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BIRDS ACCIDENTS: Left, Fabio Jakobsen curses ugly on the signs at the finish line. On the right, Remco saved Evenepoel after a nasty turnaround just before the Tour de France. Photo: EPA and AFP
SISTERON (VG) Several Tour de France riders have agreed to take matters into their own hands if they believe that the organizer will not facilitate greater safety in the future.
Before the Tour de France, Fabio Jakobsen was cruelly injured in Poland. Then Remco Evenepoel flew over a bridge in Italy.
On the first stage of this year’s Tour de France, one rider after another crashed into the asphalt, before Tony Martin tried to slow down on the last climb of the day.
Now, 30 cyclists have organized a group chat on the Internet. They warn that they will return to neutralize stages, if they feel insecure. That is to say: that cyclists agree to slow down.
– It was time for us to take responsibility for our own safety. We did that on Saturday (when Martin neutralized, editor’s note) says Trek rider Jasper Stuyven.
Follow the Tour de France in our studio live from 1.30pm.
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Tensions between riders calling for greater safety and race organizers like ASO at the Tour de France go back many years. However, not everyone is impressed. Eurosport expert and former Tour winner Bradley Wiggins had a clear message this weekend for those who are now shouting out loud about safety:
– It’s a tough sport, and if you don’t like it, you can probably give up too, said the Briton.
VG caught up with former professional pilot, now TV 2 expert, Thor Hushovd in France on Monday night. Understand the need for greater security. Hushovd allows the prohibition of roundabouts or 90-degree turns near the finish line.
Mens:
You don’t understand what happened on Saturday when Tony Martin rowed across the field with two flailing arms.
– It must take place according to clear rules and not based on a presentiment at the time. Everybody knows that Flanders and Roubaix are crazy. Are they going to do that there too? Or should they do it in Nice? And if it rains in the Alps, should one?
– But what can the organizer really do? Isn’t it the cyclists who decide the speed and, therefore, the risk?
– It’s hard. But there may be requirements to avoid, for example, a ninety degree turn just before the finish line, meaning that everyone will be the first on that turn. When it is cold, it rains and it snows, it also makes sense to have a regulation. But to kick it because it’s raining, it gets too fuzzy, says Hushovd after finishing his workday at Sisteron.
– What do you think of the plot of Wiggins?
– He’s a bit at the bottom of the scale, and I know active cyclists get mad at him. It’s easy for him to tell who posted, says the 42-year-old from Grimstad.
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The organization Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), which brings together some of the best cyclists in the world under their wings, recently issued a press release on cycling safety, in which they wrote that they have been working with the UCI (International Cycling Union) for several months, and they want to do the same with tour operators around the world.
– I am pleased that the Tour de France riders agree on this. As I always say, together we are stronger, says the president of the CPA, Gianni Bugno, in the press release.
IN FRANCE: Thor Hushovd, here from last year’s trip. Photo: Anders K. Christiansen
Ugly rollovers are a common occurrence in international cycling. Professional cyclists have also died in races in recent years.
– Safety and cycling have been debated for years. Will we talk about this too in 15 years?
– Yes, it will always be discussed. Some people think it’s scary, but it’s the cyclists who are actually scary, says Thor Hushovd.
