Wielrennen #84

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Op vrijdag 18 maart 2011 16:15 schreef Steven184 het volgende:

Het feit dat het zonder oortjes veiliger is, is eigenlijk nog het mooist. Daar gaat het argument van zijn ploegleider.

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Op vrijdag 18 maart 2011 18:24 schreef Sjoerd102 het volgende:
Ik kwam er vandaag pas achter dat zondag de ronde van het groene hart niet doorgaat.

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UCI president McQuaid addresses pro riders on radio ban

By:
Cycling News
Published:
March 18, 17:31,
Updated:
March 18, 17:31

Claims riders are being coerced by teams

UCI president Pat McQuaid today issued an open letter to the sport's professional riders, who have recently been caught in the midst of a contentious debate over the progressive banning of race radios by the UCI.

The teams' organisation AIGCP and riders' organisation CPA have threatened to boycott the UCI-promoted Tour of Beijing unless the rule, which bans radio communications between a team and its riders during all but WorldTour races, is rescinded by May 1.

McQuaid would not allow the organisations' representatives take part in a meeting scheduled to discuss the issue yesterday unless they retracted the threat, which they did not.

The UCI has repeatedly stated that it will not back down on the rule, and below McQuaid goes into more detail on why the regulation was put into place.

He also responds to open letters from riders Jens Voigt and Grischa Niermann, who publicly opposed the ban.

Cyclingnews has reproduced the letter in full, unedited.

Dear Riders,

The discussions are heated concerning the progressive banning of earpieces during races. That is why I feel it is necessary to address you collectively to try to clarify some points in the debate that is unfortunately no longer calm and constructive.

However, I would first of all like to congratulate most of you for your ability up until now and despite your opinions to remain reasonable faced with a situation that others have decided to render increasingly tense and therefore extremely difficult.

Respect from both sides should always be at the basis of any conflict of ideas, and I can therefore assure you that the open letters that two of your colleagues (Grischa Niermann and Jens Voigt) recently published in the media have caught my attention.

Although I in no way share their opinions, nor agree with their explanations Ill come back to this I sincerely appreciate their willingness to contribute to this difficult phase of the debate, without losing sight of the fundamental principles of dialogue and the need to remain open to other opinions. It is for this reason that I will try to reply to them, all the while being conscious of the fact that , the threats of « drastic » actions and the ultimatums that have been laid down will lead nowhere and will just heat things up even more. It is no secret that over the last years our sport has been susceptible to wide criticism, and this attitude, which has unfortunately become almost chronic to the point that we can almost wonder what will set off the next conflict after that of the earpieces , has always been extremely detrimental to cyclings image.

I begin by informing you that in 2008 I was convened to a meeting with the biggest producer of television images of cycling, France Television, and was told by senior executives clearly that if radios were retained in cycling and used as they were being used that the coverage of cycling on television would be reduced. I was given several examples of the reasons for this which I will go into later..

Following that worrying conversation I had discussions with other media outlets and was given similar viewpoints. Indeed you will be well aware that German television has stopped broadcasting cycling. Doping was an element certainly but so were other issues. If the product was so interesting that people clamoured for it ARD and ZDF would not have killed the coverage.

And so the UCI began a consultation process.

A working group has studied the earpieces since 2008 and as part of that group riders have been sitting at the same table as the teams and the media :Cedric Vasseur and Dario Cioni were your representatives and Serge Parsani, Joxean Matxin and John Lelangue that of the teams. By reading the recent claims of different players in the world of cycling, we could be led to believe that the banning of earpieces was decided upon in a one-sided fashion and in haste: in reality, this project is the result of deep reflection over a period of two years. Your representatives should have informed you of this.

I would also like to remind you that in 2008 and 2009, the CPA led an enquiry into the subject among its 865 members. The President of your association at the time, Mr Cédric Vasseur, will be able to confirm the very surprising fact that he only received 200 replies (less than one in four) with a very even distribution of opinions for and against.

Over and beyond the worrying indifference that these figures show, another aspect raises my curiosity: although the general situation has not changed, it is claimed that 90% of you are convinced that the earpieces are essential . The UCI can only take note of this extremely surprising alleged change in trend especially in the light of numerous declarations we have received from riders in the last few months in favour of the banning and ask ourselves this question: what has happened within the peloton ? Have the riders been put under pressure? Are you really free to express your opinions?

