RACE RADIOS IN PROFESSIONAL RACEs - LET’s BAN THEM
The search for instant & perfect knowledge drives everybody to be addicted to their mobile phones. Go out for dinner with your significant other and an sms buzz will distract you, and nearly everybody forgets who is at the dinner table as you focus on your iphone addiction. Ditto applies in pro bike races with race radios.
The story is thus …. like the recent pro race in Geelong the early breakaway in a pro race fights like dogs to get in the tv break of the day. Once established the breaks gets to the magical 4 or 5 minute lead. Race radios give both the breakaway & peloton perfect knowledge - both to who is in the break, and how far ahead they are. Am not sure why they persist with motorcycle timing marshals as they really aren’t needed.
With perfect knowledge through race radios the breakaway knows the magical 5 minutes is about their limit - so the games start. The breakaway eases off to roughly 85% effort and then the peloton does the same ! ! !. So now the organized street theatre or mobile kareoke begins - all played out on live television. Two groups of “racers” rolling along at 85% like its an outdoor pantomime. The poor tv commentators try to make sense out of the abstract boredom before their eyes and show you pictures of surfers at Bells Beach.
Eventually the stale mate is broken with say 50k-60k to go as the breakaway gets the nod, and they resume hostilties (maybe they can win this time ?). The peloton are wired to race radios as well, and they go full gas instantaneously and overwhelm the breakaway with 15k-20k to go. Job well done and the lycra clad pantomime is complete for another day. The last 15k are the real deal and a deserving winner takes the flowers. What does the underwhelmed tv viewers make of this sporting charade ?.
Ban race radios and we may get a descent bike race
RACE SEEKER - THIS WEEK
11 Feb
Lake Hume Challenge Cyclosportive (Albury NSW)
Eastern Creek Raceway (Waratah Masters)
West Head Road Race (Manly CC)
BICISPORT TRAINING RIDES
Every Mon/Wed/Fri Mornings
Gruppo Molteni @ Centennial Park
Gruppo Molteni meet at the corner of Parkes Drive/Grand Drive at 8.20am and do CP laps until 9.30am then coffee at the Spruce Goose Cafe
Tues 6 Feb & Thurs 8 Feb
Blossoms & Buds Peloton @ pass the corner of Yulong Ave & McCarrs Creek Rd Terrey Hills @ 8.00am for Akuna Bay, top of McCarrs Creek Rd climb at 8.40am, then direction Duffys Forest, then return Terrey Hills shops @ 9.15am then to St Ives for coffee
Centennial Park Lower Loop from 5.30am to 7.45am
Thurs 8 Feb
Belgian Waffle Ride @ Spruce Goose Cafe @ Centennial Park @ 10.30am for CP laps
Sat 10 Feb
Coffee @ Sandstone Cafe Miramare Gardens @ 9.30am
Sun 11 Feb
Depart Shark Park carpark near Cronulla @ 9.30am for Kurnell & return