With race radio banned, Cancellara uses his hand to call for his team car(Image credit: ispaphoto.com)
Pat McQuad, Christian Prudhomme, Yan Shi and Alain Rumpf at the Tour of Beijing press conference.(Image credit: Sirotti)
The world's top teams will participate in the Tour of Beijing after the UCI agreed to postpone the implementation of a complete ban on race radios until the end of 2012.
The two sides have been at odds over the radio issue, with teams asserting that communication between team directors and riders during races is critical to rider safety, while the UCI contends that it makes racing too predictable and dull.
The teams organisation, Association International des Groupes Cyclistes Professionels (AIGCP), threatened to boycott the UCI's newest WorldTour event in China to force the UCI to re-examine the radio issue.
After months of negotiations, the UCI agreed to create an independent commission to examine the radio issue during the 2012 season while keeping the current regulations in place.
Radios are not allowed in any race except those at the WorldTour level.
The fight is not yet over, however, as the AIGCP is objecting to not having a say in who is selected for the commission to study the radio issue.
"We regret that UCI are still insisting that they appoint the Commission members and have failed to respond formally to our draft terms of reference for the Commission," an AIGCP statement said. "This risks both the credibility of the Commission and could lead to a rejection of its findings due to bias.
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"It is vital that this Commission is independent and its way of doing business is mutually acceptable to both the UCI and the teams. We urge UCI to respond fully to our draft terms of reference and to agree [to] a process to appoint the Commission members and its Chair. Without this there is a real danger the Commissioners will have wasted their time," said AIGCP President Jonathan Vaughters.
