We explain to you why there are more and more falls in professional cycling
Three Tour de France favorites on land. The image of the heavy fall that occurred on Thursday April 4 on the fourth stage of the Tour of the Basque Country, which caused among others the abandonments of Jonas Vingegaard (fracture of the clavicle and several ribs, pneumothorax), Remco Evenepoel (fracture of the shoulder blade and clavicle) Primoz Roglic (no fracture), crystallized a latent tension within the peloton.
Runners increasingly fear for their physical integrity. Another fall in the same race, Friday April 5, caused the abandonment of four other runners, including Mikel Landa, evacuated on a stretcher like Vingegaard.
Last year, professional cyclists suffered a total of 295 injuries, according to the Procyclingstats websiteexceeding the record already established in 2022 (247 injuries), and continuing a constant increase since 2020. Over the last ten years, clavicle fractures represent a third of injuries (648 out of 1,993), a sign of serious falls that runners regularly experience.
“Right now, the runners are really traumatized”lamented Thierry Gouvenou, director of Paris-Roubaix, on Tuesday when announcing the addition of a chicane before the legendary Arenberg gap, at the request of the riders’ union (CPA).
Neutralized after the incident which caused the abandonment of 11 riders, the Tour du Pays Basque is the fourth race temporarily stopped after a massive fall in less than three weeks (after the Cholet Agglo Tour, the Roue Tourangelle, and Paris-Camembert ). “There is not a single explanation, but a combination of parameters”suggests Thomas Voeckler, coach of the French men’s team and consultant for France Télévisions.
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