Triathlon crashes - organisers at fault or just misfortune?

[Bledlow]

Several separate crashes on the same spot. Looks like a problem with the surface to me, combined with wetness. Is this something the organisers should check for & fix if necessary (a quick bit of emergency resurfacing the night before, perhaps), or just one of those things that riders need to look out for?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19125189

[David Martin]

Most competitors made it round without a problem. Bad bike handling on a moderately technical course. Not a lot that can be done re resurfacing.

[Veloman]

Probably a bit of fuel/oil from the traffic that usually use the road.  I thought they might have put someone with a flag/whistle in the road to advise of hazard and suggest they took it wide.

Cycling in swim costumes, ouch!

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Some of them were braking around the corner (locked rear wheel!), just asking for trouble. On the other hand, there were front wheel slides for at least a couple of them. Unless they were braking fairly hard at the time (didn't look like it), I suggest some spillage (diesel?) on the surface, close to the racing line. Wet roads are always marginal at racing speeds though.

[padbeat]

Whatever the cause, skidding along the road in your cossie with no gloves on looks like less fun than you might think!

[giropaul]

Let's face it, triathletes don't exactly have a glowing reputation for bike handling do they?

[mattc]

I think i saw two of the women coming off on 'Cancellara corner' in their RR.
(The breakaway 3/4 all slowed considerably for the same corner).

Even the 'proper' cyclists make mistakes!

[padbeat]

I had a mate airlifted to hospital from the Tignaburich Tri this year with broken collar bone, shoulder blade, 2 upper ribs and a suspected broken neck. All because he tried to take a fairly sharp corner on the tri-bars on the 2nd occasuon of riding his new Planet X Exocet.

Bike handling skills? None in visual range, Sir!

[Veloman]

I had a mate airlifted to hospital from the Tignaburich Tri this year with broken collar bone, shoulder blade, 2 upper ribs and a suspected broken neck. All because he tried to take a fairly sharp corner on the tri-bars on the 2nd occasuon of riding his new Planet X Exocet.

Bike handling skills? None in visual range, Sir!

I know a few triathletes and ride with them. Their skills are fine and one is a former racing cyclist.  I also know a few 'pure' cyclists whose bike skills are worse than the triathletes and we are always aware of them when on club runs.  Also seen some poor handling skills in audax riders too.  So me thinks that to tar all triathletes with the same brush is not appropriate. For so many to keep falling off on the same corner really does suggest a problem as they managed the other corners OK.

[padbeat]

I had a mate airlifted to hospital from the Tignaburich Tri this year with broken collar bone, shoulder blade, 2 upper ribs and a suspected broken neck. All because he tried to take a fairly sharp corner on the tri-bars on the 2nd occasuon of riding his new Planet X Exocet.

Bike handling skills? None in visual range, Sir!

I know a few triathletes and ride with them. Their skills are fine and one is a former racing cyclist.  I also know a few 'pure' cyclists whose bike skills are worse than the triathletes and we are always aware of them when on club runs.  Also seen some poor handling skills in audax riders too.  So me thinks that to tar all triathletes with the same brush is not appropriate. For so many to keep falling off on the same corner really does suggest a problem as they managed the other corners OK.

I recognise that every one of those triathletes today have far superior bike skills to me.

Giropaul made a fair point and I related an anecdote related to the post making light of another's misfortune which backed up his point, and yes I recognise anecdote does not equal data. Not sure what was inappropriate about that. Unfair? Probably.

Drew's bike was fine though, thank's for asking.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Watched the clip with MrsCharly (non-cyclist). She made the observation that some people didn't slide even though they took the same line through the corner.

Some of them went down with both wheels going at the same time.

I reckon it was a combination of wet road, wrong tyres and pressures too high

[mattc]

Clearly, on average, triathletes won't have the same experience in the saddle as specialist cyclists. So it's not an unreasonable conclusion that their skills will be at a lower level (on average).


The weight of anecdata is massive, but I admit much of it will be biased by anti-triantelope feeling amongst the die-hard luddites amongst us 

[giropaul]

Track, criteriums and cyclo-cross are where great bike handling skills tend to develop.

Unfortunately, most triathletes haven't had this opportunity.

[Biggsy]

For so many to keep falling off on the same corner really does suggest a problem as they managed the other corners OK.

Not all the corners were equally wet or tight.  Some parts of the coarse were more sheltered by trees than others, keeping the surface water from drying.

I agree it's not fair to single out triathletes, though.  There were loads of crashes in the women's cycling road race, too.  Perhaps the special incentive from the Olympics makes the riders forget caution.

[Polar Bear]

On the face of it there is nothing special or technical about that corner.    Competitors cranking the bike over at similar angles in different corners were not having any problems.   That corner alone was taking an inordinate number down which implies therefore that there must have been something different at that particular corner.

Somebody noted upthread that virtually all fallers seemed to be on the same (or a very similar line.  I noted this too watching the footage on aunty beeb. 

It is my view that the surface in that particular spot was probably a bit greasy.   Poor really for such a high profile event.     

[giropaul]

It's maybe also worth observing that triathletes use a very forward saddle position (that would be illegal for UCI cycle racing). This places much more weight over the front wheel, adversely affecting stability.