https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/65926606Lest we forget that it's a fairly dangerous sport, especially in the mountains.
Remco Evenepoel@EvenepoelRemco·Jun 15While a summit finish would have been perfectly possible, it wasn’t a good decision to let us finish down this dangerous descent. As riders, we should also think about the risks we take going down a mountainMy thoughts & strength is with @ginomaeder and @MagnusSheffield!(2/2)421111,498179.2KClive Williams@CliveTheBike·Jun 15Without descents there are no mountain stages. We hope the best for everyone, but are you saying all stages should be flat, dry, no road furniture, no corners? Try the velodrome!1613015.1K
Quote from: rogerzilla on 16 June, 2023, 01:46:10 pmhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/65926606Lest we forget that it's a fairly dangerous sport, especially in the mountains.Significant descents used to be ridden less competitively than now.
Wim Van Est went over the edge in the yellow jersey.This is a long but worthwhile account.https://www.eurosport.co.uk/cycling/tour-de-france/2020/grit-and-charm-when-wim-van-est-plunged-off-the-aubisque-and-koblet-was-king-the-re-cycle_sto7785343/story.shtml
Quote from: LittleWheelsandBig on 19 June, 2023, 12:23:24 pmWim Van Est went over the edge in the yellow jersey.This is a long but worthwhile account.https://www.eurosport.co.uk/cycling/tour-de-france/2020/grit-and-charm-when-wim-van-est-plunged-off-the-aubisque-and-koblet-was-king-the-re-cycle_sto7785343/story.shtmlThat's a lovely piece of writing, thanks for sharing
Quote from: Asterix, the former Gaul. on 19 June, 2023, 11:15:36 amQuote from: rogerzilla on 16 June, 2023, 01:46:10 pmhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/65926606Lest we forget that it's a fairly dangerous sport, especially in the mountains.Significant descents used to be ridden less competitively than now. Not so. Riders have been going over the sides of mountain descents for many decades, since WW1. These riders really want to win and will risk themselves to do so. There have been miraculous occasions where the riders have clambered back up to the road and continued racing and other crashes where they have been permanently injured or killed. When I have some time, I might link to stories of some of those legendary crashes.
Mäder’s death, violent, sudden and totally unexpected, has left a deep collective wound, especially for those who were racing alongside him that day. “We are all Gino,” the French professional Romain Bardet said on Instagram. “We always go faster and faster and push the limit. We flirt bend after bend with our limits. The day, however, is pitch black when fate decides to take one of us with it, a fellow human being, an acrobat in a Lycra suit.”Adam Hansen, a former professional rider and the newly elected president of the rider’s union, the CPA, believes that professional racing has become “significantly more dangerous” in recent years. “The bikes have become much faster, and the overall competition level has reached new heights,” he says. “When all these factors combine, it creates a significantly higher level of danger.”Hansen also believes that excessive speed was a factor in Mäder’s death. “It [the descent] was not technical, but the speed was dangerous,” he adds. “Maybe we need better education for the riders, or to somehow create a situation where they are unable to reach such high speeds. The riders need to be aware that cycling is a dangerous sport, and they must be well-informed about the risks.”One of those who says that he is already very well aware of the dangers is the French climber Thibaut Pinot, a Tour stage winner in both the Alps and the Pyrenees. “It’s often said that you have to switch your brain off on the bike,” Pinot says. “I struggle with that idea. We’re doing a dangerous sport. I’m a rider who takes fewer risks than the others because I’m really aware of the danger.”