As for the reasons that pushed the UCI towards the progressive banning of earpieces, they are fairly obvious and above all well-known, so I will simply summarize them: return the rider to the centre of action, make him fully responsible for his strategy and evaluation of the situation during each phase of the race in order to avoid all outside control, which considerably reduces the unpredictable character of an event and therefore the thrill that our sport can offer to its millions of fans. Our sport is one of intelligence and physical ability with elements of chance thrown in.

The support of the media particularly television for this readjustment is a demonstration of the necessity to intervene on this point: the course of too many races is now a foregone conclusion, and this limits enormously the large scale visibility of cycling.

We dont want to prove anything with this decision. We just want to make cycling more attractive to the general public, which in turn will increase its popularity and hopefully improve your working conditions. Keeping cycling attractive is also necessary for cyclist to be able to remain cyclists and for giving others the opportunity to become cyclists later.

The comparison with F1 brought up in Jens letter is very interesting: with all my due respect for this sport, it is exactly what we want to avoid! The story of cycling is above all a story of people, and we want it to stay that way.

As in a football match or any other sporting confrontation including American professional leagues , the contact between those on the field and the coaches and members of the teams technical staff on the sidelines, must be strictly regulated. There is no sport where the coaches and strategists are in constant communication with the athletes throughout the duration of play. Cycling cannot and does not want to be an exception to this fundamental principle of sport.

Now to the question of security: I would ask you not, like Jens, to fall into the trap of rabble-rousing. An accident is an accident, and its consequences especially when they are very serious cannot be manipulated to try to turn the tables faced with a problem. Cycling wasnt more dangerous before the arrival of earpieces. I can assure you that UCI is currently studying this point and discussing the possibilities with communication experts and I am prepared to allow any form of communication which will inform cyclists of safety issues, provided it is technically and economically feasible.

The sporting aspects of the race can also be interpreted differently depending on the view of each person. Jens, if a rider loses a race in the last kilometres, his directeur sportif and his sponsor will most certainly be unhappy. However, somewhere in the line of cars following the event, there will be someone who is delighted; therefore allow me not to go back to this argument. It is swings and roundabouts: one day it is you and your team another day it is another. Except maybe to deduce that this point in your letter is probably the most meaningful to explain the enormous danger that hides behind this discussion, but which apparently you are not aware of: the denial of the fundamental values of sport.

I would have preferred to leave doping out of this discussion, but I realise that I cant resist pointing out a few facts on this subject, which is also used far too often as a scapegoat depending on the demands and the needs of the moment.

The UCI is by far the most committed International Federation in this field, and cycling can be proud of its front-running position compared with other sports, which, increasingly acknowledge the quality of our efforts and use them as inspiration for their own initiatives. Despite the way in which the letters of Jens and Grisha could be perceived, I dont think that the riders are in the best position to remind us of the seriousness and the urgency of certain situations: if doping still exists, its is only because there are still riders who dope! And if it is true and undeniable that the habits of a large number of you have changed, it is also true that we are still confronted with a fairly high number of cases, which, despite the remarkable progress of our anti-doping results, means we are constantly in an environment of suspicion and tension faced with the public opinion.

But unfortunately, on this point, the riders too often tend to forget their role and their responsibilities: there are bigger problems in our sport which need your attention. I have never heard your riders association CPA nor teams association AIGCP showing similar indignation, mobilisation or militancy at the doping scandals which befall our sport. When it comes to raise the contribution to the fight against doping from the prize money, it is a flat refusal. This is where you should be addressing your open letters.

To Grischa, Jens and all riders, it would be too easy for me to reply with the same somewhat naïve statements.. I could ask you to explain to the mother of a young rider why his models, or even his heroes, are weighed down by legal procedures, or why they seriously endanger their health, prompting a new-comer to take the same risks.

But dont worry, I wont. On the other hand, I cant stop myself noting, with some disappointment, that you havent hesitated in joining your directeurs sportifs in a fight that has become their own before it has become yours. I say this is their own because UCI fully believes that this is not a fight about radios but rather a fight for power and control. UCI is aware of steps being taken to set up a private league, World Cycling Tour, outside UCI, by certain team managers. I wonder will the financial benefits they are chasing benefit you, the riders. Somehow I think not! I quote Johan Bruyneel "I've been laying the framework for something great But you'll just have to wait and see".

