Watching the first week of the 2011 edition of the Tour de France leaves me scratching my head. It’s been a long time — if ever — when there was a first week filled with this much carnage. The spectacle so far seems to have had more crashes than a stage race for Category 5 (entry-level) racers.
Some things are beyond the control of the race organizers. Like the weather. Bad weather certainly isn’t predictable when they design the stages for the next year’s tour — other than in a three-week race, there’s bound to be some. Rain-slicked roads and skinny tires and a group of 198 riders jockeying for position is almost guaranteed to provide a few spills. Oily patches on roads can’t always be found and cleaned before the peloton comes racing by. But at least two of the crashes were entirely preventable.
The motorbike that knocked Nicki Sorensen down a few days ago, and the car that sideswiped Juan Antonio Flecha and Johnny Hoogerland. Neither one of these events had to happen. Yes, the Tour’s organizers have thrown the drivers responsible for the mishaps off the race. Hoogerland, for one, is thankful nothing worse happened. As BBC.com reports:
… the memory of Wouter Weylandt’s death from a crash in May’s Giro d’Italia was clearly fresh in Hoogerland’s mind.
“We can still be happy that we’re alive. Nobody can be blamed for this,” he said.
“It’s a horrible accident and I was in it but I said to Flecha, ‘We’re still alive and Wouter Weylandt died in a crash.”
True, both riders can be thankful that they’re alive. As can Nicki Sorensen. Meanwhile, the list of riders who’ve been forced to abandon the Tour due to injuries is getting longer.
- Jani Brajkovic, out with both a broken collarbone and a concussion
- Brad Wiggins, out with a broken collarbone
- Tom Boonen and Chris Horner, out due to concussions and/or other head injuries
- Dave Zabriskie, out due to a broken wrist or hand
- Alexander Vinokourov, out because of a fractured femur
- ?Jurgen Van Den Broek, with several fractured ribs, a broken shoulder blade and a collapsed lung??
And that’s just the folks I can remember right now. I know that others have fallen by the wayside, too, due to crashes. But for whatever reason, their names are escaping me at the moment.
There are probably some lessons in course design and race organization that can be taken from the experiences over the last week. One lesson, for certain, is that the drivers of vehicles on the course need to pay much more attention to rider safety. The cyclists are, after all, what the whole race is about (other than commerce, promotion, making money for the organizers and on and on). While it’s impossible to eliminate all potential hazards, one that can be minimized is the danger of drivers passing or attempting to pass where they shouldn’t be. The organizers can control who is on the course. And they should. If that means fewer motos carrying photographers and fewer TV cars, so be it. I’ll gladly trade a few glimpses of the Tour for greater rider safety.
I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened if the car doing the sideswiping had been passing a bigger group of riders. Thank goodness that wasn’t the scenario. And thank goodness both Flecha and Hoogerland made it to the finish OK. Let’s hope that they recover enough on the rest day to be able to start again on Tuesday.
There are other stories to cover, of course. Like drug companies cooperating with WADA to develop tests for performance-enhancing drugs. Or the UCI going gaga over saddle position during the team time trial a week ago. (One story has it that the people checking to see whether the seats were level hadn’t even leveled their own testing device. With attention to detail like that, the UCI certainly comes by their reputation for being a bunch of screw-ups honestly.) But I’ll leave those for another day.
I’ll close tonight’s post by noting some positive things that happened during the first week. Tyler Farrar finally got a stage win. On July 4th of all days, becoming the first American to win a Tour stage on Independence day. And Thor Hushovd has certainly honored the yellow jersey over the first week. Tom Voeckler now takes possession of the coveted maillot jaune, for the first time since 2004, if I recall correctly. We’ll see if he can hold on to the golden fleece through Bastille Day. Oh, and so far, Alberto Contador has done his best to prove that he is not invincible, suffering ill-timed crashes in the opening stages of the Grand Boucle (that’s more of a positive for the other contenders than for him). Contador is nursing a sore knee (or so he says), which could have an impact on his chances at winning the GC.
While the Tour has so far been one of attrition by crash/injury, I’m hoping that from here on out the crashes and Tour-ending injuries will be few an far between. Time will tell.
The opera’s not over until the fat lady sings. And the Tour’s not begun until …
http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/07/news/lequipe-kolobnev-positive_183301
This isn’t Nascar and it’s not a cockroach race at the 4077 MASH, where half the reason for being there is to watch the crashes. I don’t know what the answer is, but the frequency of the crashes and the subsequent abandonments of key riders is clearly taking away from this year’s TdF. I’ve already cut down on my viewing. Call me weird. Road bike crash fests just don’t appeal to me.
While I don’t know what the answer is, I know of several popular theories that are not part of a solution. Posters on various forums are calling for the banning of riders having radios (UCI brown nosers), banning nearly all cars on the race route, banning carbon wheels on race bikes, and mandating heavy full face helmets for the riders. On the radio, the issue should be how they are used, not whether they are used, or not. Extraneous chatter is a danger to the riders. It’s up to the TdF officials, DS’s, and the riders to limit communications to those necessary to safety and tactics. A DS yelling “venga, venga, venga, push, push, push” on an uphill finish doesn’t meet the standard. Riders who find themselves in such a situation and respond by yanking their earpiece out should be congratulated (and perhaps get a time bonus?). Cars are necessary on the route. However, they should be limited to those needed for camera coverage, race officiating, rider support, and emergency vehicles. There are probably too many vehicles dedicated to carting aroud fat a$$ VIP’s and there are surely some vehicles piloted by incompetent and/or distracted drivers. The drivers need to give 100% priority to the riders by never impeding the race or trespassing on rider safety. Regarding carbon fibre wheels, I’ve had a set of 46 profile tubulars for over three years now that I use as my daily rider. They brake (as in stop) as well as many aluminum rimmed wheels (even in the wet) and are stronger than most. Other than being retro-grumps, I’m not sure why various posters are calling to ban carbon rims? Strength and braking performance is comparable or better than aluminum rims. I wouldn’t ride them if I couldn’t stop when I want to and I wouldn’t ride them if they were not strong and reliable because they cost too much for me to be okay with replacing them often. As to helmets, maybe the certification standards need to be improved a bit? I think they are generally acceptably light, with a few models going a bit to far on the light end of the continuum. A helmet cannot eliminate every possible head injury, but a well designed current generation helmet surely helps in most. There has to be a compromise where helmets are protective enough to mitigate injury while being light enough, comfortable enough, and cool enough to promote their use. I don’t see full face motorcycle type helmets in the future on consumer’s heads on long climbs in 90+ degree heat, or much of anywhere else on a road rider unless technology can somehow make in light, comfortable and cool enough.
