“Cycling needs to realise scale of its safety problem”: Jonas Vingegaard won’t let his children race because cycling is “just too dangerous”, says “too many riders race like they don’t have brakes”; No Paris-Roubaix for Pogačar? + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Racing round-up: Is FDJ vs SD Worx set to be the story of the season? Plus: Majestic Merlier wins and Alaphilippe attacks at Paris-Nice
Yes, you’re right – I still haven’t fully recovered from the weekend (and no, I’m not talking about my own two sun-soaked rides… although my legs are a bit sore, now you ask).
Earlier on Saturday afternoon, before that crash and Pogi vs Pidcock, an arguably more interesting, dynamic, and dramatic duel took place on the fearsome slopes of the Via Santa Caterina, as Demi Vollering blew past Anna van der Breggen to continue her brilliant start to life at FDJ-Suez and secure her second career Strade Bianche triumph.
Thomas Maheux/SWpix.com
At the end of a brutal, chaotic race – which saw Tour de France winner Kasia Niewiadoma crash out hard – Vollering and Van der Breggen were head and shoulders above the rest, before Vollering’s decisive acceleration in the final kilometre.
A win over her old colleagues – and in the case of Van der Breggen, her old sports director and coach – at SD Worx will be a welcome one for a recharged Vollering, as she aims to re-establish herself as the sport’s pre-eminent star at FDJ-Suez following a turbulent final year at the Dutch squad.
For the returning Van der Breggen, after an encouraging start to her first season back in the peloton since 2021, it marked the first time she’s been able to properly go toe-to-toe with Vollering at the biggest races. And with three years of dust from sitting in the team car being slowly blown off, it bodes well for the rest of the season as she re-finds the form that made her one of the greatest riders of the 2010s.
And for us, the compelling season-long narrative of Vollering versus Van der Breggen, student versus teacher, and new team versus old team is shaping up rather nicely.
Meanwhile, yesterday also marked the start of the best race in the world (to me, anyway), Paris-Nice.
After a few tetchy, prodding movements among some of the GC contenders on the late climbs and bonus seconds sprints – and the obligatory doomed attack from Julian Alaphilippe (new team, same old Lou Lou) – Tim Merlier continued to cement himself as the fastest sprinter in the world by keeping calm and blowing away the rest in a chaotic bunch gallop in Le Perray-en-Yvelines.
Now, let’s all offer a prayer to the Paris-Nice weather gods for some wind today, eh?
“Damn. Thought that was the new Brompton”
Spare a thought for the rider, yes, but also for the poor bike. I’m sure it’s not supposed to look like that…
Israel-Premier Tech Academy’s Florian van Tricht had the misfortune of seeing his bike mangled up after a crash at yesterday’s Grote prijs Jean-Pierre Monseré (what, you didn’t watch because you’re watching Paris-Nice or busy catching up with all the Strade Bianche drama?)
And that makes it another damaged Factor in a month, after Chris Froome’s crash at the UAE Tour also saw a similar fate dealt to his Ostro Vam…
Dame Laura Kenny becomes youngest ever president of Commonwealth Games England, amid “worry” over the future of the event
A year after announcing her retirement from cycling, Dame Laura Kenny has been appointed as the new president of Commonwealth Games England (CGE), the association tasked with supporting and managing the participation of Team England at the Commonwealth Games.
Following a singularly eminent career in road and track cycling, with six Olympic medals to her name and the title of the most successful British female athlete at the Olympic Games in history, Laura Kenny follows in the footsteps of Dame Kelly Holmes and Dame Denise Lewis to head the organisation. Aged 32, she also becomes the youngest person to be selected for the role.
The decision comes with 500 days to go to the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, which will host a scaled-down version of the quadrennial event after the Australian state of Victoria — previously supposed to host the Games — backed down, citing rising costs, amid growing concerns about the Commonwealth Games’ future.
