Dramatic crash at Milan - San Remo (spoiler)

[m_sasso]

Originally Posted by cachagua

Absolutely inexcusable. He ought to sue the race organizers. He should, his team should, the riders' organization should -- and their insurers should enforce stringent pre-race course inspections.

What about a mop bucket at the top of the key, in an NBA game? What about a lawnmower on the 40 yard line? You couldn't get away with that in any other sport. Admittedly, bike racing isn't conducted on a court or field, but on public rights-of-way -- but that's no excuse. It should be part of the organizers' job to eliminate obvious hazards like that. It should be part of their job, and if they don't do it, there should be hell to pay.

There's widespread consistency to the way safety is handled in industry, in public spaces and commercial buildings, and so forth, and to see the back turned to safety in an instance like this is infuriating.

And his age doesn't enter into it. Would it be okay for a deathtrap like this to be put in the path of a 20-year-old?

Okay, taking a deep breath now. But really -- inexcusable.

Almost completely disagree with your suit happy point of view, it is like saying Campagnolo or Shimano should be held labial and responsible for making 53/11t because these guys are just going too fast and can only make reactive avoidance judgements.

It is bike racing = inheritably dangerous and Cavandish made a mistake. If you want to watch something safe and sterile watch paint dry! Race organizers certainly did not prevent competitors from viewing the route before the event and Cavendish crossed a warning painted road mark to get where he was.

[enr1co]

Looks like he was being his aggressive self and thought he could cut over the post turnabout paint and make it to right of the barrier where there was more daylight and move towards the front.

If he just stayed with his line on the left, he may have lost some position instead crashing himself and crashing out others (again).

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by enr1co

Looks like he was being his aggressive self and thought he could cut over the post turnabout paint and make it to right of the barrier where there was more daylight and move towards the front.

If he just stayed with his line on the left, he may have lost some position instead crashing himself and crashing out others (again).

Isn't that the story of his life?

I agree with this viewing. The roundabout was signaled and none of the riders seemed to have any issue navigating the front half of it. The group was clearly still split into two groups and was not reforming naturally because the riders ahead had seen the hazard and were keeping the group split instead of rejoining and then splitting again.

[Burnette]

I felt that in my bones. Cav has taken a beating in the past and especially recently.

Hope he recovers well.

[pdmtong]

Three races = three hard falls.
I cannot imagine going full body slam into that and then forward roll.
Imagine if he landed on his feet. judges would have had to award 10.0s across the board.

Seriously, three times in a row...got to mess with your mind.

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by pdmtong

Three races = three hard falls.
I cannot imagine going full body slam into that and then forward roll.
Imagine if he landed on his feet. judges would have had to award 10.0s across the board.

Seriously, three times in a row...got to mess with your mind.

ya, in the end maybe three in a row has more impact on your mind than your body.

[GregL]

I can't imagine what the pros go through with all the crashes over the course of their careers. My last race crash was 20 months ago and I can still have a bruise on my hip! Pro cycling can be as violent as any mainstream sport.

Greg

[cachagua]

Originally Posted by m_sasso

Almost completely disagree with your suit happy point of view, it is like saying Campagnolo or Shimano should be held labial and responsible for making 53/11t because these guys are just going too fast and can only make reactive avoidance judgements.

It is bike racing = inheritably dangerous and Cavandish made a mistake. If you want to watch something safe and sterile watch paint dry! Race organizers certainly did not prevent competitors from viewing the route before the event and Cavendish crossed a warning painted road mark to get where he was.

Okay, I see your point. I take back everything I said. It's racing, the guys know the risks and make their own choice.

I only wish this, though: I wish they'd park a cement truck in one straightaway of every NASCAR race. (You know, with painted stripes to warn the drivers away from it.) Really! Wouldn't that sell more beer?

[cal_len1]

Originally Posted by cachagua

I only wish this, though: I wish they'd park a cement truck in one straightaway of every NASCAR race. (You know, with painted stripes to warn the drivers away from it.) Really! Wouldn't that sell more beer?

I think this might actually get me back to watching NASCAR again.

But on a serious note, it seems to me that Cav was just unlucky. I'm just impressed the pros can bounce back mentally so quick.

[VC Slim]

Perhaps a more dramatic crash with certainly more injury than Cav's was Griepel and Turgis breaking collarbones off camera 4k from the finish line.

I read speculation that Cav wants to race motorcycles at Isle of Man. Talk about a death wish.

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by cachagua

Okay, I see your point. I take back everything I said. It's racing, the guys know the risks and make their own choice.

I only wish this, though: I wish they'd park a cement truck in one straightaway of every NASCAR race. (You know, with painted stripes to warn the drivers away from it.) Really! Wouldn't that sell more beer?

If you had a flag marshall standing there, he'd probably be injured now too, and cav's injuries would be worse because he would have hit the poor guy, instead of catapulting over the bollard.

Go back and look at the van summeren crash where he paralyzed a lady who was standing on a traffic island on the backside of a traffic circle. While not identical, it is the closest situation I can recall for why putting a person in that situation is very questionable.

[cmbicycles]

Originally Posted by cachagua

There's widespread consistency to the way safety is handled in industry, in public spaces and commercial buildings, and so forth, and to see the back turned to safety in an instance like this is infuriating.
.

It is a consistently widespread practice that lines are permanently painted onto roadways to communicate that drivers/cyclists should stay between them. Veer outside the lines and you take your chances. One out of how many (100+) riders hit the barrier, and everyone else safely navigated around it, though not everyone safely navigated around the Manx missile after he went airborne. I am sure he will bounce back faster than any of us would, and luckily it wasn't worse. Riders presumably train on real roads and have seen these kinds of barriers before at least once or twice in their racing careers. This is rider error, not organizational negligence... although there is probably plenty of that as well.

[MattTuck]

I went back and watched the crash a number of times, just to make sure I wasn't missing something. I think my opinion is slightly changed. I admit my initial response may have been tilted because I personally believe Cav is a very unsafe rider and is prone to taking stupid risks, without much regard for his fellow riders.

That said, I think the roundabout doesn't have much road furniture on the backside (like curbs that would keep the riders separated) except for this giant yellow block, quite a ways from the actual circle. It seems it is just flat pavement that is painted. On top of that, there are atleast 5 riders trying to make the switch to the right side of the road. Cav just happens to start later and further to the left than the others.

I still think a flag man would be a bad idea, but I think it might be a good idea to erect some fencing from the round about to the yellow block, to keep riders from crossing the road. (see my illustration below)

Ultimately, I think the organizers were a bit more careless than I first thought. Not sure if it raises to negligence. I'm pretty sure this is not a new feature, these roads are open for inspection/training, and I bet the race manual alerts riders to this.

Still, a little fencing would have probably prevented it.

[Bostic]

Cav is like the old Timex commercials "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking."

[bobswire]

Lost in all this was a great ride from Nabali and a hesitant peloton more worried about Sagan in the last 2or3 km than they were Nabali until it was too late. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=Klza3ptxnvE

Sagan said it best, Only Nibali had the balls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kcDOrJlraA

As for the crash that was totally on Cav, IMO.