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news
Peter Sagan after 2015 Vuelta Stage 8 crash (Eurosport still)Peter Sagan out of Vuelta after being hit by support moto (+ video)
Peter Sagan is out of the Vuelta after being hit by a neutral service motorbike yesterday. The 25-year-old’s Tinkoff Saxo team said he had suffered injuries including first and second degree burns in the incident which happened in the closing kilometres of the stage to Murcia, which Sagan was favourite to win.
In a statement, the team said that the Slovak rider suffered wounds and burns of first and second degree on the left side of his body, from the hip to the lower leg. In addition, he has a contusion on his left forearm with an intra-muscular hematoma.
The team's doctor, together with the sport directors at the Vuelta, decided that Sagan cannot safely continue the race with the injuries he suffered. As a result, he will fly back home as soon as possible.
It added: “The entire Tinkoff-Saxo team is disappointed and upset that Sagan's participation in the race comes to such an abrupt end. The Vuelta a España is one of the season's most important races and both Sagan and the team had high expectations.
“At the moment of the incident, Sagan was wearing the green jersey, he had won one stage, was set to target Stage 8, while being in serious contention for later stage wins.”
In the immediate aftermath of the incident yesterday, Sagan was shown on television kicking out at a neutral service motorbike as well as at his own bike.
Sagan said afterwards: “There was a breakaway in front and, together with a rider from Lotto-Soudal, I was attacking to bridge the gap. Then the group reached us from behind and I was sitting in second place, while another Lotto-Soudal rider came to the front to pull.
“So, I attacked again to reach him, as he was about 10 meters ahead. When I reached him, I signaled to him to go ahead as I was staying on his wheel. I moved to the left and at that moment a motorbike hit me. There was nothing I could do.
“I didn't even hear the motorbike coming. I find it unacceptable that a motorbike tries to weave its way into the group at such high speed. They accelerate and try to sneak in when they see an empty space.
“However, they don’t take into consideration that a rider might fall in front of them or change direction. They go extremely fast and the difference of speed compared to the riders is enormous.”
To add insult to injury, Sagan’s reaction to the incident resulted in him receiving a fine of 300 Swiss Francs. He said: “I will, obviously, pay it but I consider it unjust.”
He called for stricter rules to be put in place to protect riders, saying: “Unfortunately, it isn't the first time such an incident happens. Even if motorbikes are forced to go through a group of riders, they should do it very carefully and not recklessly.
“In my opinion, motorbike drivers don't take the safety of the riders in consideration seriously. Fortunately, my injuries aren't very serious but can you imagine what would have happened if he had ran over me?
“If I had crashed alone or with another rider, I would have considered that to be part of the sport. However, being hit by a motorbike of the race organisation shouldn't be acceptable.
“The safety of the riders should be an absolute priority and all vehicle drivers involved in a race must be more attentive. I really hope this incident is the start of a series of necessary changes in the way races are organised.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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25 comments
Video makes it look 100% the fault of the moto rider.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=58&v=20DG3NcErXU
Just since this point wasn't made yet:
All of the riders were cutting across the road. It was 10km from the finish and everyone was trying to get a gap. You need to be ridiculously careful if you want to get in there on a motorbike. Even without seeing the footage of the actual incident I'll doubt that was the case.
Worst part was that it was a service bike. No clear (definitely nothing over the requisite 10 seconds) gaps were being made, there was absolutely no need for it to be there yet.
Moto more than likely cost Sagan the win.
We have to ask why did the bike even overtake?
What use is a service bike ahead of the field?
There were 2? riders 30s ahead or Sagan's group iirc with what 5k to go?
There was no need to pass at all
Unless we want to go back to the days when racers had to perform all repairs themselves and no TV coverage then we have to accept motorcycles and cars as a necessary evil.
Yes, it should not have happened and the motorcyclist will be or has been dealt with.
Was it right for Sagan to be fined? On balance, yes. Although his foul-mouthed tirade is understandable he was lashing out innocent parties. For instance, when he kicked his bike it clearly strikes the person holding it for him. This person is appears to be a member of the public.
The problem is not that Sagan has been fined but that there is no consistency in the punishments issued. What fines/sanctions are issued for and the level that they are set at looks completely arbitrary.
The UCI needs to look into this as a matter of some urgency as it does bring the sport into disrepute.
Fined? WTF? He was racing, determined to win, knew he could and he was hungry for it plus he had a narrow lead with the green Jersey on his shoulders and needed to be up there plus adrenaline running through him. How the hell did they expect him to react? "Oh no worries mate don't worry about it it's only my career you put at risk and you have just ruined one of the most important races of my year..." pricks, they had better have sacked the motorcycle rider and fined him too. Gutted for Sagan.