CGE said that Kenny will be a “key ambassador” in the build-up to the next Games, while its chair John Steele added that the seven-time world champion across various disciplines will “play a crucial role in helping us protect the future” of the Commonwealth movement.
Kenny said: “I love the unique feel of the event and I’m thrilled to work with and support England’s athletes as their prepare for Glasgow and future Commonwealth Youth Games too.
“I have devoted my life to cycling and while that sport will always be my passion, it is great to have the opportunity to pass on some of my experience to athletes from a wider range of sports.”
She also addressed the clouds of doubt surrounding the event’s future, saying: “There is a worry. You have to worry and be a bit concerned.
“I’m just hoping that all the research they are putting into how to make it better and what they can do to attract hosts will actually work. I hope that everything they put in will validate that it is still a key event.”
Speaking to Radio 4’s Today programme, she said: “I feel so grateful to Glasgow for putting their hands up and saying they will have it.
“It’s gutting for some sports because it is a slimmed-down version. Initially when there was no host, I was a bit nervous and I was a bit worried that it might not be a thing any more.
“The Commonwealth Games are now looking into the structure of it, how they can improve it, how they can make it more accessible, make it bigger and better so that hosts step forward.
“I really hope it goes was well as it went when Glasgow had it before (in 2014) and then they can see it is still viable and a really good sporting event that everyone loves.”
"Within three years of retiring I was a drug addict": Sir Bradley Wiggins recalls post-cycling "mess" that led to bankruptcy but insists financial woes "resolved"
Tell ‘em Pogi: Tadej Pogačar pulls an Andy Murray and corrects journalist claiming he became the first world champion to win Strade Bianche by pointing out: “Last year, Lotte won in the rainbow jersey, no?”
Remind me to add this one to the ever-growing list of epic Tadej moments (as if we didn’t get enough of those on Saturday), as the world champion’s top-notch demeanour was once again on display after winning Strade Bianche in the most dramatic circumstances.
As the adrenaline from that terrific post-crash ride wore off, reporters flocked to inform him that he had become the first rider to win the Italian classic in the rainbow jersey (or some of it anyway, considering the damage inflicted upon his world champ’s skinsuit during that potentially season-derailing high-speed crash).
However, Pogačar, always one to stand his ground, was quick to point out that the reporters were in fact mistaken, and that Lotte Kopecky had already achieved that very feat just last year (and, of course, Lizzie Deignan also won Strade Bianche in the rainbow bands during her sensational spring campaign of 2016. So technically, Tadej’s third on the list).
“I don’t know why everybody keeps saying that I’m the first world champion to win here, because if I remember correctly, last year, Lotte wins in [rainbow], no?” he told reporters.
Fans appeared to be chuffed with the reaction, many praising the Slovenian on social media.
“No ego, great champion, with respect for his colleagues, regardless of male or female. Nothing but respect!” wrote one person, while his fellow Strade Bianche winner Demi Vollering replied to Sporza’s Instagram post about the video with the applause emoji.
“You wet your smart trainer?”: Jonas Abrahamsen confounds fans with an all-timer social media post
Erm, what’s going on here? I’m quite confused…
Uno-X Mobility’s Jonas Abrahamsen has laid a real snooker for all cycling fans with this Instagram post of him using a (smart?) trainer under a shower, apparently for heat training.
The images (I’m once again asking, what am I looking at?) have left fans on the internet begging for answers. “What indoor trainer do you use that can get wet in the shower? Old style non-smart trainer I’m guessing?” wrote one fan, but obviously if he’s connected to the laptop, it can’t be that surely?
