Since their appearance in the pelotons in the 1990s, earbuds have been the subject of debate. This gadget, allowing riders to communicate with their sports directors in the cars and with their teammates during the race, is regularly mentioned in controversies. Two questions constantly come up: do earbuds spoil the show? Do earbuds cause security concerns? To answer these questions, Cyclism’Actu invites you to take stock of the current situation.
Video – The riders’ debate around safety in Cycling
Earbuds make running boring… fantasy or reality?
Particularly during the 2010s, where the Team Sky crushed the competition by locking out the race during the mountain stages, the earpieces were often accused of spoiling the show. But in recent seasons, tactics have changed and the cards have been reshuffled. Whether on the Classics, the mountain stages or the adventurers, the race starts further and further from the finish and the spectacle is there. This improvement is not due to earbuds, the use of which has changed very little, but rather to increasingly faster, more difficult races, and the arrival of a new generation of runners who are reshaping the cards.
During international competitions, runners do not have earpieces, which has often given way to the fantasy that the race is therefore more open, but when is it really? Let’s take the example of the last Olympic Gameswhere the race was considered “crazy” by spectators. Where some followers go wrong is in thinking that the absence of earpieces makes the race much less secure, when this can be explained for other reasons. Firstly, the JO are a special race, which is run by national teams (and not brand), with riders who know each other less and teams that are generally less homogeneous. The course was also conducive to offensives launched far from the finish. But what made the real difference was the number of riders per team. Indeed, with only 4 runners maximum per nation, the race is almost impossible to control, which leaves room for crazy scenarios… earphones or not.
Lack of information… a blind race
To stay on the same example of Olympic Gamesthe absence of earpieces poses a problem in understanding the race. Indeed, as we were able to see at the finish, the runners did not even know which places they were playing. Christophe Laporte (France), 3rd, thought she was outside the podium, whileAttila Valter (Hungary), 4th, thought he had finished 3rd. Certainly, the lack of information sometimes allows for even more uncertain races, but this almost amounts to making cyclists race blind. To further the comparison with other sports, imagine a football or rugby match without a scoreboard, a Formula 1 Grand Prix without radio information…
On the other hand, earphones allow you to implement ingenious tactics, which would be impossible to execute without them. Without this gadget, communication between the runners themselves and with their sports directors is much more difficult. Would we have had such beautiful races like the Col du Granon stage on the Tour de France 2022, the Finestre stage on the Giro 2018 or the Cauteret stage on the Tour de France 2023 without earbuds? Certainly not. Especially since races without earpieces often leave room for frustration on the side of viewers, watching runners make gross tactical errors due to lack of information.
Security, the real problem
Safety is one of the major issues in cycling. Between the numerous impressive falls (Tour du Pays basque, A Travers la Flandre, Critérium du Dauphiné…) and the tragic deaths in the race Gino Mäder et Muriel Furrerthe question of safety and the risks taken by cyclists is being raised more and more. And earbuds play a role in this constant danger that runners face. Indeed, certain moments of tension, particularly when approaching the finish or key parts, allow sports directors to encourage, for example, their runners to reposition themselves, leading to moments of great nervousness during the race. The entire peloton receives the same instructions at the same times, from DS who constantly asks them to stay grouped at the front. Problem, there is not room for everyone in the first 20 positions… which regularly causes collisions, or even falls.
On the other hand, the earpieces also allow sports directors to indicate dangerous areas to their runners. Or conversely, a rider present in a breakaway can warn his colleagues in the peloton of a danger on the road. The same in the event of a demonstration or other unexpected events. On the Tour of Polandwhere the use of earbuds was restricted for a test carried out by theUCImany runners have expressed that falls could have been avoided if they had been informed of the dangers present on the road. In the case Muriel Furrerthe earpieces could also have allowed the runners present next to the Swiss, or even Furrer herself, to warn the following cars of the fall and the location where she was.
What solution?
As with every subject, nothing is all white or all black, and this is also the case for earbuds. Having been an integral part of cycle racing for many years, it will be difficult to do without it. Especially since – as explained above – the earpieces also bring good things, both from a spectacle and safety point of view. The demonization of this gadget is a hobby horse, driven by certain people completely lost by the reality of contemporary cycling. The vast majority of current players are also opposed to the ban on headsets. On the other hand, certain measures that could moderate their use, in order to limit stress in the peloton and the sometimes harmful instructions that runners receive, could be a good thing.
