A cyclist taking part in today’s inaugural Velothon Wales suffered cuts and bruises after crashing at 35 miles per hour when tacks were sprinkled on the road in two locations. Most of the 15,000 participants, however, enjoyed the day, with some tweeting their appreciation of the level of support shown by locals.
It’s the second time a mass participation event in Wales has been targeted in such a fashion within the past two years, with a similar incident happening on the Etape Cymru in September 2013.
In a statement reported by the South Wales Evening Post, event director Andy Taylor commented: "We can confirm that a small amount of tacks were discovered at around 9.30am on isolated sections of the route at Belmont Road in Caerleon and 10.02am at High Street/New Road in Caerphilly.
"Fortunately, no accidents or injuries were caused and the affected areas were cleared within a few minutes."
Despite that statement, at least one cyclist was injured, however – Islington CC member, Sustrans press officer and Cardiff native Alec James, who tweeted a picture of himself after receiving treatment following a crash caused after he ran over a tack.
Down but not out. @IslingtonCC 35mph downhill crash due to pins on road #velothonwales #cycling pic.twitter.com/TPsXZW98m2
— Alec James (@AEWJ) June 14, 2015
One participant, Derek Goode, said: “There were around 30 guys that had punctures after tacks were thrown across the road at the top of the hill coming into Caerleon.
"We've raised more than £800 for charity by getting up on a Sunday morning and someone goes and does that.
"It's disgusting and I don't see the point.
"They're just ruining it for the rest of us."
As we reported earlier this month, there had been some local opposition to today’s closed road event which was accompanied by a professional race won by Martin Mortensen of Cult Energy.
Critics included owners of businesses along the route who were worried that trade would be affected, and the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, criticised the event organisers’ communications strategy.
However, a number of people who took part in today’s event tweeted their congratulations to the organisers afterwards with one, Luke Dix, calling it “the best event I have ever done thank you.”
Another, Sam Mason, said: “Wonderful ride, great route and amazing local support. Anthem at the start gave me goosebumps. Be proud.”
And a tweet from Cardiff-based town planning and urban design consultancy read: “15,000 people seeing our region at its very best today @VelothonWales a great ride, but the support along the route was the real showcase.”
-1024x680.jpg "“Clear anti-cyclist bias”: Lawsuit filed against Toronto police after cop doored cyclist… before ticketing rider over incident")
61 thoughts on “Cyclist crashes as tacks sprinkled on Velothon Wales route – but others praise local support”
What a bunch of idiots. The
What a bunch of idiots. The event was one day, and probably most sections of road were open early/mid afternoon. Now they get 364 days without the race .. they probably spent more time complaining about it and throwing tacks on the road than the even actually impacted them.
Not quite no injuries
Not quite no injuries
“@AEWJ: @IslingtonCC 35mph crash due to pins on road #velothonwales pic.twitter.com/0veagbJ6rk”
as mentioned on the other thread if caught should be charged with attempted murder.
ianrobo wrote:Not quite no
Argh, not again. No, it’s not attempted murder.
Anyway. With that out of the way… I was held up for 40 minutes driving through Liverpool today because of road closures for the Liverpool Marathon. Somehow I kept my cool and didn’t start throwing bricks at the runners…
vonhelmet wrote:ianrobo
Argh, not again. No, it’s not attempted murder— ianrobo
No, it isn’t “attempted murder” but it is whatever the UK equivalent of “reckless endangerment” is. Which Google is not helping me with. It’s pretty close to lobbing bricks off a motorway bridge – a high chance of doing someone some harm. The closest case I can find (Google again) is this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12159581
The problem with manslaughter is that someone has to actually die as a result of the perpetrators actions. You have to ask yourself the question: should someone be tried/punished on the basis of their actions, or on the basis of the consequences of their actions. Tricky question as the consequences are often a matter of luck.