I’ll leave this one with all of you to figure out…
New Komoot users now must buy £4.99 monthly subscription to send routes to cycling computers
> New Komoot users now must buy £4.99 monthly subscription to send routes to cycling computers
“There can never be enough bollards,” says cyclist, in part 7,208 of “why cyclists don’t use the cycle lane”
The popular series ‘Why cyclists don’t use the cycle lane’ is making a comeback after a seemingly prolonged absence on the road.cc live blog. No, we’re too chuffed about it…
Not much to say about this one, shared by Glasgow Fietser on Twitter/X, which shows a car parked on the Byres Road bike lane in, you guessed it, Glasgow. We think Richard put it best in the replies: “Just go around —> don’t complain about bad drivers if you don’t dogmatically stick to the cycle lane —> just go around”.
“I’m not afraid of Tadej”: Mathieu van der Poel and Filippo Ganna eagerly anticipating showdowns with Tadej Pogačar
The weekend was a testament to how quickly fortunes can change, and despite the odds stacked against him, Tadej Pogačar can still dig deeper than anyone else to rise above the competition. Wounded, bruised and with his pride chipped after that mistake which could’ve resulted in a season-ending crash, the world champion came back furiously to beat Tom Pidcock and win Strade Bianche for a third time, equalling Fabio Cancellara’s record.
However, with his failed attempts at winning Milan-San Remo over the last two years, and doubts already circulating over his participating in Hell of the North, two riders are looking forward to showdowns with the best rider in the world — Ineos Grenadiers’ Filippo Ganna and Alpecin Deceuninck’s Mathieu van der Poel.
After the Tirreno-Adriatico press conference, both the riders expressed their desire to go toe-to-toe against the Slovenian. “I get up in the morning to defeat the others,” said Ganna. “I understand what you’re saying, but I just try to smash it every day, enabling me to compete with the best.”
Van der Poel chimed in: “I’m not afraid of Tadej, but he is tough to defeat. He had dropped me once on the Tour of Flanders when I was at my best. There’s no need to be ashamed of that because we see how strong he is in all his races. But I’m trying to defeat him, also in Sanremo. If you get up with the idea that you can’t keep up, you’d better not start and let him ride to the finish line alone.”
Ironic, because if I remember correctly, last year, Van der Poel responded to Pogačar’s Instagram post celebrating his second career win at the Tuscan classic by jokingly writing: “Mate, I’m getting a bit scared here…”
Florian Sénéchal’s classics campaign looks in tatters after heavy crash at Paris-Nice
It seems crashes and race safety have emerged – once again – as the theme of the day on the live blog.
And on this afternoon’s second stage to Bellegarde, Paris-Nice’s reputation for nervy, dangerous opening stages has unfortunately lived up to its billing, after a high-speed crash just after a corner with 45km to go brought down around 20 riders.
Lidl-Trek’s Julian Bernard, TotalEnergies’ Samuel Leroux, and Florian Sénéchal, whose Arkéa-B&B Hotels team were drilling it into the offending corner at the front, were the worst affected, while race leader Tim Merlier and Arnaud Démare were caught up behind the spill but uninjured.
That’s not the case for the unfortunate Sénéchal, a perennial cobbled classics contender during his time at Quick-Step, who appears to have badly damaged his shoulder and has been taken to hospital, his spring campaign hanging in the balance before it even got going.
Death, taxes, and Filippo Ganna winning the opening time trial stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in Lido di Camaiore
Was there ever going to any other outcome?
Last year, you may remember, Juan Ayuso poked the big Italian time trialling bear by winning the opening stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in Lido di Camaiore, pipping Filippo Ganna by a solitary second – and ending Ganna’s 100 per cent record in the 2020s at the Italian stage race’s traditional curtain-raiser against the clock.
And this afternoon, the 28-year-old Ineos rider was determined to right that ignominious wrong, blasting his way around the 11.5km course at a monstrously fast 56.1kph, to beat his nemesis Ayuso by 23 seconds. Revenge is a dish best served exactly a year after the fact, it seems.
Still, Ayuso can be happy with his showing, comfortably putting time into the rest of his GC rivals and continuing his blistering start to the season, as Alpecin’s Johan Price-Pejtersen took third after being in the hotseat for most of the day.