Drones over large crowds?
Doubtfull.
And who would fly them? Motorbikes seem a simpler, cheeper and safer solution to me.
Gutted for Sagan. They should not have fined him. As he says it is totally unjust. The motorcyclist should be suspended from riding in Pro Tours for a significant period and fined. Sagan should be given the same time as the lead group who had caught and allowed to start the next stage on painkillers.
Really shit luck for him.
There always looks to be too many motor vehicles in these events. Maybe an alternative would be to take live feeds from the cameras they have been trialling on riders bikes so they don't need so many press motorbikes.
There always looks to be too many motor vehicles in these events. Maybe an alternative would be to take live feeds from the cameras they have been trialling on riders bikes so they don't need so many press motorbikes.
The way technology is going, I'd have thought that in a few years, much of the filming could be done by drones above the riders, which'd clear the traffic a lot... though a drone crash could be pretty serious too I guess!
Shocked but not surprised this has happened as it was always going to happen at some point.
Think the UCI should be looking at the amount of vehicles on the stage rather than fining a rider for a totally understandable outburst.
Gutted for him. Tour of Britain then?
Well, it would seem that it doesn't matter if you are in the pro-peleton or a commuter riding to work. Cyclists are a long way down in the human pecking order apparently. Poor Sagan, I can understand his reaction. That's what happens when something threatens your life, whether it's intentional or not... and frustrating when he was finally seeing some success this Tour.
Fined? For that? He should have been given a bonus for not beating the snot out of that moto driver.
Completely inexcusable.
The motorcyclist drivers need to be fellow cyclists, then they might have more empathy for the riders.
That'd be interesting to see. Given permission by who? And why was the moto rider unable to read the race?
There is no footage of the actual incident and we only seem to be getting Sagan's version of events.
I have read elsewhere (unfortunately I can't find it to post the link), that the motorcycle had been given permission to pass and Sagan switched across the road into him.
Would the riders prefer to race without support?
Moto should be blasting his horn to warn riders when passing. Maybe sagan did pull across the road, but I doubt he'd do that if he knew the motorbike was coming through.
Support vehicles could be 50m behind the riders and still get to the riders the instant they need them. They don't need to be right up in there for support. We see this all the time where a race director or team director is only a car length behind the rider, when they could easily fall back a few lengths.
For TV, I've seen the camera bikes coming in within 3 feet of a rider and filming really closely for no reason. They could also hang back 15 feet and the pictures would still be amazing.
As for blasting their horn ... hell no!! You see motorbikes overtaking pretty constantly, with tv, photo journalists, water, timing ... the riders would then spend 4 - 5 hours riding with a bike blasting their horn at them every 30 seconds.
I hope this means lifetime bans for the drivers and mandatory training.
It was a Shimano neutral service moto, not a TV camera.
Shimano claim the rider was a Vuelta employee, the passenger, their mechanic.
But still, it does seem easier to get run off the road by Shimano service than Mavic!
There do not appear to be any codes of conduct controlling the motorbikes, and while most of the incidents in recent times have been cars I am surprised that there are not more bike-motorbike incidents.
In fact I remember watching Tom Domoulin fight for space with a motorbike on this very stage before the Sagan incident. It is apparent that there is a need for the broadcasters to document every attack and move in the peloton, but as Sagan says, rider safety should be paramount.
What I find so odd about the Sagan incident is that it was on a straight piece of road. It should have been easy to get a shot of the action without a bike coming through. Indeed the previous shots of Sagan weaving around the place had come from in front of the peloton.
Difficult as the bikes are needed, for service, time checks and publicity pictures. They have to be there. Weaving in and out of riders at speed is exhilarating and dangerous, but you need a good, experienced rider. I don't know what checks the moto riders have, but surely it's time to look at this a bit more seriously.
Sagan says he didn't hear the bike coming, the bike should have had its horn blasting away as a warning and the rider should've been able to read the race a bit better.
As for Sagan being fined for his actions and not being behaviour suitable for a pro cyclist. I'm finally happy to see a cyclist with some emotions.
Word has it he was fined 300 CHF by the UCI for that outburst. A bit harsh if that's true.
You can't really go around punching cars and kicking motorbikes. That said, I wonder if the motorbike rider received a fine for causing the collision, that's got to be more serious, no?
I feel so gutted for him, being taken out of the race like that. Shimano neutral service strikes again!