The feeling I get is that you have been falsely led to believe that the opinion of riders was never taken into consideration and that you were left out of the debate. This would naturally prompt a collective reaction of contempt on your part.. Yet when it comes to addressing the true issue at stake, I have trouble identifying a single and collective stance on the riders side. For every self-declared spokesperson for the riders decrying the ban on earpieces there is another self-effaced rider sending the UCI private letters of support. I can understand every rider, be he a sprinter, a GC contender, a climber or a Classics rider can put forward reasons to support the use of radio for personal reasons .And even if the numbers were on the side of those opposing the ban, would you really expect your International Federation to be run based on the outcomes of popularity contests or individual interests within one single stakeholder of cycling? Is that truly a desirable quality to be found in a governing body, or do you not find it more fitting and reassuring that it be guided by the general interest, sportsmanship values and long-term sustainability?

I leave it with you and look forward to meeting up in the near future.

Yours sincerely,
Pat McQuaid UCI President

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Op vrijdag 18 maart 2011 17:16 schreef TheArt het volgende:
De Handzame Classic is gewonnen door Steve Schets

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UCI is aware of steps being taken to set up a private league, World Cycling Tour, outside UCI, by certain team managers. I wonder will the financial benefits they are chasing benefit you, the riders. Somehow I think not! I quote Johan Bruyneel "I've been laying the framework for something great But you'll just have to wait and see".

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Toen ik op stond was die al weg..
RT @Vannieuwkerke: Ik ga ervan uit dat @kennyvanhummel het fototoestel gewoon (cont) http://tl.gd/9bnb17

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Op vrijdag 18 maart 2011 19:23 schreef Pino112 het volgende:

[..]

Van Hummel onderuit gehaald door een camera? [ afbeelding ]

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Op vrijdag 18 maart 2011 19:37 schreef Beregd het volgende:

[..]

en dat vind jij grappig omdat?

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Op vrijdag 18 maart 2011 19:43 schreef Zelva het volgende:
McQuaid en co brengen nog steeds geen enkel argument/redenering/bewijs naar voren waaruit blijkt dat het zonder oortjes allemaal veel aantrekkelijker wordt. Zolang dat niet komt, heeft het geen enkele zin om met de UCI hierover te praten.

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Op vrijdag 18 maart 2011 19:43 schreef Zelva het volgende:
McQuaid en co brengen nog steeds geen enkel argument/redenering/bewijs naar voren waaruit blijkt dat het zonder oortjes allemaal veel aantrekkelijker wordt. Zolang dat niet komt, heeft het geen enkele zin om met de UCI hierover te praten.

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1 Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil)
2 Bert Scheirlinckx (Landbouwkrediet)
3 Yohan Cauquil (La Pomme Marseille)
4 Toms Skujins (La Pomme Marseille)

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Op zondag 20 maart 2011 09:44 schreef kawotski het volgende:
Niet helemaal duidelijk of de Ronde van het Groene Hart gereden wordt vandaag.. iemand meer info, en wordt het uitgezonden?

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De Stichting Ronde van het Groene Hart heeft vandaag een zwaar, maar onvermijdelijk,
besluit moeten nemen. Op 20 maart zal er geen 5e Ronde van het Groene Hart worden
verreden. De belangrijkste reden hiervoor is dat, ondanks de inzet van velen, er geen nieuwe
zakelijke hoofdsponsor voor het evenement is gevonden. Een grote tegenvaller voor de
organisatie, die terug kan kijken op 4 succesvolle edities van de wielerklassieker voor
beroepsrenners. De wedstrijd over 200 km is in 2007 vooral in het leven geroepen ter
promotie van het Groene Hart en kon tot dusver op een brede steun van de diverse overheden en het bedrijfsleven rekenen. De Ronde was ook uniek omdat de wedstrijd live door SBS6 werd uitgezonden.

Koersdirecteur Herman Brinkhoff: Bijzonder sneu voor de partners die de Stichting ook in 2011 hun steun hadden toegezegd, zoals de Stuurgroep Groene Hart (in casu de 3 Provincies), startplaats Pijnacker en finishplaats Zoetermeer. En ook voor die vele vrijwilligers die zich al die jaren hebben ingezet om de Ronde een succes te laten zijn.
Maar de koersdirecteur blijft optimistisch: Wij blijven zoeken naar een nieuwe hoofdsponsor zodat we in 2012 de draad weer kunnen oppakken.
Ook het bestuur van de Stichting zal zich onverminderd blijven inzetten voor een vervolg van de Ronde in 2012.

