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Tour de Pologne 2020

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That was really not Barguil's fault, he was first forced to change his line when he made contact with TJVG, who cut a corner.
I find it really hard to find any excuses for Dylan, when you make this kind of move at 80 km/h it's always super dangerous and reckless. Of course sprinters are often rather reckless, but at that kind of speed it's just nuts.
The race organizers and the UCI are both also to blame for picking and allowing such a dangerous final/finishing straight.
Oh I didn't mean to imply that at all, but I thought you were talking about the severity of the results rather than the cause.
 
This shows the UCI clearly didn’t have to apologize for the Sagan-Cavendish incident. You don’t apologize when misbehavior occur.
That was really ridiculous. What Sagan did was wrong and everyone should acknowledge that. Instead the Sagan lobby was out in full force and managed to get an apologize from the UCI. Might have also played a part that it "only" was Cavendish, who isn't the cleanest sprinter either.
 
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That was really ridiculous. What Sagan did was wrong and everyone should acknowledge that. Instead the Sagan lobby was out in full force and managed to get an apologize from the UCI. Might have also played a part that it "only" was Cavendish, who isn't the cleanest sprinter either.

It was totally different from what happened yesterday. Sagan swerved as a result of people in front of him swerving just before, Groenewegen just veered to the right to block Jakobsen.

And I think it was discussed to death back then, but I still think it was proven that his elbow movement was a result of Cavendish' handlebars disrupting Sagan's balance, not an active or malicious gesture by itself.
 
Any update on the camera man??

Regarding Dylan Groenewegen, OK to his DQ of yesterdays stage.
But further aftermath will IMHO be awkward if the riders are to punish for the effects of not holding the sprint line and not just for the latter itself.
I might be rough, but it's a part of cycling.
However, I think the race organizers will reconsider the sprint stage in Katowice for the future.
 
Seeing that crash live yesterday was terrifying. I was in shock for several hours. I’ve seen a lot of cycling, lots of sprints and lots of crashes in my lifetime but this was just something else. Lots has already been said about the incident but what stands out for me is this: sprinters have always battled, they’ve closed the door on others but i’ve never seen a sprint where the other sprinter is literally next to you before pushing of or closing. Not behind you, not in your wheel but next to you, knowing damn well that closing WILL make the other guy crash and knowing well that you’re going at an insane speed.
My live reaction was: he’s crazy! He just killed him!
What made him do it? The unconsciousness in the moment of a sprinter going for the win? The “over my dead body” attitude? It’s crazy how your thinking can just go blank Im that moment.
The only thing that matters of course is Jakobsen’s condition.
As to Groenewegen, i’m sure he’s in a very dark place now and he might never get out of it. Something he can carry for the rest of his life. He put the life of people in jeopardy, harms the sport, his sponsors, his reputation,..
In any case, this deserves a severe sanctioning. For the sheer act of it.

Also: the awful finish (descent, lacking safety measures) has to be addressed, but the unsafe conditions needs to be looked at separate from the dangerous act of the rider. You can address both things and be appalled by both. Unfortunately I noticed that some turn it into a “who’s fault is it really?” thing which is absolutely ridiculous.
 
Any update on the camera man??

Regarding Dylan Groenewegen, OK to his DQ of yesterdays stage.
But further aftermath will IMHO be awkward if the riders are to punish for the effects of not holding the sprint line and not just for the latter itself.
I might be rough, but it's a part of cycling.
However, I think the race organizers will reconsider the sprint stage in Katowice for the future.

There’s holding your line, there’s not holding your line, there’s not holding your line and closing the door on someone in your slipstream and there’s willingly riding into someone who’s next to you going 80 km/h.
This doesn’t “just happen” or are is part of cycling.
Sorry, but i just can’t agree with this!
 
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Aug 5, 2020
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Deputy director of the hospital:
- He was operated on for 5 hours, until 5:30 am, by our anesthesiologists, oral surgeons and laryngologists. The operation was very complicated due to the craniofacial trauma. According to the reports of the doctors who carried it out, it went without complications. At the moment he is in the clinical intensive care unit in a stable condition. Has its own pressure. He is ventilated because of the anesthesia he received in the operating theater
We think there will be an attempt to wake him out of his coma today. Only then will it be revealed what his full state of health is. We hope that, taking into account the results of the CT scans that were performed on Wednesday, there will be no damage to the nervous system. He also sustained chest injuries, mainly bruises. However, we must remember that he underwent almost an hour's resuscitation on the spot, so the clinical symptoms may still change. I believe that the next message will contain more information.
The most serious injuries so far are the craniofacial injuries, colloquially speaking the front part of the head. Fortunately, there were no injuries, for example to the eyeballs. In the long run, rehabilitation will be necessary. We hope that today we will learn more about his state of consciousness and that it will be possible to implement plastic surgery procedures, because we also have such an opportunity in this hospital.
 
