Road racing, by definition, uses roads, and some roads sometimes include level crossings. I'm sure race organisers do not seek out level crossing gates on purpose, but on occasion the desired route and nature of the course means that their inclusion is unavoidable. And that means that interruption of the race is a risk that should be actively considered, and not just treated with a shrug.
After Paris Roubaix 2015 (and was it LBL U23 the same year), the UCI felt obliged to reinforce the rules. Yesterday was the most high profile issue since then, and while I fully support regulations that punish reckless dashes under the gates to gain a sporting advantage, we have all seen too many race/season/career/life changing injuries arising from the deceleration of the peloton from 50km/h to 0 in too short a distance.
Many have spoken of riders being unaware of traffic signals as they are used to ignoring them in races, and of the impossibility of stopping as soon as the lights begin to flash. We all know that the train will not come until some time after the gates have totally lowered, and most of us will, on foot, bike or in car, have made that little dash to get through. If this middle aged man is tempted to do so on a journey of no particular time pressure, then a cohort of adrenaline filled racers will feel a greater urge to do so. We, and presumably the UCI and organisers, don't want riders to be disqualified/fined/banned for a month just for following racing instinct.
Neither race organisation (at this level) nor railway companies are small organisations with no available personnel or means of communication. Is there any reason why there cannot be a letter, months in advance that says:
Dear Rail Company, we are the organisers of a major international bike race that will take place on Someday 32nd of Neveruary; it has a high international profile, global TV coverage and is considered an important part of local sporting culture. It is to pass your level crossings at points X and Y between 12 noon and 1pm, but the nature of racing is that we cannot be precise. We understand that you cannot provide confident closure times of level crossing gates in advance, and do not seek to disrupt your train services in any way, but we are anxious to be able to ensure that the high speed peloton can be safely brought to a stop if necessary. Please provide a telephone number that race marshals can use to find out, between these times, whether a closure is imminent. We will be happy to include acknowledgement of your co-operation in our promotional materials.
Cost to rail company: a few phone calls to a line supervisor who, I presume, is already in front of a screen monitoring train movements. Benefit: small amount of publicity/good PR.
Cost to race organisers: a line at the bottom of a poster and on their web-site, and a motorbike in front of each group detailed to make such a call. Benefit: If the gates are going to close, instead of first warning being the red lights flashing, which riders are unaware of until they have technically committed a disqualifiable offence, there will be knowledge that the gate will close in 30 seconds, and those not yet at it can be ordered to slow down over race radio. If the system fails, or if there are too many groups that they can't all have outriders, then we at least still have the current position, we are no worse off.
Anyone here work with railways and able to comment on the feasibility of that? I would imagine (and as an occasional passenger, hope) that they already have somebody who, if asked by the fire brigade "Is a train likely to pass point Z in the next 3 to 5 minutes?" could give a confident answer: all I am proposing is brief access for the organisers to that person.
After Paris Roubaix 2015 (and was it LBL U23 the same year), the UCI felt obliged to reinforce the rules. Yesterday was the most high profile issue since then, and while I fully support regulations that punish reckless dashes under the gates to gain a sporting advantage, we have all seen too many race/season/career/life changing injuries arising from the deceleration of the peloton from 50km/h to 0 in too short a distance.
Many have spoken of riders being unaware of traffic signals as they are used to ignoring them in races, and of the impossibility of stopping as soon as the lights begin to flash. We all know that the train will not come until some time after the gates have totally lowered, and most of us will, on foot, bike or in car, have made that little dash to get through. If this middle aged man is tempted to do so on a journey of no particular time pressure, then a cohort of adrenaline filled racers will feel a greater urge to do so. We, and presumably the UCI and organisers, don't want riders to be disqualified/fined/banned for a month just for following racing instinct.
Neither race organisation (at this level) nor railway companies are small organisations with no available personnel or means of communication. Is there any reason why there cannot be a letter, months in advance that says:
Dear Rail Company, we are the organisers of a major international bike race that will take place on Someday 32nd of Neveruary; it has a high international profile, global TV coverage and is considered an important part of local sporting culture. It is to pass your level crossings at points X and Y between 12 noon and 1pm, but the nature of racing is that we cannot be precise. We understand that you cannot provide confident closure times of level crossing gates in advance, and do not seek to disrupt your train services in any way, but we are anxious to be able to ensure that the high speed peloton can be safely brought to a stop if necessary. Please provide a telephone number that race marshals can use to find out, between these times, whether a closure is imminent. We will be happy to include acknowledgement of your co-operation in our promotional materials.
Cost to rail company: a few phone calls to a line supervisor who, I presume, is already in front of a screen monitoring train movements. Benefit: small amount of publicity/good PR.
Cost to race organisers: a line at the bottom of a poster and on their web-site, and a motorbike in front of each group detailed to make such a call. Benefit: If the gates are going to close, instead of first warning being the red lights flashing, which riders are unaware of until they have technically committed a disqualifiable offence, there will be knowledge that the gate will close in 30 seconds, and those not yet at it can be ordered to slow down over race radio. If the system fails, or if there are too many groups that they can't all have outriders, then we at least still have the current position, we are no worse off.
Anyone here work with railways and able to comment on the feasibility of that? I would imagine (and as an occasional passenger, hope) that they already have somebody who, if asked by the fire brigade "Is a train likely to pass point Z in the next 3 to 5 minutes?" could give a confident answer: all I am proposing is brief access for the organisers to that person.