De 5e Joop Zoetemelk Classic, de aan de Ronde gelieerde cyclo-sportieve toertocht met start en finish in Leiden op zaterdag 19 maart gaat uiteraard wel gewoon door. De organisatie van deze Classic is in handen van de LRTV Swift uit Leiden en vormt de ouverture van de Maand van het Groene Hart, die duurt van 19 maart tot 30 april.
Leiden, 7 januari 2011

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Alberto Contador cautiously optimistic about 2011 Tour of Catalunya

* By VeloNews.com
* Published Mar 19th 2011 2:36 PM EDT
*

Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) says hes motivated for the weeklong Tour of Catalunya, which begins Monday, but he doesnt expect to have it easy in Spains oldest stage race.

Nearly two weeks after winning the Vuelta a Murcia, Contador enters the race cautiously optimistic he can do well against a tough field that includes Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale), Cadel Evans (BMC) and Denis Menchov (Geox-TMC).

I dont know what to say, maybe its more complicated because the course is too favorable to the attacks, Contador said in a press statement. The third day is the key stage, finishing in Andorra, in Pal, but the rest are difficult days and there is no time trial. In this sense, the course is not too favorable for me.

Contador will likely have one eye on the calendar, as the UCI has until Thursday to decide on whether or not it will appeal the Spanish federations decision to clear the Spanish rider on clenbuterol charges.

Contador, meanwhile, says he will continue to keep working to prepare for the first major goal of his season at the Giro dItalia.

No, we will not change anything (in the calendar). Ill continue with the Tour of Castilla and Leon, as preparation for the Giro, and I will pass by Belgium, at the Fleche Wallonne, which last year I did well, Contador said. I have wanted to go because it is very nice, because the fans and because it has a great reputation. And then, the Giro de Italia.

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Cycling boss wants sport revamp & reveals 10-point plan

Vaughters has dubbed cycling "human F1 car racing"

By John Sinnott

A major revamp of cycling could put the sport on a par with the Premier League, says Garmin-Cervelo's director.

Jonathan Vaughters, who is president of the Association of Pro Tour and Pro Continental teams, has given BBC Sport a 10-point plan to rebrand cycling.

"If you look at cycling's demographic it should be infinitely more successful than it is," said Garmin's Vaughters.

"It should be on the level of Premier Football. The Tour de France is maybe the world's greatest sporting event."

Doping has cast a giant shadow over cycling and the UCI - the sport's governing body - has until 24 March to appeal against the overturning of Alberto Contador's one-year doping ban by the Spanish federation.

While admitting that doping is cycling's "Achilles heel", former professional rider Vaughters mounted a rigorous and passionate defence of a sport he calls "human F1 car racing" and the "exploration of the ultimate in human performance".

"Cycling has introduced the most strict enforcement of anti-doping regulations of any sport, so you will always see more people caught," said the Garmin-Cervelo chief.

"Cycling is absolutely transparent. What do you prefer - struggling with scandals but with a fair competition, or do you want to bury the scandal and the competition is unfair?"

As a way of boosting the anti-doping fight, Vaughters called for teams to be given long-term entry to the Tour de France in return for a significant donation to combat doping.
Jonathan Vaughters
Garmin's Vaughters is also the ACIGP president

At present teams are given entry on an annual basis, but Vaughters believes a deal of five, 10 or 15 years could help provide cycling with financial stability and also beat the drugs cheats.

"Guaranteed participation could help teams generate more sponsorship," said Vaughters. "In return teams would be obliged to donate 20% of new money to combat doping."

The Garmin-Cervelo director argues such a proposal could generate a donation of up to 50m euros for anti-doping initiatives over a five-year period.

Vaughters put the proposal to the UCI soon after his election as president of the Association of Pro Tour and Pro Continental teams (AIGCP) in 2009, but never heard back from the sport's governing body.

"The UCI's willingness to hear and give credence to ideas put forward is fairly limited," added Vaughters, who is unhappy that he has so little say in the running of the sport, despite representing 28 teams and over 3,000 employees.

"My ability to vote on any regulation is essentially nil. The AIGCP is cycling's biggest stakeholder, but has no power to veto new regulations. That is ineffective governance."

The AIGCP is already in dispute with the UCI over its ban on radio communication in races and has threatened to boycott the Tour of Beijing in October if the sport's governing body does not withdraw its veto by 1 May.

"This a team sport that is conducted at 80/kmh," added Vaughters. "If we are going to have a modern sport there has to be communication and just as importantly that rule was introduced without speaking to anyone in the field.

"The regulations are limiting creativity, intelligence and engineering. There is so much more that could be done to improve cycling, but we're being held back by decision making."

