Bicycle Blog Cyclelicious

Ready? Okay! TdF Stage 19 umm... Cavendish lost 14 points, and Hushovd got one extra point. That's 15. Hushovd is up by 25.

Thor earned this jersey by getting over the top of some hills and winning a stage while Cav was in the autobus, and by breaking away on the queen stage to get 12 points. Cav shouldn't whine. Bah, I'm so exhausted I can't even add today. Contador is an interesting character to say the least. Looks like we're seeing some AC PR on Youtube. This one takes the cake. TdF Stage 18: Otra pregunta It doesn't take much to prompt a question on doping from LeMond. According to his twitter feed, Levi was getting tested constantly before he had to abandon. An Astana team vehicle was searched a couple days ago and was clean. The presumption that a winner has to be doping by a former TDF winner is just as bad for the sport as a positive doping test.

Go away, Greg. re: "Contador's amazing performance today is prompting questions on doping"

It was Contador's Verbier climbing performance last Sunday that prompted LeMonds' comments. And what was so amazing about Contador's performance today?

Contador has been winning/ placing high in TTs all year. Also, it's well known that light cyclists do relatively better in TTs in the third week of a arduous Grand Tour. In the 2007 Tour de France, Contador beat Cancellara by 40 seconds during a final week TT on a flat course that didn't have a climb like today's.

Nobody can say for sure whether he is or isn't without a shred of evidence. ...lemond whining about it is par for the course but i gotta admit, senor contador seems to be handling any & all situations w/ no problem whatsoever...kinda superman-ish...hmmm...

..personally, i hope to bejeebus that the man is just better prepared than anyone else but to clobber spartacus at his specialty after 'toying' w/ the schleck's the day before, well gosh, fingers crossed...
...& when i say toying, i had the feeling that 'berto held himself in check when it looked like he coulda seriously clobbered everyone, not just taken time... Frank: That search was asinine, IMO. But maybe I should try some olive oil :-)

Steep: Yep, good points. I like that "wife beater" retweet you did. I'm of the opinion that only a fool would dope in this TdF, and Contador's no fool.

BGW: Me too. Nice links thank you Fritz.

Oh no. Lemond complaining? What's new? Hey, rememeber the handlebar tape named after him? Hee haw.

Conty smoked indeed. Time for a documentary and some books on how he does it. He's kind of in the media blacklight, totally. How ridiculous. Btw Fritz, there's an analysis on Contador's TT performance today over at Science of Sport. Now those two are some intelligent people. I would direct Fabian Cancellara there. Amazing performance. congrats!!!! good going............ Ron -- thanks for that Science of Sport link. Promoted it to a real link today and with props to you. Jens Voigt Thanks Fritz for the link. We were able to do away with a bunch of hogwash (from twitter), that Jens' bike broke and that caused him to crash. Although it did bring images of Hincapie's steerer tube breaking at the Paris Roubaix (when was that, 2006?), I was pretty suspicious from the beginning of these rumors. It looks like the bump combined with slightly less traction on the painted strip was to blame. That's a pretty horrifying way to crash out. ...heart goes out to jens voigt w/ best recovery wishes...one of THE good guys in the peleton & an indefatigable & selfless team rider when it's required...

...you hate to see anyone crash, ever, but a guy like jens, damn but it hurts a little more...& he's been there for the awesome shleck brothers all through this & many other races...
...bjarne riis is prob'ly chewing on old tires tonight reformulating his team's plans... Andy is reporting that Jens is doing OK - talking to the team and smiling:
http://twitter.com/andy_schleck/statuses/2764920358 Wow, that looks really awful. It made my jaw hurt just watching it. Glad that he's already on the mend. Missed it by *that* much! TdF Stage 14 I guess you know by now, but Cav got disqualified in the stage because of pushing Hushovd into the fencing. Makes the green jersey lead 18 points.

Cheers and thanks for a good blog. Nice blog, glad you didn't jump to conclusions like a lot of so-called "knowledgeable" cycling fans did about Astana. Yeah, Ag2r took over at the 45k mark. The gap had grown to just over 8 min while Astana had been setting the pace. I think when George was told by radio that Astana was leading the peloton earlier, he assumed they had pulled all the way to the final few kilometers. I read some of the live text coverage to get the facts straight. While watching on Versus, I thought it was also odd that GH's own team Highroad was getting into the sprint pretty hard until the last 100 meters when Cav looked around and coasted while pushing Thor over to the edge. Overall, poor tactics by Highroad---they could have disrupted the pace when Ag2r jumped in at 45k to go. ...fully agree, mmurphy...too many "anti-lance"-sters blaming astana...bruyneel, armstrong, et al., have huge massive respect for george & are way too knowledgeable, experienced & in control of their own situation to need to screw up his opportunity...

