Several top cycling stars, including Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard, are injured in a bad fall. Were the drivers to blame? The organizers of the next classic are calling for a fundamental debate.
The series of falls of top riders and the traumatic images of the seriously injured Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard are shocking cycling. The dramatic accident of the Dane, who suffered broken bones and a bruised lung during the Tour of the Basque Country, is intensifying the safety debate – and is also causing horror among the organizers of the next difficult classic.
“Stop, stop, stop, let’s stop the massacre,” said Thierry Gouvenou, race director of Paris-Roubaix, which takes place on Sunday. The former professional called for a fundamental debate in “L’Équipe”: “Let’s start thinking about the speed problems.” It’s time to set boundaries for yourself.
The German professional Simon Geschke drove past his fallen colleagues in front of Legutio after the mass crash on Thursday. “It was one hundred percent the drivers’ fault. They were simply too fast. The road was good, it was dry. It wasn’t a curve that came as a complete surprise,” the 38-year-old told the German Press Agency. “I’m glad no one is in a coma,” added Geschke, who is retiring after this season.
Riders as “the most dangerous element of cycling”
After the fall, Vingegaard was transported from the ditch on a stretcher with oxygen and a neck brace. Before that, the seriously injured Dane lay motionless on the side of the track for a long time. Time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel was also seriously injured. Primoz Roglic from the German team Bora-hansgrohe also went down. Everyone had to finish the six-day tour.
“Crashes are never something we want to see in cycling. Unfortunately we saw a really bad one today,” wrote superstar Tadej Pogacar, who was not taking part in the race, on the X platform, formerly Twitter, after the stage.
World champion Mathieu van der Poel was quoted by L’Équipe as saying: “I think the most dangerous element in cycling is the riders themselves. There are risks involved and the biggest problem is: everyone wants to be in the same place at the front , and that’s not possible,” explained the 29-year-old Dutchman, who will start at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday.
Politt: “Stress level significantly higher”
There have already been several violent incidents in the still young season. In addition, a training accident involving German hopeful Lennard Kämna on Wednesday in Tenerife shocked the German Bora team. The 27-year-old from Bremen suffered numerous injuries, but is in a stable condition, his racing team said.
A week ago, superstar Wout van Aert was seriously injured while crossing Flanders. The better wheels and therefore higher average speeds make falls more likely. Added to this is the ambition of the professionals.
“It’s this whoever slows down loses mentality,” said Geschke. “It’s extremely tragic, but from my point of view it’s the drivers’ nervousness. Everyone wanted to be in the top ten on this descent. And if no one brakes, something like this happens. But it’s hard to pinpoint someone to blame.” According to Geschke, drivers don’t need to “complain about the route and poor road surface,” he said: “Many falls are the drivers’ fault.”
Before the incident in the Basque Country, the German professional Nils Politt had also warned about the increasingly aggressive driving style in the field. “In general, the stress level is significantly higher. The races are starting faster and earlier,” said the 30-year-old in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.
On Saturday the Basque Country tour ends in Eibar without the top favorites. Just one day later, the classic Parix-Roubaix is coming up for many other professionals in France. In the so-called Hell of the North with its notorious cobblestone passages, serious falls occur again and again. The planners installed a chicane for the one-day race to reduce the speed and thus the risk of falling.
Serious injuries among professionals
Could the fall in the Basque Country have been prevented? In view of the serious injuries, the world association UCI will take a close look at the incident. The Dane Vingegaard suffered a broken collarbone and several rib fractures, a bruised lung and a pneumothorax. This is when air enters the space between the lungs and the chest wall. “He is stable and had a good night. He remains in the hospital,” said his Visma team.
Evenepoel also had to be treated in hospital. The Belgian broke his collarbone and fractured his shoulder blade. Giro winner Roglic, who was heading towards overall victory in the yellow jersey, at least left the scene of the accident in the team instead of in the ambulance. He made it through the day without any broken bones.
The Australian Jay Vine from the UAE team around top star Pogacar had more bad luck. The 28-year-old suffered a fractured cervical vertebra and two fractures of the thoracic spine were diagnosed.
Heavy falls again and again
Serious incidents in cycling occur again and again. Just last summer, the Swiss Gino Mäder died on the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse. After a violent fall, he died from severe head injuries. The tragic incident was also present again for Geschke. “Bad memories came back yesterday,” he said. “It happens very quickly that someone can die.”
It remains questionable how much the injuries to favorites Vingegaard and Evenepoel will complicate preparations for the Tour de France in June. The Dane Vingegaard in particular will have to sit out longer. The Slovenian cycling star Pogacar did not ride in the Basque Country and will definitely move into the role of favorite at the next starts. The two-time Tour winner will start at the Giro d’Italia at the beginning of May.