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Riders' union chief Gianni Bugno slams Vuelta organisers over post-finish line crashVuelta Stage 12 crash.JPG

Riders' union chief Gianni Bugno slams Vuelta organisers over post-finish line crash

CPA president says: "Cycling is becoming a dangerous sport rather than improving"...
by Simon_MacMichael
Fri, Sep 07, 2018 13:11
7

Gianni Bugno, the president of the professional cyclists’ association (CPA) says that it is unacceptable that incidents such as the post finish line crash at the Vuelta yesterday that left Team Sky rider Dylan van Baarle with cuts and bruises continue to happen despite race organisers and the UCI promising to improve rider safety.

As van Baarle crossed the line yesterday after finishing second to Alexandre Geniez of AG2R La Mondiale, a race official was running away from the finish with his back towards the rider. Geniez was unable to avoid him and caught his elbow, with van Baarle coming down as a result.

Vuelta organisers have apologised for the incident, which happened less than a week after the down-draft from a helicopter hovering above the finish area of Stage 6 of the race blew crash barriers across the road, causing riders to crash including Julien Duval of AG2R La Mondiale, who needed stitches.

After yesterday’s incident, Bugno said: "It is not acceptable that after months of work of all the stakeholders to improve the safety at the races, we are still seeing episodes such as the fall at the arrival of the twelfth stage of the today's Vuelta.

"I am really tired of seeing this superficiality in applying the regulations set out in the Organiser Specifications. This lack of attention from the organisers demonstrates a total lack of respect towards us that have worked hard to improve the safety at the races and a total lack of consideration towards the riders.

“We are no longer willing to accept post apologies for foreseeable accidents,” Bugno continued. "The organisers must do their duty and must be penalized if they do not comply with the regulations. The UCI must intervene to verify that the regulations are respected. There are no extenuating circumstances.

“We are very disappointed by this latest lack of attention towards the riders and towards all the work we have been doing for months,” he added.

“Cycling is becoming a dangerous sport rather than improving and this time we are no longer willing to listen to those who do not respect the rules."

rider safety
CPA
Gianni Bugno
Simon MacMichael

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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7 comments

Avatar
PRSboy | 6 years ago
4 likes

Pah.  Sagan would have bunny-hopped him.

Avatar
joules1975 | 6 years ago
3 likes

I think the Tweet blaming the official is missing a whole load of other issues here.

1. The finish area is very narrow.

2. The photographers regularly take up a load of the road.

3. The two above points mean that in this case the riders have a very narrow gap to get through, which is then easily blocked by someone not paying full attention.

If there is no way to widen the finish area, why not put the photographers on a bridge or gantry allowing them to keep people/barriers out of shot but also ensuring half or more of the road isn't blocked.

Avatar
don simon fbpe replied to joules1975 | 6 years ago
0 likes
joules1975 wrote:

I think the Tweet blaming the official is missing a whole load of other issues here.

1. The finish area is very narrow.

2. The photographers regularly take up a load of the road.

3. The two above points mean that in this case the riders have a very narrow gap to get through, which is then easily blocked by someone not paying full attention.

If there is no way to widen the finish area, why not put the photographers on a bridge or gantry allowing them to keep people/barriers out of shot but also ensuring half or more of the road isn't blocked.

The photographers will have a specific, permitted area marked out for them, whether the organisers police this is another thing. I would expect that there is an unwritten understanding between photographers and riders in regard to behaviour, both on the finish line and out and about on the circuit. The riders need to trust the photgraphers and vice versa.

Avatar
joules1975 replied to don simon fbpe | 6 years ago
1 like
don simon wrote:
joules1975 wrote:

I think the Tweet blaming the official is missing a whole load of other issues here.

1. The finish area is very narrow.

2. The photographers regularly take up a load of the road.

3. The two above points mean that in this case the riders have a very narrow gap to get through, which is then easily blocked by someone not paying full attention.

If there is no way to widen the finish area, why not put the photographers on a bridge or gantry allowing them to keep people/barriers out of shot but also ensuring half or more of the road isn't blocked.

The photographers will have a specific, permitted area marked out for them, whether the organisers police this is another thing. I would expect that there is an unwritten understanding between photographers and riders in regard to behaviour, both on the finish line and out and about on the circuit. The riders need to trust the photgraphers and vice versa.

So what if the photographers have a permitted area. In this case it's clear the road was not wide enough to facilitate them.

Avatar
longassballs | 6 years ago
1 like

You could easily dismiss this as a freak accident but what's strange is that over the years there are a lot of what seem like totally unique accidents. Is that the unsafe culture or just the nature of cycling? 39

Avatar
Jimmy Ray Will replied to longassballs | 6 years ago
3 likes
longassballs wrote:

You could easily dismiss this as a freak accident but what's strange is that over the years there are a lot of what seem like totally unique accidents. Is that the unsafe culture or just the nature of cycling? 39

 

Lax application of overly loose rulings. 

Finish line areas should have extremely tight control of who is allowed on the race side of the barriers. 

I think it bad enough that the photographers have such a significant part of the finish area, but beyond these people ( who should be fenced barriered in in some way), there should be no one on the circuit for a solid 75 - 80m after the finish line. Maybe lthere could be a rule that says when the riders get to 3km, there is 1 km to totally clear the finish area. 

Avatar
don simon fbpe | 6 years ago
0 likes

I used to crap myself at finish lines just in case an errant rider misjudged their finish. They are travelling at speed and shouldn't have to worry about anything getting in the way. Perhaps a lesson in using narrow finishes.

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