World Championship 2019 Yorkshire......

[Adam4868]

I've been thinking about this drafting issue. If I was in charge of the UCI I would implement a rule whereby no cyclist can draft behind their own team car at all. You're welcome to surf through the convoy but if you crash and use your team car to get back into the peleton, you're disqualified. Otherwise we will perpetually be in a situation where each individual instance of drafting a team car will have to be separately adjudicated during the race.

I'd also introduce a rule about how bottles are handed out of the car. Something like the person handing them out must hold the bottle by the neck so as to minimise rider assistance

All great ideas but in reality there's allways a way round,bit of a injury..dare I say put on a bit ? Hold on to the car a while whilst getting treated.
The bottle thing is dangerous at the best of times so who's going to say "that was a wrong pass"
I think most rules are there to be pushed,but if you want to chance that push a bit too far...you'll get whats coming !

 

[Dogtrousers]

Or just accept that there are grey areas - judgement calls will be have to made, and as a result people will push things and sometimes get away with it and sometimes not and celebrate the uncertainty and accept the inevitable problems.

 

[mjr]

All great ideas but in reality there's allways a way round,bit of a injury..dare I say put on a bit ? Hold on to the car a while whilst getting treated.
The bottle thing is dangerous at the best of times so who's going to say "that was a wrong pass"
I think most rules are there to be pushed,but if you want to chance that push a bit too far...you'll get whats coming !

Injuries are treated by the neutral medical car.

There are already plenty of rules about this and things like bottle passing and lots of single-incident adjudications. Please not yet more fuzzy rules!

 

[Adam4868]

Injuries are treated by the neutral medical car.

There are already plenty of rules about this and things like bottle passing and lots of single-incident adjudications. Please not yet more fuzzy rules!

I didn't say they weren't ? I agree there's plenty of fuzzy rules as you say...you just have to try and not bend them too much !

 

[normgow]

Now that the dust (?) of the World Championships has settled are there are still people like me who prefer the traditional format of running the races on a circuit of around 15kms with a stiff climb which by the end of the race becomes a real problem? In recent years organisers have tended to start the races a long way from the finishing circuit so the spectators there get to see the riders for just a few laps.
I'm sure the new form is to give publicity to the various tourist organisations which tend to put up the money but have things not gone so far that the cycling fan is taking second place? Just how many stately homes and castles (mostly built with proceeds of slave labour) do we need to look at ?
We saw in the men's elite race in Yorkshire, where helicopters couldn't fly, that the first leg of the race went through countryside largely uninhabited apart from several sheep. There were no doubt some passionate cycling fans amongst our woolly friends but for the most part they were more interested in mowing the meadows than what was going on beyond the gate.
The spectators on the finishing circuit did receive a bonus few extra laps when the long run-in was revised due to the bad weather but in better conditions they would have seen the riders far fewer times.

 

[Adam4868]

Now that the dust (?) of the World Championships has settled are there are still people like me who prefer the traditional format of running the races on a circuit of around 15kms with a stiff climb which by the end of the race becomes a real problem? In recent years organisers have tended to start the races a long way from the finishing circuit so the spectators there get to see the riders for just a few laps.
I'm sure the new form is to give publicity to the various tourist organisations which tend to put up the money but have things not gone so far that the cycling fan is taking second place? Just how many stately homes and castles (mostly built with proceeds of slave labour) do we need to look at ?
We saw in the mens' elite race in Yorkshire, where helicopters couldn't fly, that the first leg of the race went through countryside largely uninhabited apart from several sheep. There were no doubt some passionate cycling fans amongst our woolly friends but for the most part they were more interested in mowing the meadows than what was going on beyond the gate.
The spectators on the finishing circuit did receive a bonus few extra laps when the long run-in was revised due to the bad weather but in better conditions they would have seen the riders far fewer times.

