No race radios, so the Belgians are pioneering a new form of communication: 'It’s not rocket science'

Sporza discovered that the Belgian team uses notes taped to water bottles. “We tested that on Friday with the U23s,” says national team coach Serge Pauwels. “Like every year, we use signs, but we’ve also devised another system using the water bottles. It’s not rocket science, you know. But almost every rider takes a water bottle on nearly every lap. And it worked well with the U23s.”

The Belgian team will, of course, be standing along the side of the course with signs, just as they always have. Without earpieces, it will simply be harder to communicate, and by repurposing the water bottles, they hope to reach the riders more regularly. “It won’t make a difference. But it’s a good way to keep the riders informed about changing situations.”

Team leader Wout van Aert supports the plan. “It’s been around for a long time, you know, even though I’ve never raced that way,” says the Visma | Lease a Bike rider. “It’ll be a new experience for me. I’ll be happy if it helps me stay just a little more informed about the race conditions. I’m not a fan of racing without earpieces. I’ve said that many times before.”

Communicating via water bottles also carries some risks. Sporza learned of the plan when, during the U23 race, a Belgian water bottle suddenly rolled right in front of the cameraman’s feet. That could just as easily have been a staff member from another country. “I hadn’t thought about it yet, but then maybe we’ll have to come up with a secret code,” Van Aert jokes.

Pauwels jokes along. “Or maybe we should write real messages in the even rounds and fake instructions in the odd rounds. No, that’s a bit over the top, isn’t it? Because everyone else can read the signs, too.”

On a more serious note, Van Aert adds that he hopes earpieces will make a comeback at the World Championships in the future. “It’s just a shame that we still have to think about this. I think the decision to race without earpieces was made back then because the race was boring at the time, but that has certainly changed.”

Remco Evenepoel, the other Belgian team leader, also sees other drawbacks to this improvised communication method. “If you miss a water bottle with an important message on it, you won’t have seen it. It still needs some fine-tuning, and maybe someone needs to call out the message as well.”