What a bunch of morons, if
What a bunch of morons, if every rider spend 10p in the town it’d probably generate more trade than the locals would driving to the chip shop. not to mention friends and family of riders who might also be there to watch.
Like football crowds there’s
Like football crowds there’s always a few idiots.
This is happening too often.
This is happening too often. It needs someone to be caught and severely punished, perhaps with a jail sentence, to make clear that it is not acceptable.
HarrogateSpa wrote:This is
Not hanging then ?
Of course it’s not acceptable, but apart from this one idiot the day went well, riders enjoyed themselves, the crowd did too and it didn’t rain.
Have just experienced quite a
Have just experienced quite a different ride in France today, no tacks, waving children and adults and best of all, really friendly car drivers. Big thumbs up to ukcycling events and the French public
strthwkns wrote:Have just
Two years ago I had my first experience cycling in France (in the Alps). The drivers were amazing – hanging back until safe then passing really wide. Also you get the occasional shout of “Chapeau” rather than the ‘C’ word you tend to get in the UK.
I’ve just done the
I’ve just done the Vätternrundan in Sweden- 20,000 + riders, 180 miles, with loads of people cheering us all on along the route, and even grabbed a toasted marshmallow offered by one friendly teenager as we rode past. A great event and I did think if it wS in GB there would have been an attack of drawing pins.
strthwkns wrote:Have just
Thing is, this is what it was like (except the friendly car drivers, because there were no cars – which is even better than friendly ones).
There were loads of people who’d come out of their houses to cheer, clap and wave to us. There was probably one person who’d thrown a few drawing pins out of a car window the night before, so I had to carry the bike for about 100 metres total, but that wasn’t the bit I’m going to remember from the day.
Chapeau to the organisers, I think they got everything pretty much perfectly spot on on the day (and next year, noone can complain they weren’t expecting it).
KingstonGraham
+1
I thought there was no such
I thought there was no such thing as road tacks.
Sorry. Putting these deliberately on a downhill corner is clearly intended to injure someone. Compare: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3639057.stm
SteppenHerring wrote:I
Nice, manslaughter, if a lob a brick at a 40 ton metal box, but if you deliberately drive the same 40 ton metal box at a cyclist we’d be lucky to get a charge of careless driving.
Overall it was a great event,
Overall it was a great event, loads of locals out cheering us on, shame that one arsehole has to taint it. As for business generated in town, the bars were full of cyclists after the race, I’m sure the restaurants will be too in a short while.
I did the ride today. One
I did the ride today. One idiot laying tacks but hundreds of people out on the course clapping you and wishing you well. Let’s try to remember them and not the idiot. Hope the chap injured recovers soon.
Are Gwent Police
Are Gwent Police investigating? Shouldn’t have to look too far as a number of people were on their Facebook page specifically threatening to spread tacks on the road.
Before we moan too much about
Before we moan too much about this specific issue, I would like to say that the event was a roaring success. Well-organized, great route, and the crowds were fantastic.
It would be terrible to assume that this action represents the general feeling in the area – it absolutely doesn’t. Myself and my fellow club members felt very welcome and greatly appreciated the cheers from the crowd to keep us going.
Yes we had to dismount and wait a bit at Caerleon while a guy with a broom legged it up the hill to sweep them away – he wasn’t too happy with the uphill run I can tell you! – but otherwise we were lucky enough to be unaffected
I DO hope the police find the guy though – with an injury they may be more likely to, and especially given the negative publicity this will create. Personally, I would puncture his tyres of his car every day for a year as punishment 👿
Tacks. Daft to say the least.
Tacks. Daft to say the least. 35mph. Equally daft. If your speed is such that a puncture will have you off you ride slower don’t you?
Manners from those I saw ranging from great to disgusting.
Same as any other sportive I guess.
Can you blame some people for not being happy if their business is affected?Few people will be stupid enough to say that they are happy to see some cash to come to their region at their own expense.
