UCI president David Lappartient has strongly responded to criticism from Richard Plugge of Visma – Lease a Bike on X, following a crash at the Tour de Pologne. The UCI is experimenting with a radio ban at certain races, including this Polish stage race.
French rider Nicolas Debeaumarché fell hard and had to wait some time before being attended to by a medical team. Plugge expressed frustration over the incident, attributing the delay to inadequate radio communication during the race.
No radios = chaos
“It was chaos today, without radios,” Plugge posted. “The UCI cannot continue with this radio ban. It turns the race into a complete farce, as we saw in the Olympics, where riders cannot call the car for basic assistance (in case of a mechanical). Hopefully, no one was too badly hurt today.”
Lappartient took to social media to refute Plugge’s claims.
“Hi Richard, you are caught spreading fake news! Today’s crashes at the Tour de Pologne have nothing to do with the absence of radios, and you know it. The riders were taken care of according to standards. Our priority at the UCI is safety,” the Frenchman posted. “You want to keep the radios on to give instructions, not for safety. Take responsibility for it! Let’s continue working together!”
Hi Richard,
You are caught in the act of fake news! Today’s crashes at the @tourdepologne have nothing to do with the absence of radios and you know it. The riders were taken care of according to standards.
Our priority at the @UCI_cycling is safety. You want to keep the radios… https://t.co/C9CDWS8IzU— David Lappartient (@DLappartient) August 14, 2024
Cycling Twitter goes in hard
Cycling Twitter then delivered some gems toward the UCI head. Unable to resist, Johan Bruyneel entered the fray with some choice words. The Belgian—who is always quick to criticize the international cycling body—posted, “Mr. Lappartient, I’m a bit surprised you have allowed yourself to enter into this debate. I think you should stick to your usual use of social media as a self-aggrandizing medium, not to enter into debates with professional cycling experts, because you will lose these debates since you lack well-founded arguments. You’re better off using your socials to show off your selfies with heads of state like Macron and Prince Albert, with your buddy IOC President Bach, with Pope Francis, and other people in power. You’re still missing your selfie with the Dalai Lama and the Grand…
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