Vaughters' 10-point plan to reinvigorate cycling:

1. More races of the highest level outside of Europe.

2. Consistent, understandable formats for cycling fans.

3. Long-term guaranteed entry to the Tour de France for professional teams.

4. More focus on prevention of doping, in the first place, as opposed to catching cheats.

5. More team-time trials more often.

6. Technical innovation, such as cameras on bikes, inside cars, helmets, inside team buses to make the "craziness and danger of the peloton more real to the viewer".

7. Equipment innovation to see if the the smartest team wins sometimes, rather than the strongest.

8. Open radios to the public and listen to your favourite team and what they are doing.

9. GPS tracking of individual riders to make races fun to watch.

10. Have an understandable and consistent way of determining the best rider in the world and the best team in the world. That might mean riders have to ride Paris-Roubaix, and if they do not finish they would be docked points.

Bron: BBC

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3. Long-term guaranteed entry to the Tour de France for professional teams.

5. More team-time trials more often.

7. Equipment innovation to see if the the smartest team wins sometimes, rather than the strongest.

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Op maandag 21 maart 2011 13:19 schreef Beregd het volgende:
eens met 2-4-6-8-9, oneens met de rest

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Op maandag 21 maart 2011 16:03 schreef franklop het volgende:
iemand die een liveticker van catalonie heeft?

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1. Gatis Smukulis (HTC-Highroad) 4:08:48
2. Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD) a 28
3. J. Joaquín Rojas (Movistar) m.t.
4. Rigoberto Urán (Sky) m.t.
5. Jan Bakelants (Omega Pharma-Lotto) m.t.
6. Maxime Bouet (AG2R) m.t.
7. Paolo Tiralongo (Astana) m.t.
8. Cadel Evans (BMC) m.t.
9. Bauke Mollema (Rabobank) m.t.
10. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) m.t.

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Op maandag 21 maart 2011 15:56 schreef SaintOfKillers het volgende:
Ik ben niet tegen meer koersen buiten Europa, maar ik vind wel dat die hun World Tour status moet verdienen, en hem niet zomaar moeten krijgen omdat het iemand goed uitkomt, zoals Canada (zelfs al zijn dat mooie koersen, dan nog is 't absoluut geen probleem om die eerst wat te laten groeien).

Steek eerst maar de Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Frankfurt, Emilia, Piemonte en consoorten in de World Tour, koersen die het verdiend hebben. Nu kan het nog, straks zijn die ook allemaal half of helemaal dood zoals de Ronde van Lazio, Milaan-Turijn en de Coppa Placci.

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Op maandag 21 maart 2011 18:41 schreef SuikerVuist het volgende:
Uitslag 1e etappe Catalonië

http://www.edosof.com/2011/volta/resulta/etapa011.htm

O.a. Menchov, Sastre, Soler, Quintana, Brice Feillu en Martens op grote achterstand binnengekomen.

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Op maandag 21 maart 2011 18:41 schreef TheArt het volgende:

[..]

Dat van Menchov is logisch. Die is onlangs aangereden op training en kreeg daar ook nog eens een griepje bovenop te verwerken.

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Op maandag 21 maart 2011 18:51 schreef SuikerVuist het volgende:

[..]

Yup, en Sastre wil zich alleen rustig in vorm rijden. De rest was sowieso een groot vraagteken natuurlijk.

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Op maandag 21 maart 2011 18:53 schreef TheArt het volgende:

[..]

Klopt, al had ik vooral van Quintana veel meer verwacht. Als Atapuma in de 1e groep zit, moet hij dat ook zeker kunnen.

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Op maandag 21 maart 2011 20:31 schreef SuikerVuist het volgende:
Phinney moet gaan vrezen voor niet-selectie Ronde van Vlaanderen en Parijs Roubaix denk ik. BMC zou na Catalonië beslissen (na al een slechte Ronde van Oman) en vandaag eindigt hij helemaal achteraan.

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Op maandag 21 maart 2011 20:38 schreef TheArt het volgende:

[..]

Daar hebben ze voor Vlaanderen genoeg anderen: Ballan, Van Avermaet, Quinziato, Hincapie, Kroon, Burghardt en verder ook nog Kristoff en Schär en dan zit je al aan 8.

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Op maandag 21 maart 2011 22:43 schreef Marcoss het volgende:

[..]

Phinney geeft zelf wel aan dat hij wil starten in Vlaanderen en Parijs-Roubaix dit jaar.

