Race radio ban

The early season bike races have begun and a few have seen rider demonstrations against the UCI's ban on riders using radio communications. Our friend "Chairman Bill" of BikeRaceinfo.com expressed our feelings exactly here while this photo reminds us of how dumb it is to have a team director driving a car while watching a TV screen and barking instructions to his riders via a two-way radio. How often have you seen a rider on TV yanking his earpiece out because he's tired of the "boss" yelling at him? Technology's had some bad effects on cycling as Bill notes. The worst episode I can recall is the time a director watched a competitor to his rider on TV in his car, then phoned a doctor associated with the team watching the coverage at home to get his thoughts on how long this rider could keep up the pace - then shared this information with his rider via two-way radio!