So, for anyone at home keeping tabs on Ganna’s record since the Lido di Camaiore opening TT was reintroduced in 2022, the score is now 1-1-2-1. Not too shabby, at all. Same time, same place next year, Filippo?
Tim Merlier makes it two from two in hectic sprint at the end of chaotic, crash-filled Paris-Nice stage
Paris-Nice – more chaotic than a cycling fan’s viewing schedule during the second week of March (ah, the Paris-Nice/Tirreno clash, the one week in the season when you cry out for OneCycling to pull its finger out and get that F1-style calendar up and running. Though, if you’re struggling to keep up with both races, there’s a simple answer: Just watch Paris-Nice).
Anyway, today’s stage of the Race to the Sun was of the classic nervous, messy variety. After the mass crash which ended Florian Sénéchal’s race, another spill as the peloton crossed the finish line during one of the local laps around Bellegarde saw a distressed-looking Luke Durbridge join the lengthening list of DNFs.
But after finally reining in Uno-X’s breakaway survivor/weird indoor training methodologist Jonas Abrahamsen (whatever he’s doing in that shower seems to be working) following a brilliant lone effort out front, it was business as usual for Soudal Quick-Step and Tim Merlier on the gently rising finishing straight.
As chaos ensued around him – third placed Hugo Page was relegated for a dodgy move which stopped Matteo Trentin in his tracks – Merlier kept cool once again, the yellow jersey powering away for his second straight win of the race, as TotalEnergies’ Emilien Jeannière took a very encouraging second.
“This is one I’m going to remember, because I think it’s the first time in my career I have won wearing a leader’s jersey. Either that or I don’t remember it anymore,” Merlier said at the finish. “
“First of all our team, were the only ones controlling the race, but then Trek started helping. It was a bit annoying because the break was playing with us, coming back and then getting more time again.
“And at the end Abrahamsen was really strong, staying a long time in front, but the team did a really good job again.”
Speaking of teamwork, roll on tomorrow’s team time trial, Paris-Nice ‘first rider counts’ style…
Life hacks… Or at least ‘how to mount a tight tyre’ hacks
So, there it is – the 2025 Strade Bianche was the greatest ever ride by the greatest ever pro cyclist (according to 68 per cent of you lot, anyway)
Forget last year’s 100km worlds attack, or his Giro and Tour demolition jobs, or Liège, or last year’s Strade Bianche.
According to road.cc’s readers, Tadej Pogačar’s finest moment on a bike… featured a close encounter with a bush, apparently:
It’s the drama, we all just love the drama.
Was Tadej Pogačar’s Strade Bianche comeback victory his greatest ride ever?
Normally, when Tadej Pogačar crosses a finish line, arms raised, the only thing bedraggled about his appearance is that unruly, almost certainly trademarked, tuft of hair carefully poking out from his helmet.
In Siena on Saturday, that calm, relaxed exterior was nowhere to be found. His pristine white rainbow skinsuit torn and muddied, blood dripping from his shoulder, elbow, knees, and hands: this was a very different kind of Pogačar victory.
This time, there were no 100km or 80km breakaways and solo exploits, no otherworldly, blistering attacks, or calm, hour-long processions as chaos ensues behind. Pogačar’s record-equalling third Strade Bianche win was built on something else entirely – resilience and dogged determination. And plenty of fight.
That shocking high-speed crash, the result of either a far too relaxed demeanour or an effort to put a renewed and revitalised Tom Pidcock under pressure on a descent – prompting the Slovenian to jokingly admit his bike handling is “shit” compared to the double Olympic champion.
The turbo-charged comeback – we’ll leave the silly ‘should Pidcock have waited’ debate to others – which unfortunately ended Connor Swift’s day at the front, and seemed to take place in the blink of an eye.
The brilliant wave to the team car after making his way around that corner safely the second time around. And that final, slow-burn attack which snapped the elastic and dispatched Pidcock, sealing another victorious ride into Siena.
