You might have seen some of the unwritten rules of cycling in action at the Tour de France. Here, Matt explains 5 of them.
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Cycling is unique among sports for the sheer number of unwritten rules that make up the fabric and culture of road bike racing. While they might seem quaint or outdated, they do have an impact on racing and how racing is conducted. Matt explains five of the most common in this video.
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Photos: © Bettiniphoto / http://www.bettiniphoto.net/ & ©Tim De Waele / http://www.tdwsport.com
Music
Arthur Pochon, Charles Chemery – Shingaling
Ulas Koca – Mojo Man
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45 Comments
I don't agree with the "don't attack on the feed zone", neither on the "don't attack to the yellow jersey if he has a mechanical problem". The first, becasue feeding is just part of the race and the strategy. Period.
The second, mainly because… what if a direct rival of the yellow jersey has a mechanical problem? would the yellow jersey wait for him? Nope, huh? Well, that's why I don't see why they should wait for YS in that same case.
Well… I can't un-see those.
who else has the bike at 1:45
Are those Dan's balls hanging out of his bibs at 4:17?
Nibali is a naughty guy, he ignored rule 4 in last years Giro d'Italia
I'm not a roadie, but do browse the GCN channel. So….. if you can stop for a piss, have a food zone , a mechanical stop why is it not called a day out instead of a race? Plus those lazy drafters that don't peddle should be banned from the next day out
Don't attack Froome when He's in yellow don't even try or he'll whine.
In Motorsport no one eases off when a contender has an issue, its exploited in fact.
A race is conducted "in anger" so let's see some anger for shit's sake. Nibali cant ride so he needs every chance he can get.
I think attacking in a feed zone might make the tour almost watchable again, cut their supply line, now there's some strategy. Turnaround being fair play could make an interesting race to say the least
God next they'll start flopping on the tarmac like footballers fishing a free kick.
As an American, this channel can be a little confusing sometimes. What on Earth is "attacking through the feed zone?" I'm guessing it's trying to build up speed in an area where people eat? What's the problem with that? Is it dangerous, or unfair?
am I the only one seeing that guy's balls at 4:15 ? :))
Who watched this video again after the Giro's awful 16th stage? I did.
Team Movistar and Bahrain–Merida might need to check rule no. 5 again.
A unwritten rule is that you don't wear team kit, dose that include gcn team kit then?
but they attacked dumoulin on 2017 giro…wearing the leaders jersey..
Do you have any videos on cycling jargon? Lots of your vids have words which I do understand, but in the context of cycling I don't really understand. For example "no attacking at feeding stations"… well surely punching/kicking/attacking to cause injury to other racers will be against the rules at any point in a cycling race? So I gather maybe you mean "don't cycle extra fast to overtake racers while they are eating at a feeding station"? But I'm not certain of this, so an explanation of the jargon would be really helpful.
4:17 guys nuts lol
How can UNWRITTEN rules be in a book?
Why don't you just change the title of your video to "Lets bash Nibali" ?? Nibali destroyed Froome, live with it. Boy, team sky were in a state of panic when their pc got hacked, guess why!! Just F off FFS! A bunch of old farts on expensive bikes giving orders!
You guys are so funny – I've been watching your vids for days now 🙂 Keep it up!
"Following a mechanical…"
Following a mechanical what?
I love that Matt has a written copy of the "unwritten rules" lol
Let me guess, the rare copy is just a blank book, and your making this up based off experience
Well now they are not unwritten as they have been written 😂😂
so if the person winning the race has to stop or has a mech issue, Im the asshole if I overtake him and start winning? That doesn't sound like a race to me.
With my X-ray vision I can see that there are no Rules written in the Un-written Rules Book ! Am I wrong ? B-) Matt- Happy Retirement Buddy !
I think you should always press on regardless of what the yellow jersey is doing
Shut up and take another puff Chris….what a joke of a sport.
Unbeknownst to the general population,the unwritten rules of cycling is completely blank because if there was anything in the book it would be written.
If they are unwritten rules how is it that they are written in a book?
You are not "allowed" to ride faster than others when they need to slow down? That's stupid. A big part of racing is to pace yourself. If you can grab a bite without slowing down so much or pee less often / quicker, you have an advantage you should be able to use 🤷♂️ Then you might need to pee at another time and the others would have a chance to catch up…
Who is back because of la Vuelta 2019
But does a written book not make unwritten rules written?
But they are written
these rules are dumb… the race doesn't stop just because one car takes a pit stop… learn to piss while rolling…
Great irish accent . You snook it in 😉
John Berkow uses a similar handbook
So they took the unwritten rules………..and wrote them down
I understand the logic behind some of these unwritten rule but i also think it is why road cycling is dull. Too many damn "sportmanship rule". Let me compare to motorsport, u don't see vettel or marquez slowing down if hamilton and rossi got mechanical failure. Alao teammates allowed to race (hamilton rosbeg/ prost senna)
This guy definately looks like the local club rider that goes around measuring everyones socks. worst GCN presenter
What? No attacking the leader when they have a malfunction? That's stupid. This is a race. Take th lead when you can take the lead, just dont be a dick about it
Not talking about doping oh wait I have broken the rule
Instead of expecting others to wait the the leader when he has a mechanical problem, how about just letting him draft behind the team cars until he catches back up? Seems a lot less disruptive.
You take a simple fun activity such as riding a bike and turn it into a burden for everyone. the more GCN I watch, the more I see how cyclists are whimps.
In my culture and society where I am from,if a rule isn't written then it isn't a rule. In cycling races where i live,if a rider has a mechanical problem,it's a godsend and one of the best opportunities to attack and we are even encouraged to do so.
What a load of crap…sad!
I miss Matt