I don't mind it as it is.If I want to watch riders I usually go to a TT.Its about showcasing the area I think.Ive been to all the grand tours and quite a few of the classics/monuments.If your going to watch for seeing riders your probally going to be dissspointed.I usually go for the atmosphere and beer ! Going to Italy tommorow for Lomardia on Saturday.Ill more than likely get a quick glimpse of the race,I'll record it on TV and watch when home.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Lets face it, road cycling is a pretty rubbish sport to watch live. Riders zoom past and in the 10 seconds they are visible it's almost impossible to figure out what's going on in the race overall, what breaks are developing, who's going forward, who's going backwards. It you want to watch it for the sport then stay at home and watch it on the telly. If you want to watch it live then make sure you have a good day out. This might involve joining the crowds in a city centre - in which case many laps are good - or it might involve taking a picnic out and communing with the sheep at the roadside (with the option of painting yourself purple and running in a mankini alongside the riders) - in which case sheep country is good.

In this respect road cycling is the opposite of track cycling, which is rubbish on the telly but makes absolute sense live, where you can see the whole track.

 

[MasterDabber]

Lets face it, road cycling is a pretty rubbish sport to watch live. Riders zoom past and in the 10 seconds they are visible it's almost impossible to figure out what's going on in the race overall, what breaks are developing, who's going forward, who's going backwards. It you want to watch it for the sport then stay at home and watch it on the telly. If you want to watch it live then make sure you have a good day out. This might involve joining the crowds in a city centre - in which case many laps are good - or it might involve taking a picnic out and communing with the sheep at the roadside (with the option of painting yourself purple and running in a mankini alongside the riders) - in which case sheep country is good.

In this respect road cycling is the opposite of track cycling, which is rubbish on the telly but makes absolute sense live, where you can see the whole track.

Good post

 

[ColinJ]

In this respect road cycling is the opposite of track cycling, which is rubbish on the telly but makes absolute sense live, where you can see the whole track.

I actually enjoy watching highlights of track cycling on TV or Eurosport Player. I have only been to one track event, when they opened the Manchester Velodrome. I found the gaps between events a bit boring and the Madison totally baffling, despite the intense efforts of the commentator to explain what was happening! Having said that, I must go and watch another day of racing there one day.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I found ... the Madison totally baffling

I had the opposite experience. For years I'd seen the Madison on TV and never quite "got it" because the TV field of view is so small. When I saw it on the track it made proper sense for the first time because you can watch the field and individual attempts to take a lap all at once, and still keep an eye on the resting riders and the handovers.

Just don't sit in the posh seats in the middle unless you can rotate your head like an owl.

 

[ColinJ]

I had the opposite experience. For years I'd seen the Madison on TV and never quite "got it" because the TV field of view is so small. When I saw it on the track it made proper sense for the first time because you can watch the field and individual attempts to take a lap all at once, and still keep an eye on the resting riders and the handovers.

TBH - I had never heard of the Madison at the time. I was expecting the equivalent of a road race on the track and suddenly there were riders everywhere handslinging each other, going up the banking, dropping back, accelerating off the front... I didn't have a clue what was going on! If I went to watch one now it probably would be easier to follow than on TV...

 

[rich p]

What nobhead...

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/eekhoff-takes-u23-worlds-disqualification-to-cas/

 

[Adam4868]

What nobhead...

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/eekhoff-takes-u23-worlds-disqualification-to-cas/

Glad your back,have you sobered up yet ?

 

[rich p]

Glad your back,have you sobered up yet ?

I have bad days and less bad days.
Where have I been? 😊

 

[mjr]

What nobhead...

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/eekhoff-takes-u23-worlds-disqualification-to-cas/

Good grief. His managers want their heads examined. Surely becoming notorious for motor-pacing is not going to help his pro career take off? It seems like the smart move would probably be to blame the DS for telling him to do it, kiss the orange jersey goodbye for a few years (until the blamed DS retires from the national setup) and concentrate on his racing.