So, with all that in mind – was the 2025 Strade Bianche Pogačar’s greatest performance ever?
Pogačar won this race:
— Francesca 🌈 (@fraboxthislap.sedici.me) March 8, 2025 at 3:40 PM
“Pogačar often makes it look easy, today was harder,” the Inner Ring blog posted on Saturday. “Reminded of Philippe Brunel (now retired as L’Equipe’s lead cycling writer) who defined a champion as not only someone who wins big, but also someone who can overcome a situation in which they were disadvantaged and triumph from it.”
Meanwhile, the Cycling Podcast’s Daniel Friebe brilliantly summed it all up: “In a gallery of masterpieces so numerous they now seem routine, mass-produced, this one took its place among a handful that have forced us to redefine him yet again.
“The crash. The ripped jersey. The attack on Colle Pinzuto. All hanging in the museum – not just his but cycling‘s.”
But what about you? Where do you think Saturday stands in the ever-growing list of era-defining rides by the world champion?
Is Tadej Pogačar’s Paris-Roubaix debut off? Hell of the North “too dangerous” for world champion after Strade Bianche drama, as UAE Team Emirates boss warns “a bad crash could jeopardise the Tour de France”
The sight of Tadej Pogačar sliding off the road at high-speed, straight into a thorn bush, after misjudging a corner – and the follow-up, an hour or so later, of a tattered and torn rainbow jersey emerging triumphant in Siena’s Piazza del Campo – may have already provided the most iconic, dramatic imagery of the entire 2025 road season, and perhaps even the decade.
But all that drama at Strade Bianche may have also potentially robbed cycling fans of the most hotly anticipated moment of the year – the world champion’s long-awaited debut at Paris-Roubaix (if his UAE Team Emirates boss Mauro Gianetti gets his way, that is).
Last month, Pogačar set tongues wagging by posting a video of himself training on the jagged cobbles of the Arenberg Forest, Paris-Roubaix’s most infamous sector, during a surprise recon with domestique deluxe Tim Wellens.
And the three-time Tour de France winner underlined his desire to overturn cycling’s traditional unwritten embargo on grand tour contenders taking on the Hell of the North (the last Tour winner to triumph in Roubaix was Bernard Hinault in 1981), by saying he will make a decision on whether he will make his debut at the race after this month’s Milan-Sanremo.
But while the superficial cuts and bruises he sustained in Saturday’s high-speed fall proved the extent of his injuries, that Strade Bianche crash could ultimately spell the end of his Roubaix ambitions – for this year, at least – after Gianetti warned Pogačar against jeopardising his Tour de France chances, and potentially ruining his season, by crashing on the cobbles.
“Tadej could have fractured a collarbone and been seriously hurt. He banged his head, but fortunately, he was on the grass. He was full of road rash, but it could have been a lot worse,” the UAE Team Emirates manager told La Gazzetta dello Sport in Siena.
“Tadej wants to give Roubaix a go, but I keep telling him that he needs to wait before doing it, to not take risks, because he could really get hurt. This race can be too dangerous, I told him again there is time to compete in the Hell of the North, it’s better to wait and not to do it this year.
“A bad crash could jeopardise the Tour de France and maybe even the whole season. I hope that he doesn’t do it this year, and I’ll tell him once again: there is still time in his career for him to ride Paris-Roubaix.”
Ah well, there’s always next year…
“Cycling needs to realise the scale of its safety problem”: Jonas Vingegaard won’t let his children race because cycling is “just too dangerous” and says “too many riders race like they don’t have brakes” – but isn’t sure gear restrictions are the answer
While UAE Team Emirates have warned Tadej Pogačar against riding this year’s Paris-Roubaix, citing the dangers inherent in the jagged cobbled roads of the Hell of the North, the world champion’s big Tour de France rival Jonas Vingegaard has been offering his take on the wider safety issues currently impacting the sport.