...ag2r, in yellow understandably played one card & then the unfortunate pissing contest that is evolving between garmin & columbia seems to have played into it...

...lotta arrow slinging, mud throwing, denials & accusations going down between stapleton & vaughters, which is a bloody shame...i thought i respected what they've done w/ their programs but they're both pissant in their treatment of each other...

...& speaking of which, bernard hinault is so pissant these days regarding armstrong, i hope somebody throws his sorry ass off the podium... It was quite a bummer for George...hated to see him miss the day in yellow.

Has Matt White offered any real explanation yet why he sent Garmin riders to the front to chase? I think that tactic is going to backfire for that team. TdF: Stage 13 does anyone know who makes Haaussler's helmet? I can't find it anywhere... Hi Darcy, that helmet is a Catlike helmet, available in Europe only (not US CPSC approved). Rinaldo Nocentini's last day wearing yellow umm... who's going to wear it tomorrow? Kenny Van Hummel? Yeah, Nocentini is guaranteed at least one more day in yellow. Nocentini is a tough rider. Wouldn't surprise me if he was still wearing yellow on Sunday. Okay, I stepped out on a limb and guessed wrong.

I should've done a "how long will Nocentini hold the yellow jersey" contest. Nocentini will wear the yellow jersey on Saturday and Sunday. Someone else will take over on Monday.

What do I win? That picture was from yesterday, he was still the leader at the end of the day, so he wore yellow today as well.

But if you had said "his next to last day in yellow" then you would have guessed wrong. Even if it wasn't pouring rain I think you would have been wrong. We'll see in verbier. TdF Stage 12: Magnificent Seven TdF Stage 11: Conspiracy? The stage 10 results where Kloden "bested" Leipheimer we later revised. Levi finished with the peloton with no split.

The peloton has just been rolling in all together with all the leaders, none of the leaders have tried to break away as of yet. Everybody's playing it safe. ...it's just the configuration of this year's tour...the pyrenees weren't used this time around to break up the top standings but guys will have a lotta miles in their legs when things turn real serious...

...some will pay for that & some will just have ridden themselves into shape...

...look at the time gap between first & last place...obviously it's still a serious bike race...just hasn't gotten down to brass tacks yet... I know I know, the teams are biding their time for the mountain stages. Still...

We'll see things get interesting tomorrow, that's for certain. TdF Stage 10: Radio Free Europe UCI to limit radio technology What about steel wheels or maybe deraillurs? Shit their might be some fans for racing on high wheelers... I'm pretty sure the calendar isn't showing April 1st. Please cease and desist. Jens Voigt has suggested that in the spirit of the tour banning radios for 2 stages that they also ban helmets.
What other interesting items might be banned?
Time trial bikes
Aero wheels
Index shifting
Clipless pedals
Lycra
Derailleurs (as mentioned above)
Quick releases
Paved roads Add electronic derailleurs to that list as well! Partial feeds and advertising TdF Stage 7 multimedia It's more like "did he fail to re-zip as a protest," no?

Anyway, I think he unzipped to protest how poorly, apparently, Agritubel is feeding its riders. Chester -- hah hah, yeah, he does look more than a little underfed. TdF Stage 7: Unexpected treats Maybe Contador asserted his leadership...time will tell. I am loving the drama of this Tour though, and Astana is looking like the 1,2,3 in Paris is a real possibility. If Astana got 1/2/3 in Paris, L'Equipe would explode in indignation.

And then what would happen to Vino's plans to restore "his" team to it's former Kazahk/Spanish makeup? The Tour is long, and there are many plans yet to unfold. Last year's decisive stage on Alpe d'Huez is in my head - Frank Schleck was in yellow, only to sacrifice it for Sastre. Bait and Switch? Three Card Monte?

It would be hard to know who to mark - Alberto, Lance, Levi, or Andreas? Who's really the leader? I don't think that the mystery and drama surrounding that question is entirely accidental.

