La Gazzetta dello Sport posted an article on their website about the 10 deaths during races (don't ask me if this is the total fatal incidents in cycling), and the first occured in the 1935 Tour, when a rider descending the Galibier went off the side of the mountain much as Gino did yesterday. Also discussed were Simpson on Mount Ventoux in the 67 Tour, Casartelli and Weylandt, noting that each decade has had its victim.
It's a fact that fatal crashes in cycling are very rare, but that they happen at all is testimony to the inherent dangers of the sport. Is cycling more dangerous than before? I don't know, but I suspect, given that fatal race incidents or those resulting in serious injury have not increased significantly since the first death during a race in 1935, I'd say not really.
Frankly I'm more concerned about the situation out on the roads on training rides. Population growth and increased automobile traffic, has made training outside increasingly dangerous. But apart from trying to educate drivers and riders towards peacefull coexistance on the roads, I fear it's only going to get worse.