Sad that, as usual, those who rant on about thatevents are great for the community fail to show consideration for those who don’t like the events.
mattsccm wrote:Tacks. Daft to
That post is just daft all around – next you’ll be suggesting that we all ride slower in case someone has stretched wire across the road at head height…
I was there today and it was a great event, hundreds of people cheering the riders on, and only a few idiots.
mattsccm wrote:Tacks. Daft to
Really? 35mph a daft speed? Really?
1) a front puncture could have you off the bike at 10mph … So you want all riding limited to that basis?
2) if the conditions are right then 35mph is really not fast at all on a clear decent. I was doing sections of flat at 30 mph in the dragon ride last weekend. Not wishing to disparage what you ride but if that seems fast enough to be daft to you your bike must have some incredible rolling resistance. In fact I reckon you would have a greater risk of a puncture from an overheating tyre rim blow out by braking all the time if you tried to stick below that on descents. Do that in the Alps and you are nearly certain to crash.
So no. 35 mph is not a daft speed.
Bagsy no return.
mattsccm wrote:Tacks. Daft to
Would you apply the same logic to cars? Lorries? I was once driving behind a lorry on the motoryway that had a tyre blowout. Huge cloud of smoke, debris hammering against my windscreen, completely unable to see but I managed to slow down and get over to the hard shoulder safely. How fast should people be going to the motorway to avoid that sort of thing?
Quote:Tacks. Daft to say the
daft?? DAFT???
Tacks are more than daft – they are a premeditated attempt to cause riders to crash, with all the associated risk to injury and death.
Sorry, but that comment is daft.
35mph may have been absolutely fine for the road conditions until someone left a malicious trap.
Looks like there was more
Looks like there was more than one person injured by the tacks:
https://twitter.com/GarethEnticott/status/610178221137653760
When are ‘You and Yours’ doing the phone in?
Another injury report,
Another injury report, spotted on Twitter (warning: gruesome picture)
Check out @GarethEnticott’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/GarethEnticott/status/610178221137653760?s=09
As a cyclist I’ve obviously
As a cyclist I’ve obviously had punctures many times, including via thorns and bits of flint, but have never experienced a ‘catastrophic event’ that caused me to lose control of the bike at high speed. How has this happened in Welsh Wales as a result of a few tacks?
Joeinpoole wrote:As a cyclist
Very easily I’d imagine. I suffered a double blowout at about 40 mph once. In a straight line. Massive wobble, clouds of smoke, tyre off front, stayed on rear, managed to get it to stop. Very scary. If I’d been turning at all I would have been off.
How was traffic this morning?
How was traffic this morning? lots of cars with punctures?
Or did someonce clean up the tacks after the race 😕
Friend of mine also fell,
Friend of mine also fell, smashed rear mech, wheels, helmet was a complete right off and the organisers leant him a bike so he could complete the challenge. Nice work – though not sure he should have carried on after being out cold for a short period.
This was a great event and
This was a great event and most of the route had spectators on it cheering and waving to us riders, all were great ambassadors for the region.
Re. tack spreaders; in any population you’ll always get a small minority of cretins that share a community brain cell and obviously some didn’t have access to it on Sunday to make them think twice of the consequences of their actions. Hopefully they’ll be shamed by the supportive majority into disappearing back under the rock they call home.
I can see how some small business’s on the route would face a loss in trade due to the event, but this is more an indictment of our “must shop every day of the week” society. Look at France, Sunday is time for family and friends. We spent the weekend in Cardiff as a family and reckon we spent circ. £500 with accommodation, entertainment, shopping etc
Attempted murder?
Just
Attempted murder?
Just sprinle some tacks on a known dog walking area and watch the police’s associated manhunt! We know who has all the rights and who are treated like animals!
Tacks go through car tyres too so next time you’re driving your family to through Wales, perhaps on holiday, just think how safe the people there want your family to be!
