Funner? Really?

Without radios, what is to stop the fans from calling out the time gaps as the riders pass? This would be simple for any spectator to do, at least when reporting to the chase groups.

For the lead groups, two or more fans could communicate from different parts of the course and call out the time gaps to the escapees as well. Even this sort of organization might not be necessary, if a spectator has a web-enabled phone and can get live updates at any point of the course. In that case, a single spectator could call out any time gap to any rider.

To me it seems possible, if not probable, that this would happen. So, then, what's the difference if radios are banned?

Right, Bikeguy!  And what TEAM sport has competitors miles apart and out of sight of each other?!  As long as each time has access to the same coaching/strategy tools, it's "sixes" for fairness and allows for the "brain" side of the sport.  The strategies of the teams make the races "funner."

This is not baseball, football, basketball.  You can't just say because they do it this way in other sports that it should be this way in cycling.  Keep cycling what makes it so attractive, a romantic sport steeped in tradition. Hard men relying on their guts and wits to beat other hard men. Anything that detracts from that I say - pass.

In team sports the coach tells and athlete(except time outs) and he then communicates that to the other members of the team.  They then have to execuite the play or excetera individually as a team.  In the Tour the coach (?) continues to monitor all physical actions each moment as they are done.  I like the idea One athlete receives shares the info and then they do as they were trained to do. Time gaps are shared all the time from the motorcycles anyway.  Listening to announcers indicate what is going is making the outcome as a group predictable.  Food For Thought!!!!!!

in the states we are not allowed to wear headsets on organized rides.im talking am fm radio or i pod s or any thing that distracts you  i dont necessarially think the pro riders are distracted by their communique from their team managers.after all if you can reach down and zip the front of your jersey at 65mph or stretch your leg around your seat like i saw today you can do anything. leave it to the teams to decide how they want to communicate.  see you at hotel chene vert on the 24th

So how does this radio thing evolve assuming it is allowed to continue?  Here's my prediction.  Teams begin adding professional motivational coaches who speak to the riders during the race. Perhaps even capable of inducing pre-learned trance like states in the riders where the mind shuts off the pain.  Some of these "coaches" may take on Svengali like reputations with the best ones sought after and paid handsome sums to work their mind magic.  Sound far fetched - it is probably already happening to some extent.