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11 major teams considering plans to break away from the UCI

By:
Stephen Farrand
Published:
March 21, 21:00,
Updated:
March 21, 21:13


Vaughters and Zomegnan refuse to rule out the creation of separate professional league

International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid accused several team managers of plotting to breakaway from the UCI and set-up an alternative ProTour in his open letter to riders on Friday.

It seems his fears are well founded.

Cyclingnews understands that at least 11 major teams are considering the creation of new, more commercially driven and innovatively managed structure to run mens professional cycling.

This could result in professional cycling following a similar path to that of Premier League soccer in Britain, the NBA in the United States or Formula 1 motor racing; where the sport is run as a business by a private company rather than under the control of an international governing body recognised by the International Olympic Committee.

The teams are staying tight-lipped on their plans at the moment but any breakaway league would have to include many of the current ProTeams and the major races on the professional calendar for it to succeed.

Cyclingnews spoke to Angelo Zomegnan, the head of RCS Sports Cycling Events Manager. He admitted he had talked to people involved in the breakaway project but was reticent about giving away any details.

I've drank quite a few coffees with lots of different people in the last few days, but the project hasn't been presented to us yet. Before we can really sit down and discuss it, we need to know what they've got in mind, he said.

There is a risk of a breakaway from the UCI, of course there is. But it's early to talk about it and RCS Sport is obliged to stay on the side of the sport that has been created by the national and international federations.

Cyclingnews contacted several teams but they refused to confirm if they are part of the 11 renegade teams but indicated that the management of professional cycling has to change.

The UCI currently regulates every aspect of the sport, including professional cycling. It controls the race calendar, decides which teams have ProTeam status and even makes the rules on bikes design and anti-doping.

It seems that the teams do not want to completely breakaway from the UCI, but want to decide how the highest level of the sport is run and want to control its long-term development.

The teams believe the UCI should focus on managing the non-professional aspects of cycling, such as track racing and amateur racing, supported by the funding they receive from the International Olympic Committee and from organising the annual world championships.

So far, UCI President Pat McQuaid has refused to concede any ground to the rebel teams on either the use of race radio or the much wider issue of governance of the sport.

He is supported by former UCI President Hein Verbruggen, who is now the President of Sport Accord, the umbrella organisation that helps international federations with expert advice and a wide range of services.

In his open letter to riders published last Friday, McQuaid warned them against joining with the teams in any attempt to seize control of professional cycling from the UCI. However, many of the riders, like the major teams, are tired of the UCIs dictates.

Tour de France is the key

The Tour de France is by far the biggest and most lucrative event in professional cycling and would have to be part of any new breakaway organisation for it to succeed. The teams know this, Tour de France organiser Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) knows this and so does the UCI.

After years of tension, ASO is now on good terms with the UCI and Cyclingnews understands that ASO Director of Cycling Christian Prudhomme attended the UCI's PCC meeting in Milan last Thursday. However he has also spoken to several team managers.

ASO always vehemently defends its right to own and control the television rights for its races but may be willing to concede a part of their income in return for a role in any possible breakaway ProTour that could generate much bigger income for everyone involved.

Giro dItalia organiser RCS Sport, the Amgen Tour of California organizer AEG and Flanders Classics NV, which organizes the Tour of Flanders and other Belgian Classics, would also play a key role in the success of any breakaway ProTour.

Vaughters stays pragmatic

Garmin-Cervelo team manager Jonathan Vaughters is the head of the Association International des Groupes Cyclistes Professionels (AIGCP) that represents the leading professional teams. He has tried to talk to the UCI about the race radio issue but has also admitted there is a power struggle going on between the UCI and the teams.

Vaughters pointed out the many difficulties of creating a breakaway ProTour but refused to rule it out.

"I'm from America, and I grew up with the (National Football League) NFL and the (National Basketball Association) NBA. The league model of sports certainly seems better for the athletes and for the teams than what is currently occurring in cycling right now, without a doubt. But the pragmatic intermediate steps (to create an independent league) are many," he told Cyclingnews.

They (the UCI) are the governing body of the sport. They're the IOC-designated body of international cycling. I think the most productive step for the AIGCP is to continue to push to improve governance, to improve regulations and improve treatment by the UCI.

"But we'd be crazy not to consider it. When you're treated poorly, you've got to consider the relationship, right? Ultimately you've got say 'Is this the best thing for the sport? As of right now, I can't answer of that with any surety."