Should Theo Bos be suspended for this?

[issoisso]

I personally feel so.

(skip to 3:43 into the video to see it. Darril Impey had to "finish" while being pushed by his team, wearing a neck brace. Thanks to soda for the video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoEd0w-BmfI

Discuss.

 

[Power13]

Not only should he receive a suspension, he should be charged with assault.

Unbelievable.

 

[stefrees]

ban = yes. wouldn't rule out criminal proceedings. disgusting

 

[jaylew]

Wow, I'm speechless!

What could have possibly triggered that? Bos not only throws the race leader down, but also insures that he is going to crash as well. Disgraceful.

 

[Jasper]

Unbelievable.



Why on earth would Bos deliberately make Impey fall in full sprint preparation, and especially in such an obvious fashion? I can't get my head around it

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

What a D!CK!!! This didn't even look like a Pro race. 2 pack crashes in the last 3k and an assault. Maybe Derril called Theo's mother a wh0re.

 

[BikeCentric]

Better be a suspension for that.

 

[Cosette]

I checked the Rabo-site to see what they have to say of the matter. And they say that Theo did not actually pull Impey to the ground. But that Theo was about to be pushed into the barriers, and tried to fend it of using his arm, which resulted in the crash.
And the judges at the event saw no reason to persecute him for the incident.

I am inclined to believe this version, as I believe that Theo Bos is not stupid enough to deliberately pull the race-leader down in full sprint, knowing they will most likely crash.

 

[180mmCrank]

This looked like an instinctive move from Bos to try and keep himself off the barriers...didn't look like anything malicious to me - unfortunate. I think the commentary makes it sound like it's something more than it actually is.

I wonder why so many crashes?

 

[Jasper]

Every sane person would be inclined to believe that version, so would I. But the images cleary say otherwise, unfortunately. There's no use of elbows or shoulders, Bos grabs Impeys shirt and pulls him down.
But I bet they'll try to blame it on Bos' inexperience on the road...

 

[ElChingon]

Well if you look carefully the barriers are not even in a straight line they bulge out and in along that path, so if they got too close to the barriers on a bulge out they'd get hosed as soon as it bulges back in.

Still, I'm sure there will be a new rule on putting your hand on another rider none the less. Its a very weird finali, three crashes, way too many.

 

[titan_90]

After watching it several times I do tend to believe that Bos was trying to keep from being pushed into the barriers. Bad crash none the less.

 

[Black Dog]

He grabbed him and tossed him. He had a fist full of jersey and pulled him down. Watch the video very closely.

 

[Mellow Velo]

From the commentary, we didn't see all of the incident.
What we clearly saw amounts to an assault.
Grabbed him and sent him sideways, for Gawd's sake.
Rabo are trying to cover their tracks and boy, are they having a rough day in the media:-

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/1297/Dopin...schuldigt-Thomas-Dekker-van-bloeddoping.dhtml

 

[180mmCrank]

Not sure the images say anything more than he panicked...the voice over draws a conclusion... but it was an unfortunate mistake.

Otherwise - Why would he do this deliberately Really? Don't make sense.

 

[ingsve]

I wonder why so many crashes?

The swedish commentators speculated that the surface they were riding might have been the cause for some crashes. It's not that visible in the video but the surface wasn't asfalt but rather some sort of tightly packed road tiles that they throught might have been slippery.

 

[--oisin--]

It looks to me like Bos grabbed Impey at first to balance himself as he was too close to the barriers and what appears to be the throw to the ground was Bos attempting to make up for slowing Impey by 'throwing' him forward which went wrong

 

[ingsve]

Would be interesting to know what Impey says...He ought to know if he felt he was dragged or not...