I'm probably wrong, but, like James said, I'm loving the drama of this tour, even though my sleep schedule is paying a heavy price. Cheers! Andy Schleck Specialized commercial Mark Cavendish bicycle Aw, why no Manx flag? http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Flag_of_the_Isle_of_Man.svg/250px-Flag_of_the_Isle_of_Man.svg.png It's bomber art, like from WW2 TdF Stage 6 - The rain in Spain Tour de France: Bernard Hinault on Stage 6 Say what you want about Lance, and the media has: http://www.newsy.com/videos/lance_armstrong_in_it_to_win_it
But he is a competitor through and through. Staying on his wheel seems like a good strategy to me! 2009 Tour de France Stage 5 photos is it me but i can't stop staring at voeckler's junk... Don't forget to check out Voeckler's 'Wardrobe Disaster' victory salute. 2009 Tour de France Stage 5 photos

http://mumbaiindianslivestreaming.info/story.php?title=2009-tour-de-france-stage-5-photos How long does success take? Frank Schleck’s answer is 4 hours, 53 minutes, 54 seconds. 2009 Tour de France stage 17 results, Frank Schleck wins in exact this time. After July 22, “2009 Tour de France stage 17 results, Frank Schleck wins stage” became headlines of newspapers all over the world, but what about the two other people.
More from: http://www.blogcheese.com/4handbags/ Tour de France Stage 4 Photos I am supporting Team Saxo bank at Tour De France. I heard Vopium one of the leading mobile Voip service is sponsoring my team at this festival. I am big fan of both of them and i am anxiously looking forward to the end results. Practice makes perfect Cancellara did a monster pull - a 40 km pull. Almost every time the cameras went to Saxo Bank, Cancellara was in front. Amazing. ...hey...why apologize, fritz ???...i think while we're all tired of the overwhelming media exposure the man has constantly generated, in this case & in this tour it's warranted...

...last years hype about a wide open affair was true as it did turn out to be a good race but i agree w/ you...the 2009 TdF is already a damn good show...

...& that was a technically sick TTT course...sheesh... What would Johan do? Thought #1
Who is in better shape overall? Who has delivered more over the course of the year, and shown himself capable of delivering? Contador might theoretically be in better shape, but what of Leipheimer?

In this case, I'd probably set some sort of informal deadline--say the first time trial. Have a team meeting, and get everyone to agree that that man's the leader.

Thought #2
Go with Armstrong, provided he shows himself to be up to task. Contador's mouthing off prior to the Tour cannot be rewarded.

Bottom line: within the team if not to the world, there has to be a leader. At some point, he's going to have to make a choice. Perhaps he already has...

Thought #3
Use the perception of infighting between Armstrong and Contador as a distraction. Leipheimer for the win! Lance had the skill/tactics to know to make the jump as the breakaway was pulling out, but he also had the luck of being in a position where he could make that instant jump. Maybe Leipheimer or Contador would have done the same if they were able to jump then. It's possible that they saw it coming, but didn't count on the break actually succeeding either. It's probably too early to make all-out efforts if the breaks are not worth catching, or if you already have a teammate in it.

My prediction is that Contador will be the leader, but that Lance will still try very hard to stay as close to him as possible. You have two great candidates for the final. Treat them both with care as you never know when a crash might take one of them out. Here's a twist...all this drama on Astana has been planned and played to create buzz. Look at how it's being presented, so the world will talk about the controversy. That's not bad, BTW, just business.

Here's another idea...if you know someone who needs some help cycling up the hills, then how about checking out the VeloChef blog, and searching Optibike, the fastest electric bike on the planet! I kind of wondered if Contador wasn't aggressive enough (or maybe LA was overly aggressive and lucked out?) with that breakaway.

But how about Columbia, huh? That was some well done teamwork on their part. Re Armstrong's experience, there's this quote from him today: "It wasn't that they didn't take advantage. It was just that they weren't there. When you see what the wind is doing and you have a turn coming up, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you have to go to the front." I've seen plenty of stupid stuff from DS'es in the past, including Bruyneel, that when something seems to be perfection I am sometimes not so quick to give credit. This worked really well for Astana, how much was deliberate and how much happenstance I cannot say.

If I were Bruyneel and had the value of hindsight, I'd order the team to stay near the front, watch Columbia, and when the winds started, get Lance/Haimar/Popo into the front and then have Rast and Paulinho soft pedal in around 25th place and allow a gap to form, as soon as a situation occured where no GC contenders were up in front (Rodgers doesn't count). Brilliant.

With a gap in place and all 9 Columbia's in front, they started burning cases of matches. Glory be, Skil-Shimano decided to get involved. Do ZERO work, in front or in back. Let Saxo and Liquigas panic in back trying to decide if they want to worry about Lance or not. I didn't see any Cervelos or Garmins chasing while watching this AM, I don't think Cervelo is worried about Lance and Garmin has to focus on tomorrow.