The South Wales Argus
The South Wales Argus reported that “AROUND five cars are reported to have had their tyres punctured this morning by tacks on the road on the Velothon route at Goytre this morning. The stretch of road affected is the A4042 between Abergavenny and Pontypool at Goytre near Nantyderry and was part of the Velothon route. ”
I’d like to think that one of them was whatever f**kwit put the tacks out in the first place, but I suspect the universe doesn’t have such a good sense of irony…
brooksby wrote:AROUND five
Well, now the police might bother their arses to do something.
Joe In Poole, tacks on the road have brought down professional cyclists in the past, would you like to try and condescend them as well?
farrell wrote:
Joe In Poole,
Don’t be ridiculous. Comparing pro-cyclists in a race to fat blokes on a sportive is like comparing F1 drivers to normal motorists on the shopping run.
I’m still struggling to believe that a slow puncture from a tack can cause a sudden catastrophic failure, without any warning at all, that manifests itself as a crash at 35mph. Maybe a lack of skill, judgement and experience of the rider was the primary reason … even if a puncture from a tack actually happened to be involved at all.
Sounds to me, from the ‘cycling media build-up’ … whatever happened on that ride … was *always* going to be down to ‘saboteurs’. You could probably have written the ‘tack story’ before the event. A dodgy journalist could have even made sure “it happened”.
I know this website is pro-cycling, as indeed am I, but sometimes you have to take the basic report with a pretty major sack of salt.
Joeinpoole wrote:Sounds to
It all starts to make sense now. Of course, it was all our fault.
FFS man, go listen to yourself.
Simon_MacMichael
It all starts to make sense now. Of course, it was all our fault.
FFS man, go listen to yourself.— Joeinpoole
+1
I’ll make sure I tell my riding-mate that the tack he got in his wheel was imaginery.
Still it’s the bizarre mis-use of inverted commas that will really wind him up.
I got a flat as I was making
I got a flat as I was making good headway up the Tumble and guess what caused the puncture? In this case it was a drawing pin, which bears several similarities to a ‘tack’. Not imaginary at all. I hope the fucker that spread these items on the roads gets what he (or she) deserves.
I’ll add my voice to the chorus that is singing the praises of this event. Great event, fantastic camaraderie amongst the cyclists and phenomenal support from the wonderful locals who lined the route–thanks to you all!
Joeinpoole wrote:farrell
Your answer is just laughable. Clearly you have never had a blow out at speed due to a cut tyre or sudden loss of air in your tube…believe me this does happen from tacs aswell, its not always a slow puncture as you put it. So with all the respect I can barely show you, shut up
gareth2510 wrote:Your answer
I once had a tyre blow out on me, when I was doing about 15mph on the flat. I pretty much pooped my shorts. I dread to think what could have happened if I’d been going faster or descending.
Joeinpoole wrote:farrell
Ah, right, now I understand where you are coming from.
In future, in order to save me a bit of time when reading your posts if you could just type the word “Wibble” that would be dandy.
It’s probably not
It’s probably not premeditated murder because they didn’t target a particular person, but it certainly fulfils the criteria for terrorism in many ways. I suspect the police will say there is nothing they can do, which up to a point is true. That said, if an anonymous someone a threw a grenade at a random group of cyclists, with the same low level of injuries, and the same lack of evidence, they would nevertheless be taking it seriously and following it up. Whilst the authorities allow people to think they can get away with hate-crimes against cyclists, they won’t change their ways 🙁
Terrorism is commonly defined as violent acts (or the threat of violent acts) intended to create fear, perpetrated for an economic, religious, political, or ideological goal, and which deliberately target or disregard the safety of civilians.
On a more positive note, I was very positively surprised by the amount of locals in every village the event passed through who came out to support it. Children, parents, the elderly, were all there, some in chairs for the long haul, cheering as I went past. And if they cheered Mr Nobody me, I’m pretty sure they cheered the thousand before and after me as well. Some even made banners andgot their cow bells out. I wonder whether the people who have been complaining so bitterly over the “loss of their roads” bothered to find out whether their views really represented the majority as they claimed. The people of Wales in the region we rode through were simply amazing in their support – brought tears to a cynic’s eyes 🙂
I’d suggest that scare and
I’d suggest that scare and disruptive tactics like chucking tacks down should be treat as terrorism basically.
