Finally watching todays stage…I really really think that it would be a MUCH more exciting race if they did not let the riders know the gap. Seriously, imagine how diffrent it would be (more like a USCF Cat 1/2/3/4/5 race) if the peloton did not know how far ahead the break is - or the break knowing how far ahead they were. This I think is the one thing we could easily rid the race of and bring back some of the soul…
Thoughts?
How about some helmet cams or mic up a few riders and DS’s. Getting a view in the middle of a field sprint would be great. Power meters and HRM’s just are not enough excitement.
that doesnt make much sence…
beleive me a team like csc or discovery as enought money to put spoter on the course that radio each other and pass along the time gap as they act as spectator on the side of the road… it would just be very well organise cheating with fake spectator doing the work of giving split to breakaway and chase pack…
there is no time gap given in triathlon but beleive me, i receive a lot of info from so many people i dont know on the course when leading… i do know most of the time what is going on at the back or the front…
in the tour de france… there is million of people giving split on the side of the road… the riders know what is going on.
EXACTLY!!! You get that information from “out and back’s” and from folks you may or not be able to trust. Guts and Luck are what makes many sports great…Tri for one. I really think that it would more exciting if they were told “the break is about 10 minutes up” as opposed to “the break is 7:41 up and the look pooped - oh, this is the rumor”
well, if people can give me accurate split in a triathlon to a few secondes, i do beleive pro team will find a way to place spectator on course to give EXTREMLY accurate split…
Granted…that is not the same however as an ear piece and a plackard on a motorcycle. How again is the peloton going to hear a spectator calling out times? Seems there are many folks yelling.
I know it will never happen…call me a purist…Coppi is my hero.
Yeah, but all it takes is a team relying on the formula to allow a TT specialist to start the sprint at 1000m. If they had reeled in the breakaway at 20k to go do you think we would have seen something like that?
well, ok, i guess i m the only person thinking this is so easy??? beleive me, i have no monetary resources and can guarenteed you i can put a team together of spoters that will communicate with the pleton no problem, i will probably wear a full pink outfit with a 6 feet high hat with a black board on top and will have a stop watch and take a split on the break away and write it on the board…then, the all freaking pleton will obviously see the time gap and i will have 50 of my friend with the same outfit at every 3km so the complet course is covered… all this pay by a big team so they have legal accurate split…
any more questions… i do understand your point but even before the radio communication…they knew the gaps… so it s nothing new…
I agree with doing away with the “gap times”. No radios, no timing gaps. I think they should run a couple stages without all the electronic stuff…it would be fun.
I agree with doing away with the “gap times”. No radios, no timing gaps. I think they should run a couple stages without all the electronic stuff…it would be fun.
Yah, and while they’re at it, they should ban frames with any real innovation and clarify where riders can put their elbows on the bars.
Oh, wait a minute…
whoa, calm down there, dude. I said nothing about frames or such. All I said was they might want to run a few stages without timing gaps. I think it would make for a very fast stage and change the dynamics of the race. I’d love to watch and see whta would happen in these stages.
For whats its worth…I ride LOTS (3) of the UCI illegal frames, and set up completely illegally, so don’t even go there : )
Do you mean “lose” the damn times? “Loose the times” doesnt make any sense.
What are you going to loosen?
The cool thing before radio was that it was up to the riders to figure out what was happening in the peloton…
The little trick that Lance played when he faked having a bad day (I think it was the 2001 Tour) would have never worked in the past. The riders were really careful with what was going on in the peloton. Lance’s face was saying something, but his legs were still turning as usual. Fignon was commenting for Eurosport and said ‘he’s faking’ right away…
Anyway, getting rid of radios would actually be quite neat I think. It’s nothing against tech. stuff. Having SRM, HR readings etc. would be cool…just no communication between Team Dir. and riders.
The radios certainly put more of the focus on the director to work the strategy during the race instead of just pre-race. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, just brings the director into the loop more.
There is no way that you will get rid of the splits. If they are not done formally by the race ( which they do now and have fior many years with a chalk-board on a bike), they would be given informally by spectators or planted coaches/team-people on the side of the road. It’s not something that you can stop.
There is no formal split information in most triathlons, but people on the side of the road are always voluteering that information for you. When I raced IMC, I always knew how far back from the lead I was crossing Richter Pass and at Yellow Lake. When I would get to the turn in the run at OK Falls, people on the side of the road would tell me what place I was in and how far back I was from 10th, 15th or whateever place. It’s something spectators like to do.
Now, team radio communication is a bit different, and I do wonder, particularly in the Grand Bike Tours when there is so many little races within the race going on and it get’s quite complex, how different it would be if we went back to no radios. Would it be the same race?
yeah but in triathlon you working on your own to make up the time differences, not getting the help of 180 other people. Nothing irks me more than watching 4-5 guys bust their ass to try and win a stage, only to have the peleton gobble them up the last few kilo’s (and especially watch that weasel McEwen win for doing nothing until the end)
whoa, calm down there, dude. I said nothing about frames or such.
Sorry, Paul. I was trying to skewer the UCI there, not you. 