Now, one of two things happens. First, the split is reeled in, Columbia, Saxo, Liquigas, burned some gas. Second, the split stays out about 30 seconds and now you are within 10k or so of the finish. Send Haimar and Popo to the front to guarantee the break stays away so that Columbia continues to bury themselves into the ground.

Tomorrow, kick Columbia's tired butt into the ground by at least 10 seconds and put Lance into Yellow. Yes, Bruyneel wants to win at all costs, but Lance standing up there putting on the yellow Jersey is a close second. Note this meant Levi and Kloden could NOT go into the break. I highly doubt Saxo will be able to keep Fabien in Yellow, and by splitting off Wiggins, Garmin has been nuetralized as well.

Contador is still option #1. Lance and Levi are probably options 2A and 2B, with Klodi option 3. It's very valuable to get Lance 40 seconds today - even assuming there is no doping going on there is always the chance Contador could crash out of the race.

That said, Lance probably was just opportunistic and had 2 riders at his side. I do think that the order to send Haimar and Popo to the front was as much to keep Columbia working as for the extra seconds. ...hey, somebody ain't payin' attention & somebody else is...

..."The post-race polemics continued on Monday, with Christophe Le Mevel (Française des Jeux) blaming Contador for the split. "When the split happened I was right on Contador's wheel," he said. "If it's true there were 29 guys in front he must have been 30th and I was 31st. It was him who caused the split."...

...go figure...& as posted, "it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you have to go to the front."...hmmm...who could said that ???...prob'ly somebody who's gonna pay attention to every obvious detail for the next 2 1/2 weeks...

...i mean, he's just sayin'... ...oh, & to answer yer question "What would Johan do???"...

...ahhh, sit back n' smile, i believe... Astana's sponsors are getting their money's worth, that's for sure.

Columbia and HTC, too. I mean, whoever heard of HTC before they sponsored a bike team? I liked Armstrong's quote that “it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you have to go to the front”. That definitely came across as a jab to Contador. Also good was Cavendish's statement that those who missed the break were “racing like juniors'. That seemed pretty targeted at one guy as well.



I don't know whether or not Cav or Hincapie gave Lance some sort of signal as some have speculated, but I do love the way the drama is unfolding on Astana. It is shaping up to be a very interesting tour, and I personally hope that we get a repeat of the drama from the '86 tour. Hinault may not want to hear it, but I think Armstrong has that same desire to win at all cost that he did in his years of racing, even the later ones. It is easy to make statements about team unity as Hinault did after LeMond reluctantly helped him win his fifth tour in ‘85, but it is harder to stand by those promises later when an opportunity arises and that killer instinct kicks in. I think the same is true with Armstrong. He may have been able to play that role of super-domestique in other races this season, but that is going to be hard for him to do in France. I don’t know whether he can win an 8th Tour at 37, but I don’t think he can, or will, stop trying.


I believe that even if Bruyneel chooses to stand behind Contador as the sole team leader at some point (which will not happen), Armstrong will probably continue to take every opportunity that he can to TRY and grab bits of time here and there. And why shouldn’t he? As he said today, he is a 7-time winner so he deserves some credit. No matter how the Astana rivalry plays out, it makes for an interesting race. This is shaping up to be a great Tour. I was wondering at parallels between this year and Hinault/Lemond also. BGW and I talked about that a little bit; probably worth a post all its own (if I had the time :-) ) The post-race polemics continued on Monday, with Christophe Le Mevel (Française des Jeux) blaming Contador for the split. "When the split happened I was right on Contador's wheel," he said. "If it's true there were 29 guys in front he must have been 30th and I was 31st. It was him who caused the split."...

Who is to say that Bruyneel did not ORDER the split? That split helps Astana, including Contador. Now there are comments surfacing from other rider(s) that Contador was the rider that caused the split, or at least was at the front of the resulting peleton when the split happened....if it was Johan's idea, then brilliant! @Yokota Fritz Who had heard of HTC? Really? Definitely too many iPhone fanboys in cycling. HTC is probably the best Windows Mobile handset maker... and will be doing Google Android smartphones, too. ...johan bruyneel, as team director wants another feather in his "TdF" cap...
...alberto contador wants another feather in HIS 'TdF' cap but has all but confirmed that he'll ride for a spanish team next year...
...lance armstrong definitely wants another feather in his 'TdF' cap, if he can pull it off after years of active retirement & he & bruyneel are pretty much assured of putting a new team together next year because...
...alexander vinokourov is making loud threatening noises about 'his astana team'...

