Death at Boulder IronMan

[oldpotatoe]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/08/07/nebraska-cyclist-killed-during-ironman-boulder-race.html

Very sad, condolences to the family..

[fiamme red]

http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/Ironman_Boulder_cyclist_killed_5935.html

Walters was struck by a car on U.S. 36 just north of Broadway at 9:54 AM, CSP reported.

This afternoon, Ironman officials released the following statement:

“We are deeply saddened to confirm the death of one of our athletes at Ironman Boulder. We are working with the Colorado State Patrol to gather all of the details regarding the incident that occurred on State Highway 36 just north of Broadway. Our condolences go out to the athlete's family and friends, whom we will continue to support.”I assume that this section of road sees lots of daily use by cyclists?

[fiamme red]

Here's a picture of the approximate location: http://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/?post=6032361#p6032361.

[MattTuck]

I feel terrible for the rider and rider's friends and families. Heart goes out to them.

At the same time, it is hard for my mind to not start theorizing what caused this. I assume this was a race with a lot of people. You'd think drivers would have a heightened sense of caution knowing the race was going on.

I see the picture of the approximate location, but that is just a regular day. You'd hope that there would be extreme amounts of caution and signage and police presence to keep the drivers aware and under control. IronMan was just bought for something like $600M. I think that price indicates a healthy amount of cash flow, and thus the resources to do more to protect the racers.

[cloudguy]

I think that price indicates a healthy amount of cash flow, and thus the resources to do more to protect the racers.

I rode 36 yesterday in the afternoon after riders had gone through and the cones were still up. Even without precautions, 36 has a very, very wide shoulder in the direction the race was heading - I would guess the shoulder is 6+ feet in most places. But then the race officials had added two rows of cones for cars to drive through along the ENTIRE stretch of 36, so that the riders had the shoulder + an extra 2 feet. I'm really shocked that with that amount of added protection that this could happen. I mean anyone on that stretch of road would have been driving though cones for 3-4 miles with hundreds of racers in their field of vision.

[MattTuck]

I rode 36 yesterday in the afternoon after riders had gone through and the cones were still up. Even without precautions, 36 has a very, very wide shoulder in the direction the race was heading - I would guess the shoulder is 6+ feet in most places. But then the race officials had added two rows of cones for cars to drive through along the ENTIRE stretch of 36, so that the riders had the shoulder + an extra 2 feet. I'm really shocked that with that amount of added protection that this could happen. I mean anyone on that stretch of road would have been driving though cones for 3-4 miles with hundreds of racers in their field of vision.

Got it. Thanks for clarifying what it was like on the day of the race. Yes, that certainly seems like a good amount of precautions, and makes it even more perplexing as to how this could have happened.

[cloudguy]

Well it seems the rider veered outside of the coned race course. My guess is she was probably trying to get food or something and drifted into traffic. So sad.

http://www.timescall.com/news/ci_30219670/state-patrol-triathlete-killed-during-ironman-boulder-swerved

[benb]

I rode 36 yesterday in the afternoon after riders had gone through and the cones were still up. Even without precautions, 36 has a very, very wide shoulder in the direction the race was heading - I would guess the shoulder is 6+ feet in most places. But then the race officials had added two rows of cones for cars to drive through along the ENTIRE stretch of 36, so that the riders had the shoulder + an extra 2 feet. I'm really shocked that with that amount of added protection that this could happen. I mean anyone on that stretch of road would have been driving though cones for 3-4 miles with hundreds of racers in their field of vision.

Thanks for the clarification. I had looked at the linked picture on slow twitch and thought unless there was something going on with the camera (go pro super wide angle, etc..) the shoulder looked pretty generous in the picture.

Not that a wide shoulder is really any protection but it doesn't seem like the road is at fault here. Human error of some sort.

[Gummee]

...there's also a nasty undercurrent of hating on cyclists in/near the People's Republic.

Sad on all fronts, but it doesn't surprise me

M

[gdw]

I disagree. We have our share of morons but cycling is part of the region's culture and the vast majority of the residents accept our presence on the roads.