In a recent interview with former pro, team manager, and commentator José De Cauwer in Het Nieuwsblad, the Visma-Lease a Bike leader, currently racing at the typically chaotic Paris-Nice, even argued that “too many riders race as if there are no brakes on a bike” and said he would encourage his children to start racing because cycling is “just too dangerous”.
Two-time Tour winner Vingegaard’s yellow jersey defence in 2024 was derailed by a shocking high-speed crash on a descent at the Tour of the Basque Country, which saw him suffer a collapsed lung and broken ribs, as well as a fractured collarbone, and sparked a high-profile debate about safety in the peloton which has rumbled on into 2025.
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
And speaking to De Cauwer – Greg LeMond’s manager at the 1989 Tour de France, and credited with the American’s famously race-winning use of tri bars – at the Volta ao Algarve, Vingegaard joked that the Belgian was therefore at “fault” for the increasing focus on aerodynamics and higher speeds of the modern peloton.
“It’s your fault that we’re racing so fast today,” the Dane told De Cauwer.
“A bit too fast now, if you ask me,” replied the Belgian commentator. “How big is the problem of safety in cycling?”
To which Vingegaard responded: “Very big. Just look at me. I could have died last year.”
However, the double Tour winner isn’t convinced by his Visma teammate Wout van Aert’s suggestion that the number of gears available to the riders should be restricted in order to potentially lower speeds.
“I’ve thought about that, but I’m hesitating,” he said. “With a bigger gear we’ll go faster, but the peloton is also much more elongated. Crashes happen more often in a compact peloton.
“In general, I would say that everyone in cycling needs to realise the scale of the safety problem. That is still not the case enough. And everyone has a responsibility: the riders themselves, the organisers, and the UCI.
“If I may give the example of my crash in the Basque Country again. The organisers made a mistake by sending us over a road with tree roots underneath. But we riders also fight and race at a time when it is not really necessary.
“That was also noticeable at the Volta ao Algarve: sometimes we fight for position towards a bend that goes nowhere. Sometimes there is too little respect.
“You can also say that about Wout’s crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen: do you have to fight so hard at that moment? Too many riders race as if there are no brakes on their bike.”
> “A bike race is complete madness”: David Millar on why cycling is “inherently dangerous”
And when asked by De Cauwer if he would let his son and daughter race when they are older, Vingegaard was extremely clear.
“To be honest, if my daughter or son asks that question – daddy, can we race? – the answer is ‘no’,” he said.
“The way the sport is now… It’s just too dangerous.”
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That's... not right. The prosecution has to* prove beyond reasonable doubt that the offence was committed, but not that every single detail of statements made by their witnesses is accurate. And HoarseMann is correct that it doesn't mean the same as "with absolute certainty", otherwise it would be "beyond *all* doubt". [* More accurately, should have to. In practice, when it comes to offences against cyclists, the system often does seem to demand that it's proven beyond unreasonable doubt as well, but that's not what the standard is supposed to be, or what's applied to other offences. ]
Completely agree. Neutralising GC half way through a stage is just utterly absurd. What are they thinking? Imagine if Del Toro had not made it back on in time, what would have happened then? He'd have lost the white jersey *because* of ASOs dumb decision to try protect the starting GC standings. Either the GC standings are frozen at the gun (still requiring them to finish) or they should be taken at the end of the stage.
I'm fine with GC being taken far from the line. Those who want to race can, and by God they did, and those who want to kick back and enjoy the last hour of the Tour waving to fans can do that, and by God they earned it.
HoarseMann, Beyond reasonable doubt means precisely that. If a witness statement mentions a distance "he was less than a metre from me" then the prosecution needs to be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the distance was less than a metre. Can't do that, then no conviction. It's a function of us not having a minimum passing distance law in the UK, the highway code gives a guide figure but certain cycling accounts push for this as an absolute figure which it isn't. This mena that the more precise people try to be in statements the less chance they have of a successful prosecution. It's a case of being careful what you wish for.