If they find the perpetrators, then a few days questioning as terrorists should scare the shite out them more than the risk of a fine or short jail sentence
as the Beastie Boys would say
as the Beastie Boys would say ‘I’m tellin’ y’all it’s sabotage’!
I took part yesterday and it
I took part yesterday and it was absolutely fantastic! The fastest ride i’ve ever managed with a 19.9mph average – plus top 100 for the tumble KOM! the roads were lovely, the crowds lining the whole route fabulous and the marshaling very professional.
I was held up for about 15 mins with the first problem of tacks on the road – hope the guys injured and their bikes are fine. I’s a pity the tiniest minority caused any problems because the MASSIVE majority were simply superb. After the race I think my mouth ached more than my legs with all the smiling at the spectators!
Well done the people of South Wales – amazing!!
I took part yesterday and it
Agreed 100%! Was a great event, and the spectators were awesome! Shame all of the headlines are taken by one (?) person. Hope the injured are all ok, but thanks to everyone who came out and supported the cyclists.
I totally agree with this.
I totally agree with this. Excellent course and enthusiastic support just about the whole way
http://www.southwalesargus.co
http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/13331317.Cars_tyres__punctured_by_Velothon_protest_tacks__on_A4042_near_Abergavenny/
I think this is the guy I
I think this is the guy I went past going down near Blaenavon. Looked pretty serious lying on the floor with oxygen. 35 mph was about right for that section.
However, there was no suggestion of tacks there. The only place was much further back before the Tumble with 2 sections of about 100m each outside the Celtic Manor golf club.
Unless this is a different casualty, in which case I doubt he would have been able to have been going 35 mph through where the tacks were as it was a fairly steep climb.
Just to say, this was the most fun I’ve ever had. Bit disorganised at the feed stops and registration but the rest was simply sublime. The locals and volunteers and (most of) the cyclists did themselves proud. Caerphilly especially put on a great show for us. Lots of shouts from locals such as ‘welcome to LLanellen’ as we went past their houses.
If you like riding a bike, this is a must for next year.
dirk1978 wrote:I think this
I am a Caerphilly resident and everyone I came into contact with really loved the event, said they never seen anything like it in their lives. They were in awe of you, as I was.
The local MP Wayne David, doesn’t want the event back in Caerphilly next year but I have already e-mailed him as I would suggest others do.
Don’t worry though he is full of hot air – hope to see you all again next year!!
dirk1978 wrote:The local MP
What’s his reason for not wanting it?
bsknight wrote:dirk1978
What’s his reason for not wanting it?— dirk1978
From the Caerphilly Observer:
Mr David, who lives in Caerphilly, has said that the disruption caused to local people was huge and little, if any, benefit had been brought to the area.
The Labour MP said: For the people of Caerphilly, yesterday was a nightmare. Roads were closed, sometimes before the time on the advertised schedules, and information about the Velothon road closures were not widely distributed.
“I have had hundreds of people complaining to me about how the Velothon caused huge disruption and near chaos.
“While I appreciate that the Velothon might be good for Wales and a lot of money for charity has been raised, I very much hope that the Velothon will not include Caerphilly in future.”
What a fool eh?
He probably means he was late getting to the golf club.
The Labour MP said: For the
The Labour MP said: For the people of Caerphilly, yesterday was a nightmare. Roads were closed, sometimes before the time on the advertised schedules, and information about the Velothon road closures were not widely distributed.
“While I appreciate that the Velothon might be good for Wales and a lot of money for charity has been raised, I very much hope that the Velothon will not include Caerphilly in future.”
