Crashes, what can be done?

[CyclistAbi]

I wouldn't ever be, literally or figuratively.

Seriously?! Getting stupid people back from the riders has nothing to do with rider safety?!

You have never done a stupid thing in your life? I find that really hard to believe.

 

[King Boonen]

I don’t know if it’s been said re the whole sentencing of the woman, but it should be pointed out that if it got around that the “punishment” for causing a crash at the Tour de France was washing bikes for 5 hours, there is a portion of the population out there, including but not limited to grown men and/or women, some of whom may or may not have in the neighborhood of 4,186 posts on a forum such as this one, who may consider that an open invitation to show up at various pro bike races with a large “DOWN WITH THIS SORT OF THING” sign that stretches approximately the width of a standard European traffic lane.

Just some food for thought.

Standing at the side of the road with a small cardboard sign and not realising how close the riders might get is a bit different to trying to play dumb when wilfully obstructing people.

If Sutterlin and Soler want to pursue her that's up to them, and a 1500 Euro fine will be a deterent to most people I think. The washing bikes might work if they're forced to pay for their own accommodation, travel expenses etc. too.

 

[CyclistAbi]

In your post you watched the Eurosport coverage, while in another post you are quoting from a newspaper report which misrepresented the total facts - At the end of the day, ASO agreed to neutralise the finish with 5kms to go which was over-ruled by the UCI commissionaires.

If you twist it like that then indeed it almost make sense. And if this would still be the whole truth there is no justification in how some people reacted. Now let me tell you what really happened and where is the big hole in what you wrote.

In this thread we talked about responsibility regarding what happened on stage 1 and 3. And in this thread it was made clear UCI made some final call on stage 3 and ASO pointed the finger to them. I acknowledge that and what i said in this thread is safety of the event is always the responsibility of the organiser. Hence ASO. No amount of finger pointing changes that.

There was another thread focused on stage 4. In that thread i gave my kudos to Eurosport commentators. For calling out CPA, ASO and UCI to get their *** together.

Some people i guess weren't happy with my views in both threads and started calling me names in both threads. I sincerely doubt they watched the Eurosport debate. Anyway this wasted enough of my time already and everybody is free to choose whatever they choose to believe.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Well I don’t have time to read through this thread but I hope she gets sued for an awful lot of money. It’s about time someone was made an example of. The Tour de France attracts millions who know little about the sport. I am no lawyer but I think the legal principle is negligence. Make an example out of her case and watch crowds take note and less crazy stupid actions at the side of the road. Not saying it eliminates the risks but I guarantee making a high profile example out of this woman will see a reduction in incidents in the years ahead.

This is extremely short (and one) sighted view of the whole situation. The other extreme being she should organise a fund raiser to cash in her newly established fame.

In short this woman is not to blame for all of the world problems.

 

[CyclistAbi]

I believe the arrest of the women and possible charges sets a dangerous precedent - It is also arbitrary and selective in that there have been numerous other examples of similar behaviour at the TDF and other races which have gone unpunished - If riders wish to take civil action then that is their decision - Finally, I'm more worried about the abuse the women has suffered through media, especially social media - I even read some posts in this thread which are condoned as acceptable.

I agree.

If i am liable in such way as this woman is i consider visiting a GT event to be too much of a risk for me.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Individual riders and teams fear the retaliation too much and won't ever rise the right questions. As they won't and nobody is doing anything they are aware of the issues and are rather reluctant about it. They more or less know nothing will get done and things will only get worse in the future.

As CPA, ASO and UCI didn't get their *** together in the past couple of years it is rather obvious current methods don't work.

CPA should sue ASO on the count of they being the organiser of the event and providing insufficient safety. All the safety incidents from stage 1 and 3 should be examined and for most ASO likely would not be liable. Highly likely ASO would end up being liable for the safety incident that happened at the end of the stage 3. As organiser they acknowledged safety measures are insufficient still they backed out and sent cyclist to the road without the appropriate safety measures implemented. Resulting in the related safety incidents. If ASO feels UCI is to blame then ASO should sue UCI. To clear that up.

My opinion is things will change in the future for the better as CPA, ASO and UCI are now under scrutiny of the public eye. Especially beacouse how hard they went down on (no pun intended) that woman. If you set such measures for others then you set it for yourself too.

 

[Bolder]

I agree.

If i am liable in such way as this woman is i consider visiting a GT event to be too much of a risk for me.

Why? Do you normally stand with your body in the road holding up big signs facing the wrong way as the peloton bears down at 60kph?

 

[CyclistAbi]

Tour de France organisers withdraw lawsuit against spectator who caused mass crash

ASO will not take legal action against the 30-year-old spectator

www.cyclingnews.com

Kudos ASO.

P.S. But now please start doing something in cooperation with all other parties involved. We never again want to see a GT race as seen on stage 1 and 3 on this years Tour edition.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Why? Do you normally stand with your body in the road holding up big signs facing the wrong way as the peloton bears down at 60kph?

I am sure that my life has produced a couple of hours of videos of viral material for the internet. And i doubt i am all that special in this regard.

 

[DanielSong39]

Fining spectators 1500 Euros for disrupting a race and giving them a point on their drivers' license would be sufficient deterrent for most .

