The CPA rider’s affiliation president Adam Hansen has highlighted the risks of group automobiles talking to their riders throughout races after a regional directeur sportif hit a rider in the course of the Junior girls’s nationwide championships in France.
Video of the incident shortly circulated on social media, sparking a response from Hansen and a debate about race security.
Amandine Muller (Grand Est) and Célia Gery (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) had been on the assault when the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes group automotive got here as much as converse to Gery. The driving force appeared distracted by the dialog, overlapped with Muller’s again wheel after which made contact. Luckily, Muller fell to her left, away from the automotive and so averted being hit.
Gery crashed into Muller however neither was significantly injured, and each managed to proceed racing. Gery finally distanced Muller to win the nationwide title they usually celebrated collectively on the rostrum.
The incident highlighted the risks of group automobiles driving beside their riders to talk to