Mr.David:- Try googling Most Deprived Area in Wales, guess where it is?? Answer:- Caerphilly- I’m not a great follower of politics but it’s been your watch for about 14 years. So whatever you’ve been politicking, it hasn’t worked . When a major event comes along try and be a bit imaginative and get involved and grasp the opportunity, instead of bellyaching that “nobody told me”. Reminds me of the Spike Milligan epitaph, “I told you I was ill”. I didn’t do this event but I will be next year, especially after all the positive comments. Does seem though that the majority of the Gwent Valleys had a good time. So before you stick your meddling oar in to drive the event away, try a bit of accommodating rather than prohibiting.
@dirk1978 I did the Velothon
@dirk1978 I did the Velothon on Sunday, and I agree with you. It was a brilliant event. Everyone, *everyone*, was having a great time. The spectators were brilliant, definitely helped me up the last bit of Caerphilly mountain. Thanks !
I seriously doubt that Wayne David actually had “several hundred letters of complaint”. He’s an attention seeking fool if he doesn’t want the ride back in Caerphilly next year.
Wonder how seriously plod
Wonder how seriously plod would take it if I were to creep out and scattered nails or carpet gripper strips outside the local supermarket, pub or garden centre for next weekend?
gazza_d wrote:Wonder how
Or police station car park? 😉
I couldn’t believe all the
I couldn’t believe all the local support as I cycled the Velothon. Lot’s of people of all ages, shouting support, ringing bells and making a right racket. Call me a softie, but I was really moved by it all!
One of the best bits was cycling up Caerphilly Hill and cycling next to a guy who suddenly burst into song about the “Men from Cornwall”. Made all the spectators laugh as well!
As someone else has already commented, we shouldn’t let a few idiots get all the attention and deflect from a great event (hope the Police catch them though)
Hello
I did the ride on
Hello
I did the ride on Sunday…it was epic. I had a number of mechanicals which sort of ruined the ride a bit but thanks to Mr Tanned Halfords Service Dude I was on my way fairly quickly after the last chain related cock up – the last of many. It was like being a really really really slow pro…
I want to reiterate that it was a great day, rather humbling that so many people came out to cheer, clap and rattle saucepans and were still making noise when I came through pretty much at the back. I could moan that the first food stop was shorn of scran by the time I got there but…well…I was at the back what did I expect. The others were better, the signage was brilliant, the organisation at the start was startlingly good…the route – meh…
Yeah, we went up the tumble, yeah we did ‘Filty but, iesu mawr that bit in between was interminably dull…dull dull dull dull…would far rathered to do smaller roads than dual carriageways…
All in all, yay…thumbs up from Cardiff…will be back next year riding in my eldest’s wake no doubt
I thought the route was great
I thought the route was great and the support from the locals was brilliant. But there weren’t enough feed stations – more stations would have meant that you didn’t need to stop at the few there were and they wouldn’t have been so stupidly busy. The one I stopped at (The Tumble) was also poorly stocked. Registration was also a shambles with no-one to tell riders where to go.
The best cycle event I’ve
The best cycle event I’ve taken part in. Thank you for the organisers coming up with it, it seemed pricey, but the difference closed roads makes is worth it. Imagine driving your car on a 15 lane motorway with no speed restriction … where you could just go flat out, taking the corners ‘properly’ – that’s what it was like for me starting way near the back of the pack and working my way up through it (21mph average). I was worried there would be a lot of congestion, but everyone was well behaved, keeping to their lines, moving over when you made them aware you were coming through, no trouble at all. And the crowds were fantastic, I could do an event like this again every month if possible, as it is, will have to hope to get an entry again next year, and look forward to it even more than this one.
I’ve thought about whether to
I’ve thought about whether to post this and I have to really…one thing that really annoyed me was the two riders from a prominent local club riding the event ‘guerrilla’. No numbers bike or shirts…joined by a third castelli man…similarly shorn of numbers…full team kit too