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Crashes, what can be done?

Page 70 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Agree upsets are great. But I disagree the best upsets are in basketball, cycling or boxing. Other sports have upsets and what is “best” is a subjective and difficult to define measure anyway.
Ya, I can think of a lot of sports with spectacular upsets that can compete for the "best upsets". Biathlon is such a sport since it sort of has built in it that any favorites can suddenly mess up their shooting and get extra round or penalty minutes and then suddenly some unexpected skier shoots flawlessly and gets a surprise win.

Any combat sport is pretty much set up for surprise results, including boxing of course and combat sports can often have very surprising upsets with someone getting the right punch or the right throw at the right time out of seemingly nothing.

Football/soccer also has its history of memorable upsets, Cup games comes first to mind but also things like Leicesters Premier League win is stuff of legends.
 
A very timely story about a very timely UCI race incidents study.




  • 24% increase in incidents compared to 2022
  • Incidents increasing in the final 40km of races.
  • 58% of incidents occur in the final 40km.
There stories about marking your trail so you can find your way back, don't get completely lost.. So what seems like overnight, 50s are becoming more standard for many races, lower profile wheels are around and are in use, but 45+ are looking more and more regular equipment. So for @10+ years people saying they are harder to turn, less to unstable in heavy winds, disc brakes and what are essentially aero handlebars with people using 25cm if they could with hoods turned in..just basics say when you make the triangle base smaller it's less stable.... Disc brakes, different saddle positions with more weight at the front of the bike and extreme stem lengths and elimination of stack, stems are slammed and then have varying downward degrees.
Most significant in my opinion is peloton parity and advanced science, including AI
Many more riders are stronger, faster than before because of training technology. And recent stuff from Cycling News and other sources are reporting that using AI and other technologies that riders will have individual training programs to maximize who they are and what they are capable of.. So if everyone is better, more fit,faster only makes sense that riders who would have flamed out or been burned off are still around for @40k left and many are in the thick of it until the end.
But definitely the bicycles used are way, way more dangerous.. You see guys seats tilted, slammed forward on the seat rails, riding a zero degree or negative 3 ..130-140 stem slammed. Way more aero sure but way less stable and with effective width @36 or less..
 
The UCI press release yesterday seems to have caught attention for the survey element, but it has a lot more in it, and maybe deserves more consideration than dismissing it as victim blaming on account of the 35% of crashes are rider error headline.

  • "Case Management Committee meets weekly to review race incidents, anticipate issues for upcoming races and conduct safety audits of teams and races." I'd not been aware of that: if there are good people on it willing to rattle cages, and if their budget allows travel to see the reality on the ground, could be influential;
  • It seems entirely within race organiser's authority to extend the 3km rule to 5 km, no special permission needed, so if there are pinch-points at 3.5 km to go, that pressure can be alleviated (yeah, there might be one at 5.5, but...);
  • Gaps within the peloton are ignored if they are less than 3 seconds, not just one, in the timing of finishes, and that no longer seems to apply only to the biggest group nor only to GTs or where it is deliberately invoked;
  • The UCI is now on record as having heard sprinters concern that there should be consistency in application of rules re deviation in a sprint, and concerns about barriers and late corners, so they have less excuse for inconsistency or turning a blind eye to poor course design;
  • More frequent (and hopefully less frantic) feed zones (although I hope that doesn't mean lots of cars trying to push past the peloton between each of them to set up at the next one);
  • Multiple studies are said to be underway: radio usage and "a device to measure the distance between riders and vehicles" seem most interesting to me, but there are others about rims, handlebar width, air-bags (!), route evaluation software, gear restrictions and more. If someone can hold their feet to the fire, asking what they are doing in the light of these reports or why they are not doing anything, then maybe we will be getting somewhere.
I don't think anyone is going to accuse me of having been a defender of the UCI, and there is a chance that this is 'all just talk', but it seems that they have taken the issues on: this does look like a new level of resolution. Let's hope someone (cycling press, national associations, teams?) hold them to it and ensure it is followed through.
 
@Armchair Cyclist

I am still gathering all the info, past couple of days, to fit in a post. But as you already mentioned it, so i guess off season isn't preventing for such measures to be implemented? Anyway, people interested and invested in this debates we have been having, there is a hidden gem in mentioned UCI statement. Anybody cares to guess on what it is?

A hint, it's mentioned with a single word.
 
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Reactions: SHAD0W93
@Armchair Cyclist

I am still gathering all the info, past couple of days, to fit in a post. But as you already mentioned it, so i guess off season isn't preventing for such measures to be implemented? Anyway, people interested and invested in this debates we have been having, there is a hidden gem in mentioned UCI statement. Anybody cares to guess on what it is?

A hint, it's mentioned with a single word.
Airbag?
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Lui98 and SHAD0W93
@Armchair Cyclist

I am still gathering all the info, past couple of days, to fit in a post. But as you already mentioned it, so i guess off season isn't preventing for such measures to be implemented? Anyway, people interested and invested in this debates we have been having, there is a hidden gem in mentioned UCI statement. Anybody cares to guess on what it is?

A hint, it's mentioned with a single word.

This isn't the UCI Loller thread...
 
19-year-old Sara Piffer of Team Mendelspeck has been killed by a driver trying to overtake another car in Trentino today. It appears that medical assistance was called immediately, but she couldn't be revived.
She was training with her older brother Christian who escaped with minor injuries.

 
19-year-old Sara Piffer of Team Mendelspeck has been killed by a driver trying to overtake another car in Trentino today. It appears that medical assistance was called immediately, but she couldn't be revived.
She was training with her older brother Christian who escaped with minor injuries.

This is the biggest problem, I have been saying this all the time. It's incredible dangerous to ride a bike in cities with a lot of traffic.
 
Yet more crashes by killer drivers

Tragedy Strikes German Cycling Team On Mallorca​

A car crash during training leaves six members injured but no fatalities reported.​

On January 27, 2025, tragedy struck the German track cycling national team when six of its members were involved in a severe accident on the Spanish island of Mallorca. The incident occurred around 10:20 AM during what was meant to be a routine training ride, just 2.7 kilometers from their hotel at Palma. An 89-year-old driver, reportedly distracted, drove straight through the cyclist group, causing serious injuries to some athletes.

 
So far, most of the so called sprint stages have ended with crashes caused by riders dive bombing each other and being reckless. I believe one of the ways crashes can be reduced is to not have pure sprint races. It is a win win situation anyway. Roadies get better stages to watch (ones with hills in the parkour) and the best guys will not get injured by desperate riders trying to get a contract by riding recklessly. And then the ones who enjoy sprinting can watch track cycling with the best sprinters there. Bonus is we do not have to watch the Groenewegens of the world getting dropped over every bridge.
 
So far, most of the so called sprint stages have ended with crashes caused by riders dive bombing each other and being reckless. I believe one of the ways crashes can be reduced is to not have pure sprint races. It is a win win situation anyway. Roadies get better stages to watch (ones with hills in the parkour) and the best guys will not get injured by desperate riders trying to get a contract by riding recklessly. And then the ones who enjoy sprinting can watch track cycling with the best sprinters there. Bonus is we do not have to watch the Groenewegens of the world getting dropped over every bridge.
That would be embarrassing. Riders need to learn to be less reckless.