Cycling: what solutions to improve the safety of runners and reduce the risk of falls?
Several runners on the mat, some motionless in a concrete ditch, others like Jonas Vingegaard in a lateral safety position. The terrible images of the multiple fall in a descent of the 4th stage of the Tour of the Basque Country, Thursday April 4, will remain imprinted in the minds of the runners for a long time.
Less than 24 hours after the shock, the reactions followed one another. The French Runners’ Union demanded “States General on Security” . Christian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour de France, pleaded for “more responsible behavior of runners, bikes that go slower and road improvements”. “In no case can the quest for performance endanger their health or their safety” , reacted the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, calling on the sports authorities. The response from the International Cycling Union was not long in coming, with David Lappartient giving an interview on the subject to AFP. In this flood of reactions, Franceinfo: sport identifies the areas for improvement raised by the various cycling stakeholders.
Each of the most notable falls in recent seasons has generated the same question: had the organizer really put everything in place to ensure the safety of the riders? After the fall that almost cost Fabio Jakobsen his life at the Tour of Poland in 2020, the traditional downhill sprint in Katowice ended up disappearing from the calendar. A year earlier, in the same event, the young Bjorg Lambrecht lost his life after hitting a concrete block.
Thursday, 12 riders fell in the same bend during the Tour of the Basque Country, without there being a pile-up. Above all, large stones and a concrete ditch, supposed to be used for the flow of wastewater, were located in the immediate vicinity of the road, without any protection being installed.
From the 480 turns of the Glasgow World Championships to the Paris-Roubaix chicane, including the threat of a strike on the Tour of Italy because of a stage that was too long, the past year has seen its share of controversies concerning the race routes. Paul Brousse, the coach of the French women’s team, wants the arrival of a “independent body capable of labeling races”. The latter takes the example of the French amateur Cups, validated by the DTN or by national coaches.
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