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Monday's mailbag: Drama, one-trick ponies and those darn radios

Published: Oct. 24, 2005

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

He blames it on Mario
Dear Velo,
I've been following JohnWilcockson's stories with great interest the last few weeks. Istarted following bike racing just before the start of the "English" invasion,so they are bringing back lots of fond memories.The other thing I've noticed is that the current peloton is clearlymissing a certain class of bike racer that was prevalent in the past: Namely,the multitalented sprinter.Sean Kelly was certainly known as the top sprinter of that era. I knewhe'd placed well in the overall competition at the Tour de France, butI'd forgotten he won the Tour of Spain. He also had a string of overallwins at Paris-Nice that may still be the record. Here's a guy who was botha top sprinter and high caliber climber.Another name that came up was that of Freddy Maertens. He was a littlebefore my time but I knew he was a top rank sprinter. What I didn't knowwas that he also won the Tour of Spain and placed highly in the Tour deFrance.In the modern era we still have the multitalented riders that can climband time trial, like Armstrong and Ullrich, but the sprinters are now allone trick ponies. Jalabert was the last of the sprinter-climbers. I blamea lot of this on Mario Cipollini. He hurt the sport by never even attemptingto finish the Tour de France. It became fashionable to win a few flat stagesat the start and then head off to the Riviera when the roads started toincline. You'll also notice there are no crossover winners for the one-dayclassics and the tours anymore. The sport has become less interesting andtoo predictable as a result.
Rob Soteros
Windsor, Ontario
CanadaHe blames technology
Dear VeloNews,
The letter from John Crowley was spot-on (see “Sciencestrips drama from cycling”). Want more drama in the Tour? Getrid of the damn race radios !
Tom Ekberg
Basking Ridge, New JerseyDitto
Dear Velo,
I have finally been motivated to write to you about an "issue" thatseems to be a "non-issue" for over a decade now. It concerns the use ofradios by the riders during competition. It is my opinion that comparedto the years prior to their use, the drama in racing has definitely decreased!Now riders like Lance Armstrong know exactly where everyone oneis at every moment. He knows which attacks are becoming dangerous or howhis attack is going instantly and to the nth degree, down to thesecond and he knows it immediately. Riders never has to take an uncalculateddecision, or race wondering how things are progressing. Sure, in the pastriders had team cars that would come up and inform riders, but nothinglike now. In the days of team cars passing info there was a delay and oftenthe cars could not get ahead to their riders. I submit that this has beenvery detrimental to the drama in cycling and makes the sport more and morerobotic.I am for the outlawing of radios and a rule change that would allowpro riders to ride without helmets again. Sure its dangerous but that shouldbe their decision. The use of helmets definitely takes away from the aestheticsof the sport. I can hear the uproar this statement will make. I for one,however, believe that watching the older videos of cycling shows that whenyou see men working hard in a break without helmets and one can see theirfaces and heads, the sport is so much more personal, close, dramatic andbeautiful!
Peace
Joe RiverYeah, Joe, we liked football a lot better with leather helmets, too.- EditorJust to clarify
Editors,
I would like clarify a point concerning the Ford-Basispress release that appeared on the VeloNews site last Thursday.It was necessary for Ford to consolidate its position in women's cyclingthis year. This unfortunately ended their sponsorship of the Ford-BasisWomen's Road Team. However, the Ford Cycling Women's Mountain Bike Team will be back racing in 2006. It is important that we make this distinction clear to our sponsors, the media, our fans and friends.The women's mountain team is looking  forward to another great season of World Cup, NORBA, and regional racing with Ford 100 percent behind them in their pursuit of athletic excellence.
David Myers
Director, Ford Cycling
Quick Release Racing, Inc.
 
The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.