LAPPARTIENT'S POINT AFTER AIOCC, BETWEEN SAFETY, EARPIECES, GPS, CALENDARS, POINTS AND BAD WEATHER

POLITICS | 22/11/2024 | 16:30
di Carlo Malvestio
This morning at the Congress Center in Riva del Garda, the AIOCC Assembly took place, bringing together cycling race organizers from around the world. In addition to President Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France, the UCI President David Lappartient and the UEC President Enrico Della Casa also spoke, for a true global gathering of all the main stakeholders in the cycling world. At the end of the general assembly, the number one of world cycling, President Lappartient, spoke to the press to clarify some hot topics of recent months. On safety and earpieces. "There is a safety issue, and there is a race spectacularization issue, these are not the same topic and sometimes one tries to address one by taking arguments from the other. What we decided to do are some race tests without earpieces. What we noticed is that there were fewer crashes when there were no earpieces. I do not hide that there are advantages in their use, but at the same time I believe they contribute to creating greater dangers. First of all, because riders receive the same communication at the same time, for example, when a roadway narrows. Everyone moves to the front, and the crash does not occur when the road actually narrows, but before, because everyone has received the same instructions. As mentioned, we have done some tests, although, being realistic, I do not believe that with 2-3 attempts one can draw a general conclusion, much broader statistics would be needed. However, we saw that at the Worlds, setting aside the tragic fall of Muriel that I will return to later, in general, there are fewer crashes without the use of earpieces. Even letting riders listen to race radio is a solution. However, sports directors want them for tactics and strategy, and this has nothing to do with safety. They combine the two things because it is convenient, but it is not what we want. Some riders, whom I will not cite but can assure are big names, have asked us to remove the earpiece. Many prefer to keep them, but in the group it is discussed, and there are those who think that without them there would be less stress. I have not seen any rider complaining about the lack of earpieces at the world championships. Also because it is the same rider who wins all the races, with or without them. Indeed, perhaps Pogačar would not have started 100 km from the finish with earpieces, and perhaps the race would have been different. He accomplished a feat because he went by instinct, by feeling, and that is exactly what we want in races. Moreover, I find it somewhat unpleasant that some attach themselves to the tragic accident of Muriel Furrer, currently under police investigation, to push forward their ideas." Muriel's incident and GPS. "About the incident we must only wait for the police to do their work and reach conclusions. Certainly we must make steps forward on the safety side, and technology can help us with this. Today we have tools like GPS trackers and similar that could allow us to locate a fallen rider, as in Muriel's case. Certainly, the circumstances - the heavy rain, poor visibility and the fact that there was no one at that point - will be taken into consideration by the police, but in fact, what happened is shocking. Currently, according to UCI rules, communications between the rider and the outside are forbidden. Can we think of modifying the rule to locate a rider in certain situations? No, but what matters is that when it comes to safety and locating a rider, by definition, any restrictions must be eliminated, because the idea is that a rider should always be locatable, especially in case of a fall. In reality, the problem here is not that the rider was not locatable with his GPS, it is that in reality no one had noticed that the rider had not passed at all. Now, if one day, and this is a possible evolution in GPS, an alert comes to the judges or commissaires' car saying: 'Attention this GPS sensor is no longer moving', then we will know that perhaps it is because the rider has abandoned, but maybe also because he has fallen in a remote area of the course. In fact, this will allow a prompt reaction. So yes, technology has come a long way today and we must use it, we will never put technological barriers to guarantee rider safety." On yellow cards and disqualifications. "We know we need to make changes on this and we are discussing it with the various parties involved, primarily the riders. It is important to prevent potentially dangerous behaviors and we actually think that by assigning a yellow card, knowing that a second will exclude you from the race, for example, will bring more attention. Often there are behaviors that must be sanctioned, but which perhaps do not deserve exclusion, only that at the moment we had few alternatives in between. I believe the riders agree on this, we have received positive feedback and we will try to implement it soon. Then, obviously, it must be calibrated, it must be regulated, one cannot be too flexible but not too hard either. And above all, commissaires must be trained in the use of this tool, so that it is used consistently across different races. It can be given during the race when caught