...ergo, bruyneel is almost assured of glory w/ either of his two leaders or even kloden or liephiemer if everything else falls to crap...

...he sits back, does his usual marvelous job & he's in the 'catbird's seat', any or either way...(but his team needs to win)...

...armstrong, no matter how it plays out is also in the 'catbird's seat'...late 30's, retired for years & yet considered a favorite as a former 7X winner ???...damn, son, that's some powerful ju-ju...win, lose or draw, he's doing it & he's well respected by every rider in that bunch...

...pretty much WIN - WIN for johan n' lance...

...but as we all know, it still has to be played out on the roads n' in the mountains of france... @Marvin: We know it as the T Mobile Android phone, but how many people know who the ODM is? Maybe it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know. Maybe a signal from a former teammate and compatriot named George is enough?

It is clear that Alberto is a bad spot. IMHO he should have left earlier when Astana had money trouble. Apparently he had an offer from Caisse d'Epargne. Now he is in a no-win situation. Q. Why no aero wheels on the front? Tour de France for Dummies Actually a good book. Bought it last year to brush-up on the rules. ...pretty much VS channel programming is also "tdf for dummies" & while it can be exceedingly redundant for any of us schooled in the basics, i don't find that to be particularly a bad thing because phil n' paul n' bobby roll, et al, provide the "casual" viewer w/ plenty of insight...

...hopefully that insight will provide casual viewers w/ something to stimulate further involvement in the sport & activity of cycling... I found a free live video feed from Austalian SBS TV. Lots of "TdF for Dummies" there too, which like BGW writes isn't necessarily a bad thing. Still, there was a lot of "LANCE ARMSTRONG IS GOING TO WIN THIS THING" cheerleading. It's a good resource with interesting history and whimsical TdF facts. The other authors of record are cycling journalist James Raia, who shows up as a "cycling examiner" at Examiner.com sometimes, and Sammarye Lewis, who goes by nickname "Velogal" Thanks, Gene! Americans in the Tour de France 2009 Jacques Boy was the first American to ride in the Tour in 1981. Guilt: I can't believe I forgot that, especially since he's a local guy! Don't forget that Z-man has his own brand of slather called DZ-NUTS!
http://www.dz-nuts.com/catalog/ Tour de France 2009 on Google Maps and Google Earth Fritz,

Thanks for the post. I tried something like that Tour de France flyover last night, except it was in my own hometown. Check out my first Youtube video! :) Well done, Ron, and nice music too.

I have an pretty old version of Google Earth -- does the current edition do the video export for you? I went Pro. I have an older verson, 4.3 I think. You can still create tours, and record them in version 5. Its not as smooth as making videos of routes. I'm having fun though. I may write a post on this soon! :) Tour de France 2009 on Twitter Levi rides for Astana. Bah, I knew that. Just seeing if anybody's paying attention -- that's the ticket :-) Thank you for the riders twitter links!!! I've been keeping a running list of riders and teams tweeting from the tour. Currently around 50 or so.

http://mikeslone.posterous.com/tour-de-tweet-teams-and-riders-in-the-tour-th Thanks for maintaining that list, Mike.

@Mark, I hope you find it helpful. Tour de France 2009 Internet streaming video Did any of those links give "streaming video" of the 2009 TdF, as one would expect when seeing that video?

I feel bait-and-switched. The race won't start until tomorrow, so no live streams yet. Steephill is generally best at finding the live streams as they become available. If you are using streaming service from US/Canada, just get the Versus video. I just got that - well worth it to support that service. I don't waste money on cable so this is well worth it for me. How do I get the streaming internet tv on versus -- I'm willing to pay and subscribe; just can't figure out how to do it? Thanks in advance for a reply. @OK: When you click on Versus Tour Tracker you should see a pop up box offering to take your money in exchange for streaming video. You have the option of a day pass for $3 or a full subscription for the entire tour for $34. 2009 Tour de France TV schedule Chris Horner, Team Astana and the Tour de France I'm disappointed that Bruyneel did not find a way to resolve the Contador/Armstrong conflict prior to the Tour. AC has said that he considers teammates LA (and Levi) to be competition. LA has notably not mentioned AC in his tweets for months, not even a congrats for winning the Spanish TT. Despite JB declaring AC to be the team leader, per his tweets, LA is obviously focused on winning the GC himself, considering all the TT preparations and now mountains recon he is doing. That divides the team. Cadel, Carlos and Denis are loving it, I'm sure. ...personally, after all the hoopla, i feel that if a guy of lance's age can get his well tested ass to paris in a shorter amount of time than anyone else in what will undoubtedly be a highly competitive race, i'm all for it...

