(SPOILER) Bad day for top rider at Giro

[Md3000]

If aru or contador would have stood there Clarke wouldn't have helped - helping Porte therefore is unfair. They both should have known the rules, and Porte should have waited for a team mate or the car.

[MattTuck]

Check this before they remove it.

Giro twitter feed says "This is cycling. This is the best sport in the world. #Giro " with picture of wheel exchange. then docks them 2 minutes each.

twitter link.

If you're not on twitter, the usual suspects in the cycling world are having an interesting discussion.

RaceRadio had an interesting series of tweets. So, I stand corrected. Race jury is not related to organizers.

Race Radio ‏@TheRaceRadio 2h2 hours ago

Apparently Tortajada Villaroya is "only" a member in the jury. A German guy Ingo Rees is the president of the jury
0 retweets 1 favorite
Race Radio ‏@TheRaceRadio 2h2 hours ago

Tortajada Villarroya was also the guy who moved the finish line, twice, when @ORICA_GreenEDGE bus got stuck http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/...rst-day_292623 …
0 retweets 1 favorite
Race Radio ‏@TheRaceRadio 2h2 hours ago

Given Tortajada Villarroya is from Spain it is only a matter of time before the "Spanish Conspiracy" stuff starts
0 retweets 0 favorites
Race Radio ‏@TheRaceRadio 2h2 hours ago

Vicente Tortajada Villarroya. DQ'ed Froome from 2010 Giro, @iamtedking from the 2013 Tour, and docked Porte 2 minutes. Impressive resume

[Md3000]

Btw Bram Tankink joked on Twitter that the other Sky riders didn't know Porte was riding the Giro, followed by hashtag #motorhome LOL

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by Md3000

Btw Bram Tankink joked on Twitter that the other Sky riders didn't know Porte was riding the Giro, followed by hashtag #motorhome LOL

dirk hofman motorhomes?

[Uncle Jam's Army]

Setting aside the issue of whether or not Clarke's help should have been penalized, the Sky team blatantly drafted off team cars trying to get Porte back on. Now I know that all teams do that to a certain extent, but Sky was out and out blatant about it. Didn't even try to get out of the car's draft for a few seconds. I thought then and there they might get docked for blatant drafting.

I am glad Porte got docked time, but not for the reasons stated.

[KJMUNC]

So this guy cuts corners and doesn't complete the "official" course but Richie gets docked 2min for taking a wheel?

Inconsistency sucks, but it's their race and their rules. He joins the long list of people who could've won had it not been for bad luck.

[dolface]

I'm no fan of the Great Doper but IIRC he didn't break any UCI rules when he did that (something about being able to ride off the course if the only other option was crashing).

If Porte's penalty isn't vacated (or more likely converted to a fine) it will be one more nail in the coffin of the UCI, one more indicator that they don't care about the fans or the riders.



QUOTE=KJMUNC;1759403]So this guy cuts corners and doesn't complete the "official" course but Richie gets docked 2min for taking a wheel?

Inconsistency sucks, but it's their race and their rules. He joins the long list of people who could've won had it not been for bad luck.[/QUOTE]

[lhuerta]

Originally Posted by Grant McLean

Why? I'm not sure i understand the point of the rule.

Sure, it's a rule, so enforce it, but I think it's an unnecessary
and pointless rule. Riders work together everyday, in fact,
the whole concept of the breakaway depends on teams working
together, forming and unforming alliances.

It's a stupid rule because it's a voluntary action to help another rider,
perhaps for a favor to be returned later in support. In this case, a non-GC
rider giving up a wheel made no difference to his own race. It was a truly
positive sporting gesture, in a sport that badly needs to show some good
karma, and in contrast to things like doping and selling stage wins which
makes a mockery of sport.

-g

On the contrary, just think of the potential collusion between teams—linked to nationalism, sponsorship, or simple rider to rider payoffs—that would occur if such a rule was not in place. Competition would be commanded by market and mafia forces instead of strength and strategy. I am a believer that fair play and gentleman's rules still have a place in the sport, but the offense in discussion was neither. Lastly karma and competition are mutually exclusive, as are gentleman's rules and karma.

[kramnnim]

I liked this tweet...

@daniellloyd1
Suggestion, everyone in top 50 GC EXCEPT Richie Porte swaps wheels with someone from another team. Everyone gets 2 minutes. #saveporte

[kramnnim]

Originally Posted by retrofit

Perhaps, though that raises another question. With 5K to go in the stage (a flat stage at that), where were Porte's teammates? Would there not have been at least one teammate to stay nearby and protect the team leader?

"The peloton was going super fast to try and catch the breakaway and get ready for a bunch sprint, and I picked up a front wheel puncture as we were going around a roundabout. I'd gone around it on the left but my team-mates went around the other side."
Read more at http://www.teamsky.com/teamsky/home%...S28pSkFWtXD.99

[MattTuck]

From 2013 Ronde


This year

[numbskull]

Is the penalty very much more than the additional time Porte would have lost if he had not been assisted by another team's rider and had to wait for his own team to provide the wheel?

[Michael Maddox]

Originally Posted by lhuerta

On the contrary, just think of the potential collusion between teams—linked to nationalism, sponsorship, or simple rider to rider payoffs—that would occur if such a rule was not in place. Competition would be commanded by market and mafia forces instead of strength and strategy. I am a believer that fair play and gentleman's rules still have a place in the sport, but the offense in discussion was neither. Lastly karma and competition are mutually exclusive, as are gentleman's rules and karma.

+1 You beat me to the answer. It's in place to prevent material collusion and support agreements between teams.

Most rules are in place to preserve the "spirit" of the race. In this instance, I think most are seeing this as a cool thing to do for someone having wheel trouble...but imagine a circumstance where this occurs frequently between teams colluding to keep a certain rider OUT of the race.

[Keith A]

Originally Posted by Michael Maddox

+1 You beat me to the answer. It's in place to prevent material collusion and support agreements between teams.

Most rules are in place to preserve the "spirit" of the race. In this instance, I think most are seeing this as a cool thing to do for someone having wheel trouble...but imagine a circumstance where this occurs frequently between teams colluding to keep a certain rider OUT of the race.

But don't teams conspire together for tactics during a race? Seems like I just heard them discussing this during the Tour of California coverage.

[MattTuck]

I think the issue stems from an inability to discern motivation.

If you give another rider a wheel, was that a show of good sport, evidence of a previous alliance, collusion against some third rider, etc. Yes, there are constantly changing alliances and rivalries in a race.

So I'm sure the rule, like most rules, was created out of some perceived need to rectify a situation that was not in the interest of fair racing. It just seems that these types of rules are so inconsistently applied that we now question the fairness of when a penalty is actually handed down.

If the riders knew that the rules would be enforced 100% of the time, they would never break the rules.