I dunno if it would help if there was always some sort of punishment if a rider deviates from his line* during a sprint. Not necessarily downright disqualification, but simply demotion (there's another word, I forgot it...) to the last place in the group, or maybe even simply a loss of points for the point jersey, basically telling the rider that "We acknowledge your fifth place, but you're not getting any points." (And at least for sprinters a loss of points is actually a punishment that will be felt!)

*BTW, the no deviation from line rule doesn't count if you have to deviate from your line in order to get past a slower rider, right?

---

Oh, and... surely they're not going to try an make Mezgec wear the jersey? I suppose it's a bit like the situation with T. Martin in the Tour a few years back, when even though he didn't start the stage - making Froome the default leader - he'd still made it across the line on the previous day, meaning that he did still technically have the jersey.
The no deviation from line is extremely difficult to judge even in a replay forget the dynamic and rapid situation of a sprint. I would say that marking out lanes for the last 600 m would help both riders and everybody else to know if there is deviation. Also it would be good if the lanes closest to the barriers were banned from sprinting in the last 200-600m
 
Hope that Fabio Jakobsen and all other people involved recover and there won't be any substantial long term consequences, regarding health and professional careers.

Overall it was a sad day for cycling yesterday. People got seriously injured, their professional and personal lives for sure will be affected, including Groenewegens.

Groenewegen has deviated from his line, trying to block the attack. I doubt he did it with the intention, to kill somebody.

A few days back we talked if adding gravel to GT race would spice things up. It would, but it reduces safety. Sprint finishes like that, on terrains where peloton finishes in close formation and sprinters go to 100 km/h, it is sensational, but it is a huge safety risk. Decisions are made in split second, an error in judgement will have devastating consequences.
 
What do you mean?
He has said a lot... by saying nothing. Thijs is usually the first to sprint towards his phone or computer at the slightest inconvenience, and now there's crickets. He always looked more like a PR-machine for Dumoulin, but with the development of Jumbo's programme over the last few years, it would seem he has shifted his focus toward them. The most compelling thing he has expressed about this incident is that ''Groenewegens actions are perhaps over the line, I think'', only to write this abomination of an article last night, in which he defends Groenewegen, somehow? You can tell he is scared shitless of having to express critique, otherwise he'd maybe lose a source, lose a quote or perhaps lose someone to have on his podcast. You just know he'd scream for someone to be hanged if, say, Andrea Vendrame was yesterday's culprit. No credibility whatsoever.
 
He has said a lot... by saying nothing. Thijs is usually the first to sprint towards his phone or computer at the slightest inconvenience, and now there's crickets. He always looked more like a PR-machine for Dumoulin, but with the development of Jumbo's programme over the last few years, it would seem he has shifted his focus toward them. The most compelling thing he has expressed about this incident is that ''Groenewegens actions are perhaps over the line, I think'', only to write this abomination of an article last night, in which he defends Groenewegen, somehow? You can tell he is scared shitless of having to express critique, otherwise he'd maybe lose a source, lose a quote or perhaps lose someone to have on his podcast. You just know he'd scream for someone to be hanged if, say, Andrea Vendrame was yesterday's culprit. No credibility whatsoever.
You're right **** that guy.
 
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Suspending him for the remainder of the season wouldn't suffice, imo, given the uncertainty with the calendar. Suspending him for the remainder of the season could very well mean suspending him for a month, in theory. I'm not calling for his career, but a suspension until the start of the 2021 Tour de Pologne would be a start.
 
Hope that Fabio Jakobsen and all other people involved recover and there won't be any substantial long term consequences, regarding health and professional careers.

Overall it was a sad day for cycling yesterday. People got seriously injured, their professional and personal lives for sure will be affected, including Groenewegens.

Groenewegen has deviated from his line, trying to block the attack. I doubt he did it with the intention, to kill somebody.

A few days back we talked if adding gravel to GT race would spice things up. It would, but it reduces safety. Sprint finishes like that, on terrains where peloton finishes in close formation and sprinters go to 100 km/h, it is sensational, but it is a huge safety risk. Decisions are made in split second, an error in judgement will have devastating consequences.

I doubt the riding on gravel has some major safety issues. It increases the possibility that GC is decided but mechanical or puncture but I think downhills on HC stages are more dangerous than riding on the gravel.

On the other hand, I agree with mass sprint finishes. The final part should be seriously considered. No downhills, no U-turns, no dangerous barriers etc. Yesterday we saw how the crash in over 80 km/hour looks likes. I doubt cycling needs finishes like this to be more popular.
 
I doubt the riding on gravel has some major safety issues. It increases the possibility that GC is decided but mechanical or puncture but I think downhills on HC stages are more dangerous than riding on the gravel.

On the other hand, I agree with mass sprint finishes. The final part should be seriously considered. No downhills, no U-turns, no dangerous barriers etc. Yesterday we saw how the crash in over 80 km/hour looks likes. I doubt cycling needs finishes like this to be more popular.
I agree. The incidents in races are almost all bunch sprints.
 

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