Race organizers rely on manufacturer vehicles to keep the race intact and safe as it progresses along country roads and into mountain ranges. The relationship between vehicles and cyclists in bikes race was readily available to witness in the Bay Area for 14 years during the Amgen Tour of California.
It was a race within a race, but the event has been canceled for But how carmakers coordinate with pro teams and how vehicles support riders in the moveable maze on wheels will unfold again soon. The nearly year-long international season begins this month. Events will sporadically be broadcast on television and via international streaming. Unlike cycling teams of yesteryear that relied on panel vans or mini cars with questionable reliability, most current teams opt for all-wheel drive wagons or SUVs.
One now-defunct team in recent years had two Porsche Panamera sports cars as support vehicles. During training and races, team vehicles transport extra bikes, wheels, various equipment, food, water, and medical equipment.
Numerous factors will influence who is chosen as leader. The most experienced, the healthiest, those in best form or those who possess specific skills which suit a particular course structure, are all factors which will determine who is chosen, and what subsequent tactics are adopted. From here, the team director will direct riders via two-way radios, therefore keeping in constant contact with the riders, allowing for strategy and tactics to evolve and adapt to changing circumstances within the race.
Changes in point structure set to affect strategy:. One interesting change made for the Tour de France, which could make a real difference to the destination of one of the jerseys, is a new system of points which is to be awarded for the intermediate sprints. Within this system, a greater amount of points will be awarded for those first to cross the line at the intermediates. Subsequently, these changes are likely to demand that certain riders, such as Cavendish, change the way they race in order to remain competitive.
Meanwhile, these changes are likely to benefit the likes of Thor Hushovd for the TdF. These changes mean that team directors will have to seriously reconsider the strategies they adopt. Radios were introduced into professional cycling in the s, allowing managers to dictate team strategy to a much greater extent. Recently, there have been debates over whether or not radios should continue to be an integral part of professional cycling. The UCI originally voted to phase out the use of radio earpieces in the professional peloton by , given concerns that the technology was eroding the spontaneity and excitement of cycling.
A UCI spokesman declared the ban was to ensure races are not,. We would like to restore the spirit of the racing. You are the rider, you have to decide based on your instincts, you have to decide by yourself what you have to do, whether to attack or not.
Riders such as Cancellara are opposed to the ban on radio communications. A fair point, but riders such as Cancellara have expressed their discontent at these developments,. Cancellara has been joined by others such as Evans to suggest that race radios are needed for rider safety above anything else, and that race radios have already proved themselves to be a crucial element in protecting riders from upcoming hazards.
The case of former Dutch junior time trial champion Jelle Lugten illustrates just how important radios can be. The Dutchman was hit head on by a car, which entered the course after disobeying race marshals. Many believe that the accident could have been avoided if Lugten was equipped with a radio. Consequently, since the vote to phase out team radios, riders have voiced their dissatisfaction with the ruling. The Association of Professional Racers questioned a total of riders from across Europe, with the results revealing only 40 to be in favour of a complete ban, while revealed they were in support of the continued use of radios without any restrictions.
Rabobank are united in support of team radios. This essentially means that team radio chatter would be broadcast live during races, with the intention of allowing viewers to experience even more of the race. Nevertheless, there are several issues which could potentially arise as a consequence of this development. For instance, one commentator has suggested that teams would only discuss misleading strategies via radio, intended to confuse and deceive their opponents.
Are you in favour of a ban on team radios or opposed? Moreover, we want to hear about your most memorable moments in cycling over the years, where strategy was either clearly influential, or simply went out of the window altogether! The yellow jersey contender: The competition for the yellow jersey is based on the leader of the general classification, which ranks all riders by time. The riders on top of the general classification at the end of the Tour tend to be strong climbers and time trialists, because mountain and time trial stages usually create the biggest time gaps.
Teams like Sky are rigidly mechanical and deadly. They come into the Tour with a plan and follow it to the letter. Teams like Movistar function much more loosely, seemingly making up the gameplan on the fly. The domestique: A domestique is essentially a helper rider, someone who sacrifices his chances to climb up the general classification or win a stage so that a teammate can succeed.
Domestiques will often gather water bottles from team cars to pass out among teammates, or ride in front of a team leader to cut the wind for him, or even give up his bicycle if the team leader suffers a mechanical problem.
Depending on the type of stage, anyone — including the yellow jersey contender — could act as a domestique. When the terrain gets bumpier, those roles reverse.
The sprinter: Many casual fans understand the importance of the yellow jersey, but nearly as prestigious among riders is the green jersey, which is awarded to the rider who earns the most points from stage wins and intermediate sprints. These riders tend to be the fastest riders in terms of pure speed, because the biggest chunk of Tour de France stages take place on relatively flat land. Other important types of riders include the puncheur — all-around riders who are best at courses that are not too steep, and not too flat — and the time trial specialist — also a good all-around rider and valuable domestique , but particularly well-suited for riding alone against the clock.
The best yellow jersey contenders — Chris Froome, particularly — are often great time trialists. Again, the important thing to note is that, at certain points during the Tour, any of these riders could act as a domestique. Everyone has to make sacrifices for the good of the team. Every move is based the fact that it is much easier to ride behind someone than in front of someone. The long leadout trains are most easily seen on the flat stages, when teams will work hard to move their sprinters to the front of the peloton — the big bunch of plus riders sticking close together — and keep his legs fresh before he bursts forward to challenge for the stage victory.
Teamwork is perhaps most critical in the mountains, however. When Team Sky takes to the Alps, expect to see riders like Geraint Thomas, Egan Bernal, and Wout Poels near Chris Froome at all times, doing as much work as they can for their team leader for as long as their legs will hold out.
Riders like Thomas are often called superdomestiques for being yellow jersey-caliber riders who nonetheless are willing to sacrifice for a team leader. Having a teammate or two on difficult climbs is often what makes a great rider a champion. A great team can also go to the front of the peloton and drive the pace relentlessly high, snuffing out any idea of an attack before it begins.
Not only is Sky ridiculously talented top to bottom, it is also incredibly well coordinated, sharing the energy load as equitably as possible and driving all of their rivals mad.
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