Gonzo Cyclist
Posts:568
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| 08/28/2015 10:02 AM |
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with all of the problems this year with the Moto's on the course, crashes, taking out riders, etc.....
Has anyone thought this would be the perfect application for a drone with a camera? Get all of these fools off the road, less congestion on the course, heck, you could even get rid of that noisy helicopter above in the air
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 08/28/2015 11:03 AM |
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| I just heard that Cousins had his rear wheel touched by a moto and lost his podium spot with a couple hundred yards to go. |
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zootracer
Posts:833
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| 08/29/2015 09:37 AM |
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| The peloton is getting larger, more motorcycles so we can get better coverage=recipe for disaster. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 08/29/2015 04:16 PM |
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| Too much drafting offered to riders in breakaways. I don't need to see their nose hairs to enjoy the video! |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 08/29/2015 05:42 PM |
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I retract the Cousins incident. He told the press after that he touched the tire n front of him, that is was his fault and just the camera angle that made it seen the moto behind was a at fault.
But Sagan! One of Tinkoff's boys. The motos might have just pushed the wrong button!
Ben |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 08/30/2015 12:29 AM |
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We had about 50 motos in Haute Route, mostly safety officials but also media (photogs and camera). My buddy and I were impressed with skill of these guys maneouvering among high speed peleton, particular on the fast, narrow, winding descents.
Of course there's always going to be incidents like this. |
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ChinookPass
Posts:809
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| 08/31/2015 11:51 AM |
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Time to admit, pro bike racing has a moto problem.
I don't understand why crashing into the racers is an accepted risk of the sport.
It seems there are many possible solutions to this but the UCI and event organizers are not coming forward. The frequency of accidents ought to be much lower. It feels to me like a weekly occurrence. Back in the day, this would be cause for a neutral stage by the peloton. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 08/31/2015 01:08 PM |
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CP, I agree. The riders should speak up, with their legs. (Where is their union? A green jersey contender and one of the most popular riders in the sport out of a grand tour with significant injuries? Actually I can see that the riders might not want to neutralize either of the last two stages. Certainly not on Wednesday, though if they did it Wednesday, the UCI would sit up and take notice! Can you imagine their chagrin if the peloton stretched the 6 climbs to 8 hours of "racing" and rolled into town at 8pm? There would be some quick changes to moto behavior!)
I hope Tinkoff comes through on that lawsuit. Should be able to get some support from BMC.
Ben |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 08/31/2015 06:56 PM |
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Or, as Ben noted in a prior post, Tinkoff has other options . . .
(Channeling Pauly Walnuts here, please transcribe for the Euro version):
"Hey, UCI, look at me. Ya, you f-face. Are ya lookin' at me? Good. Do you want a fire? Do ya? No? Good! Now pay attention!
I don't want to hear about no moto stuff evert again. Not Ever. Got that? You sure youse got that? Good. And take care of my boy Peter, make it right, or you'll hear from me. And you don't want to hear from me, capiche?
Got it? Good. Now get outta here." |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 09/02/2015 09:33 AM |
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Tinkoff's reasoned response:
http://www.tinkoffsaxo.com/news/open-letter-related-accident-involving-peter-sagan-la-vuelta/
Now let's see what the race and UCI do.
Ben |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 09/02/2015 10:25 AM |
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| Indeed. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 09/02/2015 10:34 AM |
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Just now, Olaf is Tink'd off! "Believe you or NOT? But Sergio Paulinho was hit by TVE motorcycle and end up at hospital w 17 stiches. What a messy and shallow race!"
Edit: and minutes later "I'm considering now to take the team off the #Vuelta2015 . Boycott #ASO
for this. They pay us NO money for the race and even damage riders."
Ben
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Gonzo Cyclist
Posts:568
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| 09/02/2015 11:23 AM |
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Friggin' Ridiculous!! Watched the moto riding up someone's arse today, sheebus, back the F... Off!! Someone needs to practice the ol' bottle throw again, get Cippolini to show them how!!
Paulinho gets 17 stitches in his left leg, WTF? The public wants good coverage, once again, I suggest using drones, the thing could follow the leaders, no problem |
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ChinookPass
Posts:809
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| 09/02/2015 11:41 AM |
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Ridiculous. What other athletic sport allows their competitors to be collateral damage on a regular basis?
Besides American Football, that is.
Pro cycling is beyond a joke at the moment.
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 09/02/2015 11:44 AM |
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Speaking of drones (and wandering a little off topic) - I wonder if a drone with a live video feed to Froome's stem could have prevented his crash today. Seems he encountered a barrier and I have yet to hear from anyone that the barrier was anywhere other than where it belonged.
Ben |
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Gonzo Cyclist
Posts:568
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| 09/02/2015 02:44 PM |
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we'll get him one of 6ix's new Cervellum Hindsight's, mount it on the front of bike so he can see where he's going!!
Was he just looking down, and bam!? I did not see or hear what had happened |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 09/02/2015 03:14 PM |
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I'm just speculating. But I do keep wondering when that day is going to come.
Ben |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 09/03/2015 02:41 AM |
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So how does the contracting of motos in pro cycling actually work? Is there a system or is it as long list of incidents would suggest a haphazard assembly of drivers from a variety of sources?
At Haute Route ALL motos came from ONE source "ANEC Escorte Moto". These guys do many events, provide motos for security and media and as said they did an excellent job under challenging circumstances. With a structured sole source setup like this the punishment for incidents like Vuelta is simple: sorry guys your moto contract is over, we'll take our business elsewhere. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 09/03/2015 11:29 AM |
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I read on the LUG (LIveUpdateGuy) webcast today that there are 90 motorcycles and 120 cars supporting the riders. So, at the start, motor vehicles outnumber riders.
I also saw that the motorcycles gave the riders MUCH more room today. Maybe Tinkoff's meeting with the race organizers made a difference. (He said Saxo-Tinkoff was willing to continue racing if the motos operated safely but another incident and they were out.)
Ben |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 09/03/2015 11:33 AM |
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On Froome: I understand he took an outside line around a corner and got surprised that the road narrowed coming out of it. (Something that drone could well have prevented.)
Ben |
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Ride On
Posts:537
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| 09/03/2015 04:16 PM |
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| Mount a Gopro camera on every rider and ban all photo motos |
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SideBySide
Posts:444
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| 09/03/2015 04:28 PM |
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Posted By Ride On on 09/03/2015 04:16 PM
Mount a Gopro camera on every rider and ban all photo motos
It would be interesting to see that.
I don't understand why they ride so close to the riders. The cameras can zoom in. Enforcing a minimum three or four meter separation could help.
How many of the motos are for cameras? The wheel bikes make sense, because they can get to riders quicker. Maybe reduce the number of them, they could always stop to reload, or tag in/out with a fully equipped moto.
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 09/03/2015 07:14 PM |
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This is road cycling. "We've always done it this way" is a powerful mantra.
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Gonzo Cyclist
Posts:568
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| 09/04/2015 09:34 AM |
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Pretty good article on Cycling news about the Moto issue, hit the nail on the head, a lot of these guys do this once a year, they are licensed, but they get in because they know somebody, etc......So I can appreciate the professional escort companies, but sounds like a lot of these guys are amateur's at best
The numbers of vehicles is ridiculous in a grand tour, more vehicles than riders |
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