“I was just glad to get through that stage”: Geraint Thomas slams “unsafe” Giro d’Italia descent with potholes at Naples; Shocking crash as distracted team car driver talking to cyclist hits another rider; Novak’s bike helmet djoke + more on the live blog

Going into the Giro, most people knew one of the main challengers to Pogačar’s threat of sweeping the Italian Grand Tour with ease would be the 37-year-old Welshman Geraint Thomas, and so far, he’s performed formidably, despite somewhat fumbling at the time trial stage on Friday.

However, in the week preceding the first stage of the Giro, Thomas was speaking out about the lack of safety for the peloton from the race organisers, especially on the descents. After yesterday’s stage, Thomas has reiterated his pleas for more safety.

Already involved in a crash yesterday, fortunately coming away with any sort of injury, he said after the race: “We were bouncing all over the place. People are going on a lot about safety at the moment and that’s definitely not safe. Just clowns in the circus, aren’t we, sometimes?”

Ley no escrita: 𝐍𝐎 existe día tranquilo sobre la bicicleta

💥 Geraint Thomas se va al suelo tras un enganchón en una rotonda.#GirodItalia | #LaCasadelCiclismo pic.twitter.com/l6LnWv6IKA

— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) May 12, 2024

However, along with the infrastructure, Thomas also criticised riders for taking unnecessary risks at every possible opportunity, when the tarmac was already unfavourable.

“Obviously, the chain was jumping everywhere, which is not very nice,” he said. “It’s pretty scary when you’ve got guys pretty desperate and bouncing underneath you, and you’ve got massive holes everywhere. I was just glad to get through that stage, to be honest.

“That final couple of descents, with the holes in the road, it was just absolute chaos. And we don’t help ourselves. I tried to give myself a bit of a gap so I could see the holes for safety. But as soon as you let a gap go, some idiot’s divebombing you to get in the gap. It was just absolute carnage.”

Giro d'Italia stage 9, Avezzano to Napoli (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

> “If this was a new sport, there’s no way it would be allowed”: Geraint Thomas speaks out on rider safety, says 50% of cycling crashes are down to the UCI boss David Lappartient and race organisers

Last week, Thomas, in an interview with the Guardian was quite outspoken about the issue, after the horror crash at Itzulia Basque with many big-name riders severely injured, and then another one at the Tour of the Alps. He said: “You’re going down these descents, flying down them. If this was a new sport, there’s no way it would be allowed.”

The 2018 Tour de France winner, who’s set to attempt a challenging Giro-Tour double this year, currently sits third in the general classification standings, 2:58 behind the leader Tadej Pogačar and 18 seconds behind Bora-Hansgrohe’s Danny Martinez.

🏃‍♂️You thought he’d stop running ? Think again. #GirodItalia https://t.co/8K6yzv06Ud pic.twitter.com/nnPkATOpzH

— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 12, 2024

James May has spoken out against some of the measures to more strictly regulate cyclists that have been touted across print and broadcast media debates in the week since it was reported that a coroner's inquest had been told that no charges would be brought against a cyclist riding laps of London's Regent's Park when he crashed into a pensioner, causing her fatal injuries.

> James May rubbishes "nonsense" ideas to regulate cyclists in response to fatal collision

Bizarre scenes at under-19 women’s road race at the French national cycling championships in Altkirch, Alsace took place yesterday, as a team director busy talking to his own rider lost focus of the road and ended up touching the wheel of another cyclist in the front, bringing both of them down.

Amandine Muller from Grand-Est and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes’ Célia Gery were in the lead of the race, with the rest of the peloton over three minutes behind. Footage shared by France 3 Alsace shows that with just 31 kilometres to go, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes’ DS Julien Guiborel, who was talking to Gery, didn’t see Muller move slightly to the right and made contact with her rear wheel.

What followed looked like a nasty crash, as Gery, following closely behind Muller, also came down. Fortunately, both the riders came out alright in the crash, with Gery taking the win and Muller finishing second, three minutes and forty-two seconds behind.

