Image 1 of 5 Quick-Step Floors has been using Bang and Olufsen headphones in conjunction with its radio system this season (Image credit: Ben Delaney & Josh Evans) Image 2 of 5 Bronze medalist Dion Beukeboom of the Netherlands rides during the Men's Individual Pursuit race at the Track Elite European Championships Image 3 of 5 Olga Zabelinskaya (Russia) upgraded her bronze in London to silver in Rio (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 4 of 5 Alexey Lutsenko leads his Astana teammates (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com) Image 5 of 5 Fumiyuki Beppu of Japan and Team Trek-Segafredo (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

The European Cycling Union has called into question the safety of riders wearing radio packs, highlighting the risk it poses if a rider were to crash on one. An unusually high number of riders have suffered fractures to their spine this season, including Vincenzo Nibali, Tony Martin, Matteo Trentin, Pierre Latour, and Mikel Landa.

Rocco Cattaneo, the President of the Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC), read an article in La Gazzetta dello Sport on the topic, and says it "highlighted a critical situation that we think needs dealing with before it becomes a matter of urgency".

"The article points out that radios could be a potential danger for the safety of riders in the event of falls, in particular for the spine, since they are placed on the back, which is an aspect that must not be underestimated."

It is not known if any of the injuries that have occurred this season were due to the positioning of radio packs, which are often taped to the mid- to upper-back on pro riders.

"As far as we are concerned, since the introduction of the first Elite Road European Championships in 2016, we have never permitted the use of radio devices during races and following the consequences of some falls that have occurred over the last few weeks, we are even more convinced about our choice," Cattaneo said, pledging to work with the riders' union (CPA) and the UCI to take action to reduce the risks to riders.

Beukeboom falls short in Hour Record attempt

Dion Beukeboom completed the fifth longest distance under the UCI's new Hour Record in Aguascalientes, Mexico, on Wednesday. The Dutchman rode 52.757km in the hour, well shy of Bradley Wiggins' mark of 54.526km, which was set in London in 2015.

The 29-year-old started out with an ambitious 16.5 second lap pace, but he faded midway through the attempt.

"I do not think this was the best I could do," Beukemoom said, according to Sporza.be. "This is not what I had trained for. The whole process showed that it was possible to break the record. I had started on Wiggins' schedule and had it under control for 15 minutes, but after that it was agony. My body did not want to cooperate today."

CAS rules against Zabelinskaya

The Court of Arbitration for Sport denied a request for Russian cyclist Olga Zabelinskaya to change her country affiliation to Uzbekistan for the Asian Games time trial, which took place on Friday.

The ad-hoc division of the court decided in Jakarta to revoke the registration for the two-time Olympic silver medalist.

According to the CAS press release, the UCI had accepted Zabelinskaya's request to change her nationality for cycling, and the Uzbekistan federation registered for the Asian Games time trial. But the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) objected to the decision.

The OCA Constitution prohibits athletes who change their nationality from competing at the Asian Games for three years after the change.

Arbitrators Xianyue (Simon) Bai, Jahangir Baglari and Enrico Ingles decided on Thursday to confirm the OCA decision, and Zabelinskaya was not allowed to compete.

Lutsenko wins Asian Games road race

Kazakhstan's Alexey Lutsenko won the men's road race at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday, beating Japan's Fumiyuki Beppu in the sprint.

Lutsenko, who rides for the Astana trade team, was representing his nation at the Games, and led a Kazakh squad that included his Astana teammates Yevgeniy Gidich, Zhandos Bizhigitov and Daniil Fominykh.

The Kazakh team was active throughout the day, bringing back a breakaway to set Lutsenko up for the sprint.

"Special thanks to the guys who controlled the whole race, working right from the start at the head of the peloton," said Lutsenko, the current Kazakh national champion, who won the overall classification at the Tour of Oman earlier this season, as well as a stage at the Tour of Austria in July.

"I could thank them only with today's victory. Today is a successful day; tomorrow is another important day for me," he said, referring to the Asian Games time trial on Friday.

The four-man Kazakh team was always going to be difficult to beat, while second-placed Beppu, who rides for Trek-Segafredo, was part of what was only a two-man Japanese team, with Hideto Nakane, who rides for the Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini Pro Continental team.

"It was a tough race, but we won the silver medal as Team Japan. I am very happy with that," Beppu tweeted after the race.

Thailand's Navuti Liphongyu finished third in the 150km-long road race, while the women's 100km road race was won by Korea's Ahreum Na, from China's Yixian Pu and Eri Yonamine (Japan).

Japanese national road race and time trial champion Yonamine rides professionally for the Wiggle High5 team, and finished second to Na in the women's time trial on Friday morning, with Hong Kong's Wing Yee Leung in third.

The men's time trial takes place on Friday afternoon.

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