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Motos and cars at TDF

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  • July 12, 2016 at 2:59 pm #26014
    kenyond

    Watching the TDF today I couldnt believe the amount of motos and cars following the break, I counted 8 motos and could see 5 cars.

    Would it make more sense for the team cars to stay back with the main peloton (reducing the amount of team cars) and the break have a neutral car follow with spares, drink etc and only one carmera moto. I know a few more would be needed but it would still reduce the amount of vehicles around them.

     

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  • July 13, 2016 at 6:58 am #874975
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    crazy-legs
    unconstituted wrote:
    Situation will improve when drones get introduced. The tech is there…

    How on earth does having a drone in there mitigate the need for motos and cars? You’d need a car for the drone pilot, the drone would have to be landing every 10 minutes for a change of battery and drones can’t deliver food, water and spares to a rider so basically, they’d be pointless. They can’t replace helicopters (which have at least 2-3hrs endurance).

    Each team will have 2 cars, their position in the convoy sorted out based on GC (one car to cover any of their riders in the break, one car to remain with the peloton). They’ll then have a third car up at the feed station. There’s also neutral service, officials cars and often a guest/VIP car or 3 as well. Chances are that there’s also a few technical cars as well – mobile radio relay stations to bounce the signal around the full length of the convoy in conjunction with one of the helicopters.

    Motos: neutral service, officials, police, safety outriders, camera bikes (both film and still) and they’ve been using that new thermal imaging gear to look for hidden motors as well so that’s another motorbike in the mix.

    Drones can’t replace any of those nor is the tech available for them to do so. 

    July 13, 2016 at 6:30 am #874973
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    tritecommentbot

    Situation will improve when

    Situation will improve when drones get introduced. The tech is there, but the UCI take donkeys to catch up with the times. We’re still on a 6.8kg weight limit for no actual reason.

    July 12, 2016 at 7:35 pm #874971
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    MartyMcCann

    Well for a start, often there

    Well for a start, often there isn’t just one break- you can have a few groups up the road, especially on the climbs or when they split into echelons in the wind- which one of those  groups will you send the solitary neutral car after? Since generally TV coverage only covers the front group and the peloton, it can be a bit of a surprise when watching it to see people come over the finish line ahead of the peloton but after the break who haven’t appeared on TV at all that day.

     

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