The Paris Olympics served up two thrilling highway races, particularly the ladies’s occasion the place the successful transfer got here inside 4km to go. The open, dynamic racing comes partly because of the small staff sizes however largely as a result of there are not any race radios so riders have to determine what to do on their very own.
The radio debate is because of fireplace up once more because the UCI introduces one other check of race radio restrictions, first on the Vuelta a Burgos starting on Monday and through three levels of the Tour de Pologne (12-18 August).
Following the Olympic girls’s highway race, bronze medalist Lotte Kopecky (Belgium) got here out in favour of racing with out radios.
“It’s totally different than racing with the staff radios, however ultimately, I can not say I do not prefer it. You should really feel extra how the race is. You should comply with your intuition. For me as a rider, I prefer it lots. I believe it is fairly an trustworthy method to play it.”
Gold medalist Kristin Faulkner (USA) and silver medalist Marianne Vos (Netherlands) agreed.
“When you do not have radios, I believe it falls much more on the riders to have race techniques and race instinct,” Faulkner mentioned. “I believe you actually should pay much more consideration to what each single rider is doing, how drained they’re, what the staff techniques are, who’s using for who, who’s taking bottles for who.
“I prefer it. I believe it is extra enjoyable, and I believe it provides a way more mental recreation to what’s taking place.”
Vos mentioned she did not assume not having radios modified a lot. “But it is true, it’s a must to listen largely, and it’s a must to assume by yourself, in order that makes it fascinating.”
Professional biking has struggled with the race radio debate for greater than a decade, as opponents say they make racing boring, and predictable and switch riders into robots. The UCI tried to ban them in 2010, starting with lower-level races however the WorldTour groups threatened boycotts and efficiently defended their use, citing rider security considerations.
Teams have used the protection angle to maintain radio communication open. The Dutch Rabobank staff claimed radios saved the lifetime of Pedro Horrillo when he crashed right into a ravine on the 2009 Giro d’Italia, saying if teammate Jos van Emden hadn’t been capable of instantly name to tell them of the crash, Horrillo would possibly by no means have misplaced his life.
On the opposite aspect of the talk is a extra esoteric foundation in favour of banning radios. French groups, who’re steeped in biking’s historical past and have a tradition that embraces the panache and self-driven points of the game, have mentioned “The safety argument is a fraud” and the fixed push from administrators for riders to maneuver up earlier than crucial factors trigger extra security issues than radios remedy.
But even a ban on radios won’t have the supposed impact, as groups in professional races are massive sufficient to have riders shuttling backwards and forwards from staff vehicles to get info and technique recommendation.
Part of the attraction of the Olympics is the quirky mixture of small groups, riders from outdoors the conventional professional peloton and smaller peloton.
“That makes the race fascinating and actually troublesome,” Vos mentioned. “It’s a lot totally different than another race, and different dynamics. That’s truly one thing cool from the Olympics. Because the Olympics are solely as soon as in 4 years, it stays very particular – it is nice to have the Olympics in Paris and have the very best riders on this planet racing across the iconic monuments of Paris.”