in the act, but also after, if there are irregularities that occur at the finish during sprints or in the last kilometers." On the 2026 calendar reform. "We do not necessarily intend to greatly expand the World Tour. Today we already have more racing days. If we do it, it is for cases that allow it, to broaden the global vision, like the Copenhagen Sprint that will be born in 2025. It is about arriving in territories where we are not with races that have the level to be there. So, for example, in France, Italy and Belgium we have no need to expand the calendar. We are open to everything. The position of the big races? What we saw in 2020, during Covid, is that what seemed impossible was done. But this does not mean it should be repeated. The Tour de France was held in September, the Giro in October, the Vuelta ended in early November, the Tour of Flanders closed the season. The public's enthusiasm, however, remained the same. Simply, what always seems impossible to change can evolve. But when something is modified, there must be a good reason. I am not for changing just to change. If we do it, it is to solve a problem. Let me give an example. The Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Road Race sometimes find themselves dealing with temperatures around 45°. It is nice to start the year there, but could they instead close the calendar? If so, what races do we put at the beginning? I'm not saying something will change, but it is right to ask these questions. Then that the Tour de France will remain in July is obvious. Just as the Giro will remain in May, week more or less, trying to avoid the snow problem. More delicate the Vuelta issue, because in mid-August, in southern Spain, it is really very hot. And with global warming temperatures could rise even more. This is another question we must ask ourselves for the health of the riders. We also want to reduce travel to be a bit more sustainable, and not go right and left like spinning tops. Everything can be discussed, even ending the season with Il Lombardia, which I like very much as a finale, but why not close with the World Championships? It depends obviously on the location, but with the temperatures in Rwanda or Abu Dhabi it would not be bad to race there in October. In any case, if we change, we must do it for a good reason that we are able to explain. And it must lead to something positive." On earning UCI points by competing in other disciplines, such as cyclocross, track, etc. "It is a long discussion because we always continue to return to this issue. At the moment it is an idea. The balance is delicate, because teams usually do not want to leave their riders free for a certain number of days. But for some athletes to have the opportunity to be a bit outside the team, to qualify for other world championships, to qualify for the Games, to be champions on track or MTB is something unique. So it is something to discuss with the teams, because we do not want them to be deprived of participation in these disciplines, but we also do not want them to participate in other disciplines just to gain points. So what is the proportion of this? We are discussing it. The teams have told us, 'OK, we can talk about it, but is there an incentive? Is there a bonus for us too?' At the moment there is nothing certain, we will not apply it in 2025, because we believe that for the three-year cycle, rules should not be changed during its course. It is not fair to introduce them in the middle of the game. So, if a compromise is found, it will only be in 2026." On the protocol for bad weather. "Of course, it is something we have to face great challenges: very low temperatures, snow, etc... We are in constant contact with teams, organizers and riders. Now we have a solid protocol, but we could make modifications in the future. It is not simple because each situation is a bit specific, in some countries, for example, it is the prefect who decides what to do. Recently it happened in a women's race in France that they could not start due to the decision of the public authority. So, we have our protocol, but we must also follow the specific rules of the various territories. Last week I was at Bernard Henault's 70th birthday, and I told him: 'Look, Bernard, at the 1980 Liège-Bastogne-Liège you wrote the legend of cycling, and we were very happy not to have the winter protocol, otherwise that race and that feat would not have existed.' A balance must be found. Tre Valli Varesine? It is not the task of a single party to decide. There must be a decision-making process with all members involved. Once a decision is made, it must be respected. However, there must be a discussion following a protocol or an adaptation to changing circumstances, but not that one party digs in and chooses for itself, even if of course the race cannot take place without the riders." On his candidacy for IOC President. "The IOC Presidential elections are on March 21, while taking office is on June 24. The UCI elections, instead, are at the end of September. In terms of timing, the deadline for applying to the UCI is three months before, so in June, when I will already know whether I have been elected to the IOC or not. I will eventually have three months to prepare my candidacy. If I am not elected IOC president, I would like to continue with the UCI."