A while ago I spoke to a team leader for the Met police's unit that deals with dangerous driving reports. They said that the Met police seniors spoke to court/prosecution staff to find out which cases were most successfull, to work out which reports to prioritise/NFA as they are now getting too many to handle in a timely manner. I think this might have been after the 2022 highway code update and the answer was phone use given it is pretty much a slam dunk with good evidence. So I guess Wales police are basically taking this approach to the nth degree.
That last stage was EPIC. But, by neutralising the GC, it almost becomes a classic at the end of a grand tour. I want a bit of jeopardy all the way to the final finish line.
Well, no, because if the times are taken before they get to the climb there isn't going to be the terrain on which to make a 20-30 second difference, so it would be pointless, just as it was when it was a flat stage.
Matches the trend seen in other sports as well (particularly marathon running) where the drop off/wall isn’t there any more. Nutrition would be the legal explanation for it, and it does seem to have ‘flattened’ the risk profile for going for it in endurance sports, people don’t blow up like they used to. The tour is also gradually getting shorter. Pre 2011 it was usually over 3500km in total, and pre 1985 sometimes over 4000km, whereas there’s only been 3 since 2011 over 3500km. (This year was the shortest tour since 1905). So you’ve got athletes better prepared, better fuelled and with less risk of failure from riding hard all day, racing over shorter distances on better bikes (again like how marathon runners now have modern super shoes). When you put it like that it’s not surprising they’re going a lot faster!
Someone needs to tell these police forces that "beyond reasonable doubt" does not mean "with absolute certainty", especially when the penalty is a minor fine or, more likely, an education course.
@OnYerBike Just scrolling past the thumbnail of that video, I assumed they were quoting minutes and seconds, not seconds! Though to be fair, they were using a mains powered angle grinder, I assume a cordless would take a bit longer.
14 thoughts on ““Cycling needs to realise scale of its safety problem”: Jonas Vingegaard won’t let his children race because cycling is “just too dangerous”, says “too many riders race like they don’t have brakes”; No Paris-Roubaix for Pogačar? + more on the live blog”
It’s entirely subjective and
It’s entirely subjective and I can’t find any statistics to back it up, but my impression over (far too) many years of watching Paris Roubaix is that it’s not really any more dangerous in terms of injuries than most other races. There may be more tumbles but they are usually at lower speeds on the cobbles, the narrowness of the sectors means riders often fall onto the verge rather than hard surfaces and the fact that the race very quickly goes into single file eliminates the bunch pileups that so often lead to broken collarbones and wrists. Yesterday proved that incidents can happen anywhere, after haring around terrifying high-speed descents on gravel Pogacar came off on what looked like a fairly innocuous bend on tarmac. I’d say he’s at just as much risk of suffering a Tour-ending injury in the other classics that he’s definitely going to ride as he would do at PR. As I said, a purely subjective impression, does anyone know of any statistics that prove or disprove that PR causes more serious injuries than other races?
I guess older people, like me
I guess older people, like me and Pogacar’s manager, associate P-R with the serious injury suffered by Johan Museeuw which almost cost him his leg.
I too am one of those old
I too am one of those old folks and I remember it well (though it was gangrene rather than the actual crash directly that almost took his leg, as I recall). But then I can also remember, as I’m sure you can, poor Fabio Casartelli being killed in the Tour and Wouter Weyland in the Giro, but nobody would suggest that Pogacar avoids those races. I can understand the manager’s nervousness, I’m just wondering whether it actually has any real factual foundation in terms of PR being any more dangerous than most other races.
