The debate over the use of radios in racing took another turn today, as the riders on the Rabobank team voted overwhelmingly to support their continued use, according to De Telegraaf. This, according to team manager Adri van Houwelingen, puts the Dutch team in accord with the prevailing opinion of the professional peloton.
“A large majority of the teams is opposed to abolition,” he said.
“Of course, the security aspect is an important reason for the earpieces,” he explained. “When you once in a year an accident such as that of Jelle Lugten can occur, then you have to work with all the keys.”
Van Houwelingen refers to the sad case of former Dutch junior time trial champion Jelle Lugten, who was hit head on by a car, which had disobeyed race marshals and entered the course. The 19-year-old was in a coma for ten days, and suffered severe brain damage, a fractured skull and his spine broken in three places. Had radios been allowed in under-23 races, many claim, Lugten could have been warned about the car on the course, and the accident been avoided.
“For almost fifteen years we have communicated with riders through earpieces,” he continued. “Everywhere in sport you see that new forms of communication are found. We would be the only sport in which the new techniques were abolished; that does not make any sense.”
Meanwhile, according to De Telegraaf, TV companies are investigating the possibility of including communications between teams and riders in their broadcasts. Currently race radio conversations between pit crews and drivers are broadcast in Formula 1 during Grand Prix races; of how much interest this could be in cycling remains to be seen.