Armstrong backs protest of Tour's two-day radio silence
Lance Armstrong on Sunday backed a protest by 15 of the 20 teams in this year’s Tour de France teams over plans to ban radio contact between riders and their team managers on two of next week's stages.
Armstrong's Astana team is one of 15 to have signed the petition against radio silence for stages 10 and 13, which was submitted on Saturday; French outfit Cofidis added its riders’ signatures on Sunday.
"I don't agree with it (the radio ban)," said seven-times Tour winner Armstrong.
"The race evolves, the bikes evolve, everything evolves. The cameras have evolved, the microphones have evolved and suddenly we are going to go back to a situation where directors will have to ride up into the peloton to give orders to riders — that is not a good thing.
"I remember those days, I have been around long enough to remember them. A few of the riders think it is a cute idea, but I don't. And the Tour de France is not the place to experiment — if you want to roll something out, do it in the Pyrenees or some place else, not on the Tour."
The French national road championships were run sans radios on June 28. The race was won by Dimitri Champion (Bretagne-Schuller), who said afterward: "It was funny, there were more conversations between riders, it was another race.”
Team managers normally communicate with their riders by radio to advise on tactics, approaching hazards and other important information.
But Tour organizers, following initial discussions between the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the teams' own representatives' groups, are insisting on a two-stage return to the old days to make the race more exciting and test the riders' initiative.
There will be radio silence for both Tuesday's 194.5km stage from Limoges to Issoudon and Friday's 200km-long ride from Vittel to Colmar.
Tour organizers on Saturday issued a statement affirming their decision to do without radios on the two stages. But Astana boss Johan Bruyneel says the teams are now waiting for another response.
"Cofidis joined Sunday and we are waiting for a reaction,” he said. “We will probably hold a meeting on Monday."
And the Belgian hinted at further action when asked what happens if the organizers fail to yield.
"I don't think any argument justifies the decision to ban radios,” he said.
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