Laurens de Plus has reportedly escaped without serious injury following a horror crash during this afternoon’s Tour of Lombardy.
The Belgian pro was riding alone, reeling in Mikael Cherel at the head of the race, when he overcooked a corner on a descent with around 40km to go.
De Plus hit the roadside barrier and went over, his bike spinning into the air above him.
.@QuickStepTeam have confirmed that @LaurensDePlus miraculously has no serious injuries after this fall #iLombardia pic.twitter.com/sNRVPUg0uL
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) October 7, 2017
Fortunately, while there was a steep drop, it seems he didn’t go too far and ended up just the other side of the guard rail.
Quick-Step Floors team-mate Dries Devenyns stopped to check on him soon afterwards and the team later tweeted:
We just talked with @LaurensDePlus, who fortunately has no serious injuries after that earlier crash and is on his way to the hospital.
— Quick-Step Cycling (@quickstepteam) October 7, 2017
The final Monument of the season was won by Vincenzo Nibali, who also took victory in 2015.
.@vincenzonibali c’è!! / Nibali wins the Lombardia! pic.twitter.com/RfB513dyx6
— Il Lombardia (@Il_Lombardia) October 7, 2017
De Plus’s team-mate Julian Alaphilippe came second, followed by Team Sky’s Gianni Moscon in third.
8 thoughts on “Video: Belgian pro escapes without serious injury after going over barrier in Tour of Lombardy”
Glad he’s okay but this shows
Glad he’s okay but this shows why discs are not going to change the dynamics when it comes to safety, one of the things thrown out there as being an advantage.
Mr Pro rider panic braked after messing up a fairly simple corner, locked his wheel up and the tyre lost traction.
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
Actually, that descent is anything but simple. In fact, I challenge anyone to find more than a couple of fairly simple descents in the mountaints around Como Lake.
FullGas wrote:
I agree, especially as I left a fair amount of my left arm and leg skin on a descent near Lake Como.
FullGas wrote:
The descent might be complex but that was a regulation corner, it wasn’t wet or greasy, no overhanging stuff no dappled light obscuring the surface or your vision, sure the wall/bank to the right doesn’t help but as a pro you will have taken that into account with your line and speed, just as everyone else except this rider did. He fooked up and was lucky it didn’t cost him more, I’m glad that it didn’t, my point still stands, disc brakes wouldn’t have made any difference here and he stuffed up badly a relatively simple corner.
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
You’re entitled to an opinion but you’re wrong, four riders went over that same barrier, only one was televised.
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
Why wouldn’t discs have made a difference? I’m assuming he was racing with rim brakes. If so, discs may have helped him slow down without locking the wheel by virtue of the greater modulation they offer compared to rim brakes. Am I missing something?
Also, I don’t think any unsighted blind corner on a steep descent with a ravine on the outside of it is ‘simple’, many would call that ‘challenging’.
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
3 other riders crashed at the same corner including Jan Bakelants. 7 broken ribs, cracked verterbrae and broken collar bone for him.
Either they didn’t recce it right or something else has gone wrong. Odd for 4 pro riders to crash independently at the same place, particularly given the experience Bakelants has.
To be fair I also can’t see
To be fair I also can’t see how having disc brakes would have factored into stopping this crash.. they don’t offer ABS do they? They aren’t a miracle cure for speed, I believe it’s widely accepted that disc brakes, performance wise are only ‘really’ any better than rim brakes in wet conditions. I could be wrong but I don’t think brake modulation is an issue those at the top of the sport have to deal with.. the difference between a cheap pair of calipers and pads to a top end set of calipers and brakes is night and day. Not sure it’s an issue with my brakes either, I have ‘great modulation, yakshmesh’!