[CunegoFan]

Well it seems the rider veered outside of the coned race course. My guess is she was probably trying to get food or something and drifted into traffic. So sad.

http://www.timescall.com/news/ci_30219670/state-patrol-triathlete-killed-during-ironman-boulder-swerved


Information probably came from the driver.

[gdw]

No, State Patrol. The area where the collision occurred was well marked and there were witnesses present. The driver also stayed at the scene and cooperated with the police. "Alcohol and speed are not believed to be contributing factors in the crash".

[Gummee]

I disagree. We have our share of morons but cycling is part of the region's culture and the vast majority of the residents accept our presence on the roads.

I'll say it again: there's a nasty undercurrent of hating on cyclists in/near the People's Republic. I've seen it firsthand having lived in Westminster and then between Estes and Lyons.

As many morons as we have around here, there's a nastier undercurrent there than here. There they'll go out of their way to be an 'idiot.' (cue the guy in the SUV blaring his horn behind a group of bicyclists for no apparent reason)

ANYwhere, there's a 'vast majority' of road users that just want to get along to go along. Here. There. Anywhere else I've ridden.

M

[oldpotatoe]

I'll say it again: there's a nasty undercurrent of hating on cyclists in/near the People's Republic. I've seen it firsthand having lived in Westminster and then between Estes and Lyons.

As many morons as we have around here, there's a nastier undercurrent there than here. There they'll go out of their way to be an 'idiot.' (cue the guy in the SUV blaring his horn behind a group of bicyclists for no apparent reason)

ANYwhere, there's a 'vast majority' of road users that just want to get along to go along. Here. There. Anywhere else I've ridden.

M

I live in and ride around Boulder and the above from Gummee is true. Without trying to start another argument or create a drift..why I try to 'mention' to other cyclists when I am on my bike, that they 'should' stop at red lights and stop signs...If I catch up to somebody who has run a red light..I try to ask if they have noticed a certain friction between people in cars and people on bikes..they always say yes..THEN tell me to Farge off...oh well.

[crossjunkee]

Well it seems the rider veered outside of the coned race course. My guess is she was probably trying to get food or something and drifted into traffic. So sad.

http://www.timescall.com/news/ci_30219670/state-patrol-triathlete-killed-during-ironman-boulder-swerved


I'm wondering if wind might be part of the blame. If she was running a deep aero wheelset and not familiar with CO wind along the front range (she was from Nebraska), that could've caught her off guard. My 303's blow me around from time to time.

[unterhausen]

So sorry this happened, no matter what the cause.

to be successful at tri, you have to be a runner that can swim or a swimmer that can run. Lots of poor cycling technique out there.

[oldpotatoe]

I'm wondering if wind might be part of the blame. If she was running a deep aero wheelset and not familiar with CO wind along the front range (she was from Nebraska), that could've caught her off guard. My 303's blow me around from time to time.

Pretty calm all that day. I'm wondering if she was trying to not get called for drafting....but if crowded, not uncommon for them to go outside coned lane.

[thwart]

...there's also a nasty undercurrent of hating on cyclists in/near the People's Republic.

M

Hereabouts as well.

Tons of triathletes on local rural, narrow roads from March until the Wisconsin IronMan in early September... entire clubs come up from Chicago to train several weekends during the summer. And there's lots of (intentional or unintentional) rude/inconsiderate cyclist behavior... although I think most folks ride smart.

Things are bad enough that a few of my wife's friends who live west of Madison think I was deliberately hit last summer.

[earlfoss]

Here in Madison there have been 2 people killed very recently.

One driver admitted to "reading some papers" which is distracted driving at the very least and they didn't charge or even ticket him.

The other person was killed in a hit-and-run by some goon last week with a lengthy record of driving while suspended/revoked and the full details of the indicent have yet to be released. He was arrested at least, thank goodness. The man he killed had a young daughter and another on the way.

I have noticed more aggressive and angry drivers this season more than any other that I can remember. I have no clue what the heck is wrong with people.