I’m guessing there is a lack of respect, too much distraction and inattentiveness going on? Drivers need to make driving job #1 and to give all priority to actually driving. Those on radios need to be respectful and keep radio transmissions short and to the point. Well designed carbon fiber wheels are just fine. Mkay? Helmets can’t do it all and I’m sure full MTB Downhill style body armor isn’t gong to fly on the road. Racers need to do a better job of calling out hazards and giving each other room. That, they need to enforce themselves.
The motor bike that dragged Nicki Sorensen’s’s bike down the road earlier in the Tour should have been a clear warning to the rest of the vehicle drivers on the race route. Apparently, the driver of the car assigned to the France Television car didn’t process that message or listen to instructions over the assigned channel on Tour Radio and took out a favorite to win the stage (Flecha) and the rider leading the Polka Dot Jersey competition (Hoogerland) looking to rack up some more points. That, coupled with the crash fest that included Vino, Dave Z, and Van den Broeck resulted in the near gifting of the Yellow Jersey to a semi-deserving Voeckler. Yes, I understand that Voeckler put himself in position by getting into the break and was fortunate enough not to come to harm in the crash caused by the France Television car that took down Flecha and Hoogerland. However, there is no way Voeckler is in Yellow without the peloton slowing and brief neutralizing in respect for those who crashed on the descent that took out Vino, Dave Z, and Van den Broeck. I’m not quite sure what to think of those in the break who profited from a wreck fest on a descent well behind them (accelerating while the peloton slowed and neutralized) and a collision that was caused by a media car hitting two of the leaders, crashing Flecha into the tarmac while punting Hoogerland into a barbed wire fence? However, my thoughts about them are not positive and it would have been very hard to swallow had Voeckler won the stage as well, but LL Sanchez managed to soften that potential blow.
Meh, if ASO thinks their viewing audience enjoys a crash fest and supplying one will enhance their ratings and bottom line, more power to them. I’ll respectfully vote “No” with my remote control and computer track pad. YMMV.
As for the UCI (aka, Unbelievably Childish Imbeciles…..choose your own acronym), yeah, the un-leveled jig was rich. Given the fact that most saddles are not built with a level surface has escaped the UCI rule makers, the rule and the rule makers become a bad joke. Their un-thought out rule also may very well contribute to erectile disfunction? +/- 5 or 10 degrees might be about right if we can on what is level in the first place? Unless we are talking about some extreme deviation from the norm for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage, then let the riders set up their saddles to contact their junk as they see fit. The UCI should have more important concerns than micro managing the angle at which a bike saddle contacts their licensed rider’s junk. Just sayin….
Larry references the 1st reported 2011 TdF non-negative. I find it suspect that it is for a diuretic, which seems counterproductive for endurance competition even if it might (big might) have masking properties. With LNDD’s history, I find it suspect that LNDD is even involved in making the call. If this diuretic is a legitimate masking agent, I’d be more comfortable with a detailed investigation into the possible discovery of use of whatever substance it might mask before throwing a rider out of a race he has trained long and hard for. Targeted testing and the bio-passport are just two of the tools at official’s disposal. I guess it’s more expedient to toss a lowly rider just because stick turns the wrong color? Also, if reports are correct that L”Equipe had news of the AAF before Kolobnev, then it is further proof the system has not reformed and the dubious result should be considered null and void until such time as the collective rules makers can see fit to follow their own rules. YMMV
Well Jeff, let’s see. There’s what they caught him using. There’s what they suspect he was using but was masking. There’s what he was rumored to be using, and what they told L’Equipe he was probably using. There was where he ranked on the yet-to-be-leaked 2011 UCI suspicions index, and what he was targeted to be tested for as a result. There was what French customs figured he was using, and what the French police has already/is about to/meant to get around to raiding his team bus to look for. There’s the stuff that WADA is testing for using unvalidated lab tests.
And if Russia has a grand jury system …
Pigs would fly? 😉
Oh man! I may be riding an illegal saddle! The horror!
Back when I was young and innocent I thought this was the funniest thing I’d ever read about the Tour de France. Now it’s just eerie.
http://www.fatcyclist.com/2005/07/page/6/
Well, now we know. The driver and motorcyclist involved are just employees of Trump implementing his ideas.
new floyd interview… and he’s going to be racing nascar?
http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/25954415#news/Graham_Bensinger_InDepth/25954415
Five NK players at the WWC have tested positive for steroids. They claim this is result of using traditional medicine based on musk glands of deer, such treatments being necessitated by the lightning strike they are claiming caused their lack of results. That there was such a lightning strike seems rather doubtful. Anyway, here is the article:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SOC_WWCUP_DOPING?SITE=CARIE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Talk about a “rich” headline!
Armstrong victim of “character assassination”
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/armstrong-victim-of-character-assassination
MikeG