Rumours of possible radio ban not true

By Shane Stokes

Reports on several media outlets that the UCI planned to ban race radios stirred up plenty of discussion on Thursday, but the news turned out to be false. Cyclingnews contacted the UCI's president Pat McQuaid, who was surprised by the rumour. He clarified the matter with his road commission head, Philippe Chevalier, who assured that no ban has been decided for 2009.

"It's not the case. What actually happened is that a working group met in June, with this group including representatives of riders and teams. They had a long discussion and decided that the advantages of radios outweighed the disadvantages, so there would be no change for the moment. The only exception is for juniors and under 23s. Their radios were already banned and they will stay that way," McQuaid said.