2024-04-06 12:57:38
VITORIA – GASTEIZ. The queen of the cycling classics is upon us, but the wait for the 121st edition is overshadowed by the safety alarm and the dismay for the many champions who will not be there due to the consequences of the many falls in the races of the last few days. What sparked the controversy was the patatrac who a week ago in Belgium had eliminated one of the favorites to win the Roubaix, Wout van Aert. But what inflamed them was the yesterday’s shocking tangle at the Tour of the Basque Country with its excellent victims, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel e Primoz Roglic over all.
And that’s not enough, because today there was another crash in the Spanish race, with four riders forced to withdraw, including the Basque Mikel Landa, also with a fractured collarbone. Both the concern of the runners and the anxiety of the organizers are therefore growing day by day, as they look for solutions, even extemporaneous ones, to reassure them and protect them. Too late for the Danish Vingegaard, still hospitalized because in addition to the immediately diagnosed fractures of the clavicle and ribs, in yesterday’s fall he also suffered a pneumothorax and a pulmonary contusion, an injury without perforation of the lungs, which occurs following severe chest trauma. According to the medical bulletin, the two-time Tour de France winner “is in stable condition and rested well during the night”, but for the moment he must remain hospitalized.
Vingegaard would not have participated in the Roubaix anyway but for him, and also for Evenepoel, who has suffered various fractures, it will not be easy to return to full fitness in time for the Grande Boucle, which begins in less than three months. The leader of Visma-Lease himself had reported months ago the danger of the descent which was the scene of yesterday’s shock fall but nothing was done and as many as eight riders paid the consequences. The French cyclists’ union has decided that something must be done, announcing an initiative such as the ‘General States on Safety’, to try to reduce the risks of those taking part in races. “We can’t continue like this. Should we wait until there’s another death?” said the president, Pascal Chanteur, a former professional, who promotes the initiative. “I will involve the teams, who are employers and therefore have responsibility for their employees. I will ask the States General for clear proposals”, he added.
But it will not be easy to find solutions, is the opinion of the president of the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI), Cordiano Dagnoni. “You can’t simply point the finger at someone or something. Technology has made it possible to have better performing bicycles, which however reduce the margins of error, while the organizers – said Dagnoni – are very attentive to safety. Finding a simple solution ‘It’s difficult but the issue requires attention. For sure, common sense and regulations must always come first.” Dagnoni then also expresses doubts regarding certain “tricks”, such as the one announced for the Roubaix, the inclusion of a chicane before the Arenberg Forest. “It may be useful – he says – but it also takes away the charm of the race a little”. Mathieu van der Poel doesn’t think so, as he bluntly said in a press conference that the chicane, introduced at the request of the CPA riders’ union, “will make the race even more dangerous”. The Dutchman believes that cycling as a whole is becoming more and more dangerous and he criticizes the decisions of some organisers. “There will never be total security and that’s a shame,” he concluded. “Sometimes you just have to be lucky.”
2024-04-06 12:57:38