...i just wish chris horner was gonna be there for him...alberto contador will not only have astana riders at his disposal but alliances have already been forged w/ other spanish riders who are capable of strong rides but not necessarily the overall...

...& if armstrong really doesn't have it, he will ride to assure an astana win...guaranteed... I'm not really surprised. You can't have a tour team with a bunch of skinny GC guys and nobody to pull on the flats. In my view, Horner lost his spot to any one of Lance, Levi, Kloden, Zubeldia, or Popo (the GC type of guys), not to Paulinho. (Horner himself said he's skinnier than ever--137lbs rather than 150lbs.) Also, Horner's condition is a wildcard because of the crash/injury from the Giro. It seems possible that if Horner had not crashed in the Giro, he'd be going to the Tour rather than Popo, but with the crash and already having too many GC guys, Horner's chances were super slim to none. ...post script:-- hokey, but funny & kinda cool is a link from lance's twitter thingy (sheesh...said i never do twitter reads) wherein he's training today on the col du columbiere & encounters an american dad & his 8 year old son liam, bedecked in livestrong kit, climbing the col...

...gotta be a thrill for a kid when ol' lance hisself rides up, slows down & talks w/ you... @BGW: I missed that earlier, thanks for pointing out. That video is so cool! Even the dad was super stoked, I'm sure! Tour de France: No race radio! I think it'll be interesting to see two stages without race radio. I don't get race radio when I race! No school like the old school baby. I don't race, so maybe I'm being a little over harsh, but as you say, this could really force some riders to show what kind of mental / strategy chops they've got. This post has been removed by the author. If you want to go old school and ban race radios then you have to throw out carbon bikes, aerodynamic helmets and handlebars. Cycling is a sport with a rich history of adopting new technology. I am all for anything that takes more tech out and puts more emphasis on the athletes... no radios = good Great idea!! Now leaders will have to think on their "feet" about who's in a break, should I let them go?, can I catch them? Would love to see this ban in place permanently. Make the radios go away!

BTW, my word verification is "epogain". Does that mean I'm doping? I heard radios increase the chances of steroids sound waves... ...great idea...finally something christian prudhomme et moi can agree on...hinault's statement regarding how he & cyrille guimard would get together & weigh all the various factors when planning a strategy before a stage sounds like an excellent idea...

...& were the "no radio" rule to be fully implemented, it would be interesting to see how long it would take before one team or another would ultimately try to cheat by using some form of micro-audio technology...perhaps tiny implants or something of that nature...

...@ joel price...horse pukkey, pal...(a) - using any one form of good technology does not imply the need for the use of other newer forms of technology...usage, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder...ie: user or event organizer...

...& (b) - while newer & "better" materials are embraced by cycling, it is a sport w/ a deep & rich history of being insular & close minded...if components, frames, even riding form don't fall w/in certain parameters or percentages thereof, they can be outlawed... ...actually there are two things christian prudhomme et moi can agree on...

...despite all of "quickstep's" background machinations, the aso (le tour organizers) are formidably standing tall in their insistence that young mr boonen's participation will not be allowed at this years race...

...i applaud... [Sorry to be late to the party.]

Yes, please.
I want to see the riders' tactics, not the soigniers'.

@joelprice.com: As @bikesgonewild says, controlling one technology doesn't require controlling all. Plus, the others (carbon, aero equipment, ...) are a matter of degree. How oval does a helmet get before it's too far?

Radios are a simple binary decision: yes, no. You can't have have just a little bit. @Terry: Your comment about radio as "either/or" brings up some humorous pictures in my mind :-) Maybe they can use radios but only if they're limited to old transistor radios from the 70s, or maybe even crystal sets with hand wound tuning coils. Well, it is like taking "calculators" away from today's children.
They are so used to them and they would not function efficiently without them. the purpose of adopting technology is to maximise and enhance the raw performance of an athlete - lighter frames, more aero positions/bars/helmets etc. Race radios are associated with tactical play and control of the event, and inhibit raw performances such that most riders won't even attempt certain moves.
Lets take our good mate Floyd and his 'epic' ride. Amazing effort, but couldn't have been done without cheating. Take away race radios and we'll see more opportunities like that taken by riders...hopefully legitimate though.