The ban only applies to communication between riders and their teams. Riders will still be allowed to carry radios and receive information from the organisation's race radio channel."

From http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/radio-ban-in-place-for-stage-ten-at-the-tour-de-france

To be fair I never looked at their ears to check, but I did read this in a few places and it wouldn't be the first time pro cyclists have acted like kids whose toys have been taken away.

that's very odd because the paragraph above that quotes Bjarne Riis:

... citing safety concerns. "If thirty riders go down in the finale of a stage, there can be a big panic, a lot of sports directors want to get to the front because they don't know if their rider has crashed or not - then the riders would be inside the car caravan, and risk collision with the team cars. We would have a huge problem."

so perhaps the information from the radio channel would not be as up-to-date compared to if the riders were in direct communication with their DS?

No,it wouldn't be. And definitely the time to get a new back wheel to a rider for example would be longer, which could ultimately lose you a stage/jersey.

@ andyp. I don't se what "naive" about my view point, i simply said to label people who haven't tested postitive for drugs or blood doping cheats is a pointless exercise as if you refuse to trust the testing protocols you might assume everyone has taken drugs.

I am massively against performance enhanceing drugs but i also don't think we can just assume someone was/is taking them if it hasn't been proven

Bradley Wiggins sounding a little bit nuts in today's Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/aug/04/bradley-wiggins-interview-donald-mcrae

@ andyp. I don't se what "naive" about my view point, i simply said to label people who haven't tested postitive for drugs or blood doping cheats is a pointless exercise as if you refuse to trust the testing protocols you might assume everyone has taken drugs.

I am massively against performance enhanceing drugs but i also don't think we can just assume someone was/is taking them if it hasn't been proven

It's naive because the drug of choice in the pro peleton throughout the 1990s, namely EPO, couldn't be tested for, so how can you trust the tests if they can't test for the drug the majority of the peleton was using?

A significant amount of the big name riders convicted of doping have been caught due to criminal investigations, i.e. the Festina team, Basso, Ullrich, Di Luca (before his most recent bust), the entire Liberty Seguros team. All of these riders were tested repeatedly yet never tested positive, so it's clear that whilst the tests catch some it is also possible to dope and not get caught. That's why certain sports doctors, like Michele Ferrari, earn a very good living from the sport.

Bradley Wiggins sounding a little bit nuts in today's Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/aug/04/bradley-wiggins-interview-donald-mcrae

Great article,I like the fact he carried a picture of Tommy Simpson on the Ventoux climb.Wiggins is class.

His twitter has been funny recently

a short precis…

drink,tunes,drink,tunes,drink,tunes,drink,tunes,drink,tunes,drink,tunes,

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/pellizotti-and-nibali-deny-working-with-ferrari

interesting article about a journalist who took epo, fairly long read but still quite interesting http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200311/200311_drug_test_1.html

What percentage do they reckon EPO improves riders by? Spose it make more difference in non-pro's like this guy

"

Alberto Contador is relaxed about the launch of a preliminary investigation into suspect medical material that was seized during the 2009 Tour de France. Syringes and transfusion equipment believed to belong to teams were found in medical waste containers during the race and are currently being analysed."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/8305492.stm

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=5&theme=&usrsess=1&id=271665

Just when you thought it was safe to watch the TdF....

Fuckin awsome....................anyone who found todays stage boring/uneventfull sure
must live an exciting life.......

Men on bikes. PARTY!!!

Tdf 2009? Are you just searching for all of madrobars posts then?

Having a perv, pretty funny. Not in a good way.