Also Bernard Hinault,
Also Bernard Hinault, although not in P-R, injuring his knee on the cobbles in the TdF that caused him to withdraw with tendonitis that affected the rest of his career.
rct wrote:
It was a bit more complex than that I think, the Badger had already been suffering from tendonitis for quite some time before (many said due to his tendency always to want to ride in the biggest gear possible – “destroying his knees from the inside out” as one insider described it) and on an earlier stage of the 1980 Tour one of his cleats became misaligned which severely exacerbated the problem. The cobbled stages around Lille were just the final straw rather than the cause, and he came back the next year to win Roubaix so he can’t have thought the cobbles would do him that much harm.
Car spreading
Car spreading
https://climatevisuals.org/carspreading/
I didnt see the aftermath of
I didnt see the aftermath of Pogi’s crash but was he caught by the Peloton? I dont think he was?
If he was – then yes it was a great ride. If no – then also a great ride but definately not his greatest even at SB. Surely last years destruction of the Peloton counts more?
As for Tom being “sporting”, Im less convinced of that, I think its a good spin to put on it but Im not convinced he thought could make Pog hurt enough to make going into the red to make it worthwhile – especially with Wellins nearby with plenty in the tank. I suspect Tom and the team chose to see what would happen as bruising and stiffness set in and as it happens they didnt get the effects they wanted. That said – coming 2nd to Pogi at anything is pretty much a statement that you are world class.
I hope when years later the history of this period is written that Pogi stands untarnished. He seems to have it all – great personality, superthoughtful – espcially to the women riders, respectful, a great deal of flair and is a monster on the bike. He shows you can be a true champion without the “be a dick” mentality of a lot of others.
Secret_squirrel wrote:
Very much my take on it too, Tom had a choice between trying to go solo from 50 kms out with Pogacar only 30 seconds behind after the crash or letting him catch up, working together and hoping that the crash had taken something out of him. Tom’s a good lad and maybe there was an element of sportsmanship in his decision but it’s quite easy to be sporting when the sporting decision is arguably the correct pragmatic decision as well. He said himself, probably only half joking, “Of course it was still a long way to go and I didn’t want to ride that far on my own.” He admitted at the end that he was exhausted even having had Pogacar with him sharing the work so it seems likely that if he hadn’t waited Pogacar would have swallowed him up in any case.
Presumably that driver has
Presumably that driver has put those cones there to stop cyclists from thoughtlessly trying to squeeze past and scratching their vehicle?
Abrahamsen’s laptop could
Abrahamsen’s laptop could just be connected to a power meter, no? Doesn’t have to be connected to a trainer.
mdavidford wrote:
Abrahamsen doesn’t actually appear to have the shower on, I think the moisture is just sweat. I saw an interview with him about a month ago where he said how he was doing 25 hours a week on rollers (so you’re right, probably just running Zwift off his power meter) in his girlfriend’s apartment in Oslo, for normal training he uses a bedroom with the window open but for heat training he takes the rollers into the bathroom where he can set the temperature at a consistent 30°C. Loses about a litre and a half of sweat in 50 minutes apparently so no wonder he looks like he’s been under the shower!
Cycling will never be safe.
Cycling will never be safe. If you can get an advantage pushing it a little more than everyone else then people will do it. They can punish people for obviously dangerous cycling but a lot of its nuanced.
Honestly, if they really want to make it safer they would have to mandate better safety equipment. Things like kevlar in skin suits. Suits that go below the knees to protect them etc.
Can’t comment on whether it
Can’t comment on whether it was Pogacar’s greatest victory because I do not subscribe to TNT. Shame lots of other people didn’t see the race either.
However, there were some great performances at the European Indoor Athletics Champs, which were shown on BBC 1 and 2.
I can’t wait to not see Milan San Remo, The Tour Of Flanders, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Gent-Wevelgemand Paris Roubaix in the coming weeks.
Get a VPN and tune into any 1
Get a VPN and tune into any 1 of the various European TV stations that are showing the various races. I use Hola VPN (cause it can work as just a browser plugin) and VRT for most of the races.