The safety of riders, race followers and spectators at major bike races is in the spotlight again following two incidents at yesterday’s Vuelta Stage 12 from Motril to Atenquera.
The first saw an overenthusiastic fan who was cheering on Trek-Segafredo’s Alberto Contador apparently dive into the path of a neutral service motorbike, causing the pilot and his pinio passenger to fall off. Fortunately, no-one appears to have been injured.
The incident was caught on film from two angles, one of which shows that it was in face a police officer who pushed the fan into the path of the moto.
SRAM fanboys be like #LV2017pic.twitter.com/ISE78Dyif6
— CyclingHub (@CyclingHubTV) August 31, 2017
And another one… pic.twitter.com/rgWrk9ixTz
— Laura Meseguer (@Laura_Meseguer) August 31, 2017
In a separate incident, the Katusha-Alpecin rider Maxim Belkov was pushed off his bike and over the barriers by a man who police said has a mental illness.
Longer one with aftermath. Seems like the Guardia Civil was going to arrest him. #LV2017 pic.twitter.com/KT4DY2oyYZ
— CyclingHub (@CyclingHubTV) August 31, 2017
In a statement released through his team, Belkov said: “Through the Vuelta organisers I have received more details from the Guardia Civil about the incident that occurred yesterday on the Puerto del Torcal when a fan pushed me into the ditch.
“Apparently the man suffers from a mental disability. For me this is more than enough reason not to undertake any further action against him.
“I am healthy and not injured, but it could have ended worse,” Belkov added.
“Cycling is a very accessible sport. We need to keep it this way. I just hope that this incident will open the eyes of many fans.
“Please never touch the riders in the race, don’t run alongside us and make sure to always properly supervise anyone under your care,” he added.
12 thoughts on “Videos: Safety in spotlight after fan incidents at Vuelta”
Hope the Guardia Civil muppet
Hope the Guardia Civil muppet get the correct level of bollocking.
Keep cycling accessible.
I’ve seen more and better
I’ve seen more and better Police presence on this tour than any other, largely successful.
Rumours are the spectator was autistic and not a huge deal that could have been done to prevent the incident – also people with autism don’t wear a t-shirt telling you so. Sometimes the Police et al may not deal with them in the best way but it would be unlikely to have been done with any intent to harm.
alansmurphy wrote:
not the fans fault on this one at all! (first incident with the guy in green) – he was running alongside like most fans do and the muppet police officer full on pushed him across the road and into the path of the motorbike… might have used his noggin and pulled the chap back instead, police are bit heavy handed sometimes, but fans need to think of their safety too.
Oops hadn’t seen the first
Oops hadn’t seen the first one – i like the way he goes and helps him up after (ooops do you think someone might be filming)…
If they are Guardia Civil, as
If they are Guardia Civil, as reported, then they’re military and not police. And they can be the biggest twats in the world, especially the traffic division.
don simon wrote:
True. When I worked in Spain, it went like this: do not fuck with the Guardia Civil. Do not argue with them, do not joke with them, do not accept a drink from them (or even buy them one), do not get their attention in any way, shape or form, if you can possibly avoid it. And if you piss them off, you’re best leaving the country and never going back.
Same for the GNR in Portugal. Not worth messing with.
simonmacmichael wrote:
Do you mean pillion? Or is pinio to be found in the same dictionary as covfefe?
In fact?
Edit:
At least the lack of proof-reading on road.cc isn’t as bad as this gaffe that slipped through at Cycling Weekly:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-41122033
Tolo many guys being idiots
Tolo many guys being idiots and running up close to the riders trying to get spotted on TV is the real issue here. I hope they all get shoved into the verge by a copper
Scoob_84 wrote:
The guy pushed over by the cop into the motorcycle wasnt even close to Contador though, he was behaving like a reasonable fan who wanted to run for a few seconds. Definitely those who run too close beside or infront, they need a pull back from the rider, but not this guy.
https://usatthebiglead.files
https://usatthebiglead.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/tcuy5xu-594×395.jpg?w=1000&h=665D_LR_z_TSbCWZUD-pp-YjV6D9hF-
Classy reaction from Belkov:
Classy reaction from Belkov: all over and back on his bike in 40s, and nice statement afterwards.
What’s this Vuelta thing? Not
What’s this Vuelta thing? Not seen it in the news section here…