 

[BikeCentric]

First of all people, Bos tried to pass on the inside of the peloton up against the barriers, it's his own fault he got squeezed into the barriers and noone elses. There was no room to pass there and he shouldn't have stuck his front wheel in there in the first place. Second of all, he clearly grabs a fistfull of Impey's jersey, then throws his arm across his body in front of him which throws Impey into the barrier and brings them both down. Looks to me Bos was thinking "uh oh, I'm getting pinched into the barrier by this guy, I think I'll take him down with me." Regardless of what he thought or what he says, what he did was stupid, wrong, against the rules, caused a giant crash that badly hurt at least one other rider (the race leader no less), and was total BS. He should be suspended so he can think about the consequences of such an action.

 

[Zoncolan]

Yeah, Bos is definetely to blame, but I don't think he pulled Impey down, he just panicked and made the wrong decision.
As for Impey, he won the race anyway and wasn't seriously injured so

 

[Jasper]

I'm not a professional bikerider, nor have I ever been in a similar situation, being in a very large bunch at high speeds, getting pushed toward a barrier and its promise of certain pain and injury. But I've seen a lot of bunch sprints on tv, and I do ride my bike on a daily basis. And this is the first time I've ever seen this happen the way it did. Let's assume Bos panicked because he was getting boxed in way too close to the barrier and started to lose his balance. Isn't the natural and instinctive reaction to start leaning towards the guy that is boxing you in with your shoulder, elbow and knee, but always making sure you're keeping your hands on the steer so you can remain at least a bit of control over the bike and keeping your weight as low and stable as possible? Especially at such high speeds? I'd imagine lifting one hand off the steer would make you even more vulnerable and unbalanced, and grabbing on to another rider by his clothers to regain your balance seems completely unnatural, maybe the last desperate measure if you're already starting to slide. But then again, grabbing someone makes him come even closer towards you, while the goal should be pushing him away, no? I know there are some experienced bikeriders on the board here, can they shed any light on this?

 

[BikeCentric]

nor have I ever been in a similar situation, being in a very large bunch at high speeds, getting pushed toward a barrier and its promise of certain pain and injury.?

I have, in several Cat 4 and Cat 3 criteriums.

Isn't the natural and instinctive reaction to start leaning towards the guy that is boxing you in with your shoulder, elbow and knee, but always making sure you're keeping your hands on the steer so you can remain at least a bit of control over the bike and keeping your weight as low and stable as possible? Especially at such high speeds?

Yes, absolutely correct. And you want to be in the drops too so you can be as low as possible.

I'd imagine lifting one hand off the steer would make you even more vulnerable and unbalanced, and grabbing on to another rider by his clothers to regain your balance seems completely unnatural, maybe the last desperate measure if you're already starting to slide. But then again, grabbing someone makes him come even closer towards you, while the goal should be pushing him away, no? I know there are some experienced bikeriders on the board here, can they shed any light on this?

Grabbing another rider is always the wrong move. It won't keep you up, instead it will just bring you both down, as Bos so inelegantly demonstrated. This is why Bos was in the wrong.

 

[Anonymous]

ok.. i was looking at this and couldnt decide, so i slowed it down, zoomed in... and for me no question..

guy should be banned for life and face criminal charges...
then again i hate to think that he did intentionally do it.. who knows.. my gut says hes a nutter and should be banned

loading to youtube now..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8K_7bJQaaI

 

[180mmCrank]

Wow that's a cool piece of editing...

...and well it hasn't changed my view that it wasn't a deliberate attempt to pull down a rider. It was an instinctive (panic) response as he was going down. I agree with all the comments about what he could/should have been doing but well put simply he screwed up - and fortunately no one was too badly hurt.

Nuff said I think

 

[Anonymous]

im not sure he intended to take him out, but i do think he should be banned and charged with gross stupidity.. what the hell was he thinking.. it was only ever going to end in an accident...

i am a bit concerned though, his elbow definately puts some force in and drags him in the direction of the barriers.. maybe something was said, maybe theres some bad blood, but it all seems a bit odd.. ive not seen a move like that in nearly 30 years of watching cycling..

sod it.. ban him and charge him.. intentional or not, theres no place in the pelaton with people a) that nasty or b) with that few brain cells..

nb: i cant work out if bos went down in the crash or not.. he seems to vanish into thin air..