Amandine Muller (Grand Est) et Célia Gery (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) ont été accidentellement heurtées par le véhicule de l'équipe Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, au 31ᵉ kilomètre de la course féminine U19 des championnats de cyclisme de l'avenir 2024https://t.co/tQH29yyWZk pic.twitter.com/7LHxwEACmO

— France 3 Alsace (@F3Alsace) May 12, 2024

“It was more of a scare than harm, and we were able to continue racing quickly,” Gery said after the race. “I wasn’t thinking much as I crossed the line… It’s unfortunate that this happened between us.”

Guiborel, who was a pro cyclist between 2000 and 2005 himself, said: “Personally, it takes away from the joy of the victory. I would have felt even worse if Amandine hadn’t finished second. I can’t apologise enough to both of them.”

> Julian Alaphilippe taken down by crash involving his own team car

Pro Cycling UK reports that Muller, visibly emotional after the race, said: “I tried to keep up at the end of the last lap, but it was quite complicated.”

The incident has drawn scathing criticism and outrage at the driving standards of the team cars seen in many cycling races, with people commenting “that man should never drive a car again”, and that the “team needs to be suspended”.

One person wrote on Twitter: “why does this s*** keep happening. These guys are DRIVING a car - focus on the road and especially on the riders god damn,” while another said: “They let anyone drive in these races, why isn't there a proficiency test!?”

Meanwhile, another person criticised Gery’s actions, saying: “How the hell can she get back on her bike and not check on the other rider.”

That one day where there are no cars parked on the route, no curves in the last km, nobody signing their opi and omi, no horses running loose...this guy turns up.

— Arjan (@Ajmetcijfertjes) May 12, 2024

As bizarre as this incident seems to me, this is surely not the first time we’re seeing the impact of a car driver’s actions in a cycling race. Perhaps the most famous one is back from the 2011 Tour de France, when a French TV car veered into the path of Team Sky rider Juan Antonio Flecha and knocked him off his bike, while Vaconsleil-DCM rider Johnny Hoogerland was catapulted into a barbed fence.

> ASO throw car that hit Team Sky's Flecha out of Tour de France

Perhaps more recently, the sports director of Team BikeExchange car rear-ended cyclist Pieter Serry on the final climb of the Giro d’Italia stage six in 2021. The crash happened as the team manager was retrieving jackets from a race commissaires’ vehicle, which had earlier been handed to them ahead of the final climb.

Les images surréalistes de la chute de Pieter Serry, fauché en pleine montée par la voiture de la Bike Exchange. #Giro pic.twitter.com/2B8Ff6IQfI

— Le Gruppetto (@LeGruppetto) May 13, 2021

Thankfully, Serry was able to get back on his bike and complete the final 12 kilometres of the race, while team’s DS Gene Bates was thrown out of the Grand Tour and the manager was fined 2,000 Swiss Francs (£1,570).

Even more bizarrely, world champion Julian Alaphilippe was taken down by a crash at Brabantse Pijl in April 2022, which was caused by his own team car trying to overtake the peloton and instead colliding with a Cofidis rider.

Alaphilippe fell in the pile-up at the finish line, with one lap to go, of the Belgian one-day race as his support car tried to overtake the peloton to follow Remco Evenepoel who was part of the lead group, 45 seconds ahead.

The more I watch the crash which took place after a distracted DS bumped into another cyclist while talking to his team’s rider yesterday at the U19 French women’s national championship road race, the more it seems to get worse. There are so many possibilities it could’ve gone wrong…

> “They let anyone drive in these races”: Shocking crash as distracted DS driving team car and talking to cyclist hits another rider, bringing down both

Thankfully, it didn’t and the two crashed cyclists went on to take the top two spots of the race. However, the gravity of the situation has led to many people criticising this sort of behaviour in races, and at the forefront was the riders’ union president and former pro cyclist, Adam Hansen.

He wrote on Twitter: “We are so grateful Amandine fell on the left side and not the right, as the car couldn't stop fast enough and it could have been fatal for her. We will watch this final outcome of the DS very closely. I hope whatever the outcome is, he realises a car can be a weapon in the wrong hands.”

We are so greatful Amandine fell on the left side and not the right, as the car couldn't stop fast enough and it could have been fatal for her. We will watch this final outcome of the DS very closely. I hope whatever the outcome is, he realises a car can be a weapon in the wrong… https://t.co/FAGQN4B9An

— Adam Hansen (@HansenAdam) May 13, 2024

And the question on most cycling fans’ mind was: “Why do riders interact with the driver and not the passenger of the team cars?”

