Moto Menace

[quixoticgeek]

In todays Women's De Brabantse Pijl race, a motor bike pulled out on a team sunweb rider making a break for it was almost taken out by a motor bike.

Best footage I've found so far is via twitter:

https://twitter.com/lucasaganronald/status/1118527079186882567

It's kinda terrifying to watch.

Reopens the argument regarding moto's around the riders.


J

[mzjo]

Forgive the ignorance but I wasn't aware of a particular arguement around the use of motorbikes in races. Riders have had their races wrecked, their seasons wrecked, sometimes even their careers wrecked by jerks on bikes, in cars and even on foot, both in and out of race organisation. If professional racing wants media coverage there is for the moment no better way than a motorbike, coupled to helicopter cover for the more general view. The rule should always be that jerks get banned from driving inside the race, whatever they happen to be driving (which is still no protection for the riders from pedestrians - and even policemen on race control have been responsible for some spectacular and dangerous accidents from time to time). I hope this bike pilot got banned from the convoy straight away (but at the end of the day he didn't even bring the rider down - his lucky day - others have done much worse).

[pcolbeck]

Nah, what you need is to ban the motorbikes and get a crack squad of just retired professional racers on tandems with the cameraman on the rear seat. I'm sure they could keep up with the peloton and any breakaways so long as they were rotated every 5kms or so.

[mzjo]

Nah, what you need is to ban the motorbikes and get a crack squad of just retired professional racers on tandems with the cameraman on the rear seat. I'm sure they could keep up with the peloton and any breakaways so long as they were rotated every 5kms or so.

Provided they weren't subject to dope testing

Of course then the biggest risk to the peloton comes from the humongous great buses needed to get pacers, tandems and cameramen back to the front of the race for their next stint.

[DuncanM]

There was a fuss that basically said there were far too many motos in the mens World Tour races, a lot of which weren't necessary for running/televised the race. No matter how skilled the pilot, accidents happen and people get hurt (and occasionally killed).
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/100-tours-100-tales/2016/apr/01/antoine-demoities-death-cycling-crowded-races

That incident is worse than the majority - I've no idea what the moto was trying to do. No excuses in that case. And it was clearly an accredited moto rider - do the moto pilots in the womens races have to pass the same tests as for mens?

[Cudzoziemiec]

Presumably he was pulling out around that parked lorry. (And why was it there?) Reminds me of two things: an incident a couple or more of decades ago (can't remember but I think T42 has mentioned it) when a helicopter was accused of deliberately slowing down one rider and speeding up another on a breakaway (by flying just in front of the first and just behind the other); and watching A Sunday in Hell – incredibly close passes by the team cars on those cobbled roads. But more likely this was just a mistake than a deliberate action. Quite scary.

[DuncanM]

If you watched Paris Roubaix on Sunday you'll have seen Wout Van Aert in the cars.  That was proper scary on those roads. And someone DNFed because they went into the back window of a car that stopped suddenly (can't remember who). That's the reality of bike racing on those roads.
This moto incident is a bit different - that bike wasn't carrying a comisaire or a cameraman or neutral service wheels - what is his purpose in the race?

[perpetual dan]

Particular drivers apart, bikes seem safer than cars for most roles that need to move back and forth - just by virtue of size and handling.
But as weight of numbers calls on probability cutting unnecessary vehicles makes sense. I wonder, would putting cameras on drones be any safer?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

If you watched Paris Roubaix on Sunday you'll have seen Wout Van Aert in the cars.  That was proper scary on those roads. And someone DNFed because they went into the back window of a car that stopped suddenly (can't remember who). That's the reality of bike racing on those roads.

Crashing into team cars is nothing new. This is Davis Phinney just after a nasty crash. http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/timeline/Race%20Snippets/L-B-L/LBL_1988.htm

[MattH]

The bike came out of nowhere, it looks possible to me like he was doing something with the parked truck (maybe holding it in place so it didn't drive down the hill), and misjudged jumping out in front of the race - he'd want to do it relatively close to the approaching cyclists as otherwise the truck would take it as permission to start again. If he waited until they'd gone by, he'd then have to work his way back to the front, which can be tricky and risky in itself and potentially lead to not enough motos at the front to deal with hazards.

Still screwed up, which is scarily easy to do.

[fd3]

Greater use of on-bike/rider cameras?