Paris-Roubaix: stopping cyclists in the middle of the race, a necessary evil for safety?
This year, the women’s and men’s pelotons of Paris-Roubaix are entitled to an unexpected skate. A chicane installed before the Trouée d’Arenberg forces cyclists to slow down with the aim of limiting the risk of serious falls on the legendary but dangerous cobbled sector of the North. In recent weeks, and regardless of the terrible falls suffered by several big names in the peloton, some riders have had to dismount prematurely in the middle of a classic. The organizers of certain events have chosen to exclude groups from the race that are in full effort and perfectly on time, for these same safety reasons.
On March 24, Adrien Petit (Intermarché-Wanty) is preparing to finish Ghent-Wevelgem in freewheeling. He, like others, went well to the finish, but without appearing in the final classification. “The marshals decide to put us out of the race 15 kilometers from the finish even though we are eight minutes behind the leader. Zero respect for the runners, we finished on the open road!” protested the former TotalEnergies and Cofidis runner on.
Petit and his companions in misfortune had a significant margin over the time limit, raising the question of the reason for this decision. The race regulations state that “any rider who arrives more than 8% late from the winner’s time will not be retained in the ranking“, or 26 minutes on Ghent-Wevelgem, as mentioned in his message by Adrien Petit. But the text also specifies that “the deadline may be increased or reduced by the Council of Commissioners, in consultation with the organization, in exceptional circumstances or for security reasons“.
“The organization, together with the police, decided for safety reasons that it was necessary to shorten the ‘caravan’coldly sums up Bert Scheirlinckx, race follower in Belgium for the international association of professional runners (CPA). There were not enough police officers available to protect all the groups coming behind. So they decided to put them out of the race.“
The mishap had already occurred in another major race, this one on the Women’s World Tour, the Trofeo Binda. “25 kilometers remaining, job done, I’m in a group of seven 20” from the peloton, and the commissioner comes to tell us that we have to stop” reported Frenchwoman Eglantine Rayer on X. The European junior champion talks about her end of the classic, open to the public and traffic. “I’m not angry at the fact that they didn’t meet the 8% deadline, and therefore, therefore, didn’t meet us. I’m angry because our last ride was SUPER dangerous. We were simply in traffic, and Italian at that. But actually, 245 cyclists who die every year must not be enough.“
- For more: Elrisala website and for social networking, you can follow us on Facebook
- Source of information and images “svoboda“
