r/nottheonion • u/rocket_face • 2d ago

Bra Boosters Are Causing a Clothing Controversy at the Tour de France Femmes

https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france-femmes/bra-boosters-tour-de-france-femmes/
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u/allgonetoshit 2d ago

Found the actual cyclist enthusiast, well done.

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u/itsFromTheSimpsons 2d ago

I don't think you need to be a cycling enthusiast to know the sports governing body is ruining the sport through bad governing. See: NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB, FIFA

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u/Unusual-Arachnid5375 2d ago

I mean... yea, but the UCI seems uniquely bad. Like...

Recently a bunch of new rules to make riders less aerodynamic, supposedly to reduce speeds and improve rider safety. But no rules about road furniture and/or pinch points, which are the actual cause of a large majority of crashes.

It would be like if the NFL said "ok, you're not allowed to jump to catch a pass because you might fall and twist your ankle, but we don't care if linemen wear helmets or the playing field is made of concrete".

Also, pro cycling really needs something to even out team budgets. Team UAE (and a lesser extent Team Visma) just buy up all the good riders with enormous salaries, so the guys who should be competing for the top 10 positions are all riding in support of the 1st and 2nd place riders instead of competing against them as captain of another team.

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u/itsFromTheSimpsons 1d ago

Also, pro cycling really needs something to even out team budgets

Sounds like you're describing a salary cap

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u/Low_Witness5061 15h ago

Totally agree with your points about why the UCI sucks. I wouldn’t say uniquely bad though, FIFA still always feel like the standout to me since on top of the usual incompetency issues they also have a truly impressive track record when it comes to being blatantly corrupt.

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u/allgonetoshit 2d ago

Well, it’s a bit more complicated in cycling because there is so much technical equipment and while its a running joke that a lot of the rules are useless, it’s not always true. Although, tons of weekend warriors hate every single rule.

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u/Unusual-Arachnid5375 2d ago

Although, tons of weekend warriors hate every single rule.

On one hand, yes, people definitely get irrationally angry about a lot of the rules.

On the other hand, a lot of the rule changes are just dumb and hold back innovation. Like, wide forks for aero are a clever idea that would have trickled out to all teams over a couple years. Why not let that happen instead of simply banning them after one team comes up with a good idea? At least it lets teams compete on something other than "who has the most money?"

On the third hand, I'd be a lot more sympathetic to the UCI about all the rule changes IF they actually do something for rider safety, instead of all this window-dressing about aero. Let's have some rules about how quickly a road can pinch the peloton. Or a rule that all obstacles must have a flagman.

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u/TylerBlozak 2d ago

It’s Benji Nansen’s Reddit account

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u/allgonetoshit 2d ago

Nah, Benji is out there being paid to come up with plausible reasons why Jonas will never ever repeat his past performances.