Hansen replied to one person saying: “I was thinking the same... the issue is the cars stay right, so cars can pass on the left. If a riders is on the right of the car, then the car would be more left and harder for other cars in the convoy to pass. However, you don't need to look at someone to speak to them…”

One person commented: “I’ve said this I don’t know how many times now, the driver, DS or whoever, should *ONLY* drive. No radio use, no iPad, no veloviewer, no texting, no bottles, no chit chat next to riders,” while another person said: “A simple rule: the driver can’t talk/feed/etc. There are other people on board to do this. Eyes on the road, hands on the steering wheel.”

Meanwhile, Mark Payne suggested a possible solution, saying: “Obviously driving standards must be improved... But would a skirt be appropriate for DS cars to prevent riders falling under wheels in circumstances like this?”

Even BBC and Channel 5 presenter Jeremy Vine shared the footage, captioning it: “This is so crazy”.

What do you people think? How can such incidents be prevented in the future? Let us know in the comments!

Police Scotland has sparked much online discussion after sharing pictures of a close pass operation that was undertaken by officers from the Greater Glasgow division last week, prompting numerous issues to be raised by cyclists and even a chief inspector from another force, one commenter calling it "the worst operation close pass picture I have ever seen".

The much-criticised image shared on social media showed a community officer on a bike, positioned on a close pass mat showing that he was 0.75m away from the edge. However, while this would normally denote being 75cm from the kerb, in this case it meant being 75cm from the door zone of a row of parked cars.

Read more: > "If police don't get it, it's no surprise that many others don't": Cyclist close pass operation questioned as chief inspector from another force points out problems with "overtaking distance" mats used

Cyclists are often advised to wear helmets while riding, in fact it's even a mandatory requirement in some places to wear one. But tennis? Do we need helmets to protect the players from a raging backhand or a fiery serve?

Or, erm, to protect them from metal bottles dropping out of the sky?

The current world number one, after flirting with a few Covid vaccine conspiracy theories over the past years, has not lost his penchant for controversies as he looks to have endorsed his full support for helmets in tennis. It's even more funny because at the 2016 Wimbledon, Djokovic was banned from riding his bike for "safety reasons" around the Grand Slam tournament. I wonder if this is a long-term gameplan to convince the authorities to let him cycle?

Last week at the Italian Open, as the Serbian was signing autographs in the stands after his win over France's Corentin Moutet, he was hit by a metal water bottle that seemed to have fallen out of one of the fan's bags in the stands, resulting in Djokovic clutching his head in anguish and kneeling down on the floor.

The tournament released a video showing that Novak Djokovic was hit on the head by accident.

The bottle slipped from a fan’s backpack.

Just a very unfortunate, unlucky situation. ❤️‍🩹

(via @InteBNLdItalia)
pic.twitter.com/5LIzzWZpMS

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 10, 2024

"This is not being treated as a deliberate act, but as an accident," said tournament organisers in statement reported by PA. "A boy was calling out to get an autograph and the bottle fell out of his bag. Novak has undergone the necessary checks and has already left to return to his hotel. His condition is not a cause for concern."

Fortunately, Djokovic was able to bring some levity to the situation as yesterday, he jokingly showed up wearing a bike helmet (*gasps* over his cap! That's a big no-no Novak!) and shared the video on social media, captioned: "Today I came prepared."

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole)

Unfortunately though, he suffered a shock defeat against Alejandro Tabilo, saying later that he felt hampered by the after-effects of the bump on the head.

"That has really impacted me a lot. After that I got medical care, [and went] through half-an-hour [to] an hour of nausea, dizziness and blood," said Djokovic. "I managed to sleep OK, I had headaches. The next day, or yesterday, was pretty fine, so I thought it's OK. Maybe it is OK, maybe it's not," he added.

"The way I felt on the court today was just completely like a different player entered into my shoes. Just no rhythm, no tempo, no balance whatsoever on any shot. It's a bit concerning."

> Novak Djokovic banned from cycling around Wimbledon grounds

The Serb is said to be going for further scans after the match yesterday. Hmm, maybe we won't be saying helmets in tennis after all.