Also if a spectator tackles a cyclist and costs him a GC position then the cyclist pummels the spectator the racing jury should look the other way, say nothing, and let the cyclist go unpunished.

Obviously we need to remove traffic islands because they are plain road hazards. They cause more accidents than they prevent. If a town wants to host a race, they remove the furniture or it's a no go.

Besides that though cycling is a sport of attrition and bad breaks and that's part of the fun. I do not like the race neutralizations or 3km rule or 5km rule or 10km rule at all. They do need to design better routes when you have bunch sprints but besides that I think the occasional crash is just part of the sport.

 

[jmdirt]

You have never done a stupid thing in your life? I find that really hard to believe.

Wait, what? You are a twister. We are talking about a specific thing: standing in the road as the peloton is coming by and causing a crash. So no I haven't and wouldn't do that.

Since you are so interested in my life: I have done countless stupid things in my life, many of which have caused physical harm to myself, but none that have caused physical harm to others.

 

[RedheadDane]

Fining spectators 1500 Euros for disrupting a race and giving them a point on their drivers' license would be sufficient deterrent for most .

And I assume a "similar" punishment for people who don't have a license.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

And I assume a "similar" punishment for people who don't have a license.

What do you propose here? Puncturing the tires on their bikes? Cutting holes in their favourite shoes? Sawing their walking sticks in halves?

 

[RedheadDane]

What do you propose here? Puncturing the tires on their bikes? Cutting holes in their favourite shoes? Sawing their walking sticks in halves?

I don't suppose it has to be transport related.
I'm still not sure why people would licenses should have points - whatever that means, suppose it's similiar to when people here get "cuts"... - for stunts like that.

 

[jmdirt]

What do you propose here? Puncturing the tires on their bikes? Cutting holes in their favourite shoes? Sawing their walking sticks in halves?

...rubbing salt into a hangnail!

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I don't suppose it has to be transport related.
I'm still not sure why people would licenses should have points - whatever that means, suppose it's similiar to when people here get "cuts"... - for stunts like that.

Yes, the points system is similar to what we have. I agree it would be weird to make them a part of a punishment, unless their car was somehow involved in their race disruption.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

...rubbing salt into a hangnail!

That sounds more like actual torture.

 

[Koronin]

UGH! The UCI just proved that they don't care about rider safety and there is no penalty at all for intentionally injuring riders by causing crashes. The stupid spectator needs to be made an example out of.

 

[DanielSong39]

Yes, the points system is similar to what we have. I agree it would be weird to make them a part of a punishment, unless their car was somehow involved in their race disruption.

It's a road related incident so it's fair to make them sit in traffic school for a day (which is usually how people deal with getting a point on their license)

 

[RedheadDane]

It's a road related incident so it's fair to make them sit in traffic school for a day (which is usually how people deal with getting a point on their license)

I suppose it would be something you'd learn as part of the lesson called Don't step out in front of vehicles moving at around 50 KpH while you're looking the other way!

 

[Bolder]

I am sure that my life has produced a couple of hours of videos of viral material for the internet. And i doubt i am all that special in this regard.

I was just joking around!

But do tell...

 

[Axel Hangleck]

'Respect the riders'.......Well meaning, but pretty hollow, they need to be more pro active. Watching the ITT yesterday, there were fans in the road; get them off the road and onto the grass. The road is for the riders, not the fans.....

 

[DanielSong39]

It's up to the local authorities but a few well-timed 50 Euro tickets would do the trick.

It's tough. You don't want to tag the guy running beside the cyclist who is on a solo breakaway waving a flag or the people who take one step on the road then back away when the cyclists get within 50 meters. You're going to give a lot more leeway for fans that cheer on solo breakaway riders on a 8% gradient than the people who block a peloton and cause a crash.

It's not just the spectators either. I remember the time there was a police motorbike that was parked in the road and it ended up taking out a GC contender.

I can't speak for everyone but for most, a 50 Euro ticket and having to spend a day in traffic school is sufficient deterrent for disrupting races. A bigger fine of course if you take out 100 riders or if you park a motorbike in the middle of the road.

 

[Netserk]

It's up to the local authorities but a few well-timed 50 Euro tickets would do the trick.

It's tough. You don't want to tag the guy running beside the cyclist who is on a solo breakaway waving a flag or the people who take one step on the road then back away when the cyclists get within 50 meters. You're going to give a lot more leeway for fans that cheer on solo breakaway riders on a 8% gradient than the people who block a peloton and cause a crash.

It's not just the spectators either. I remember the time there was a police motorbike that was parked in the road and it ended up taking out a GC contender.

I can't speak for everyone but for most, a 50 Euro ticket and having to spend a day in traffic school is sufficient deterrent for disrupting races. A bigger fine of course if you take out 100 riders or if you park a motorbike in the middle of the road.

If you run on the road, you do so behind the riders, never in front or beside them. If you step onto the road, you do it before they get near you, you keep your eyes on the incoming riders, and you step back when they get close. Only on slower (uphill) sections of the route. Otherwise, your feet should never touch the asphalt.

EDIT: and you shouldn't step on the road with flags and signs that can hit the riders.

The woman in stage 1 violated pretty much all the rules.

 

[Cookster15]

You have never done a stupid thing in your life? I find that really hard to believe.

We will keep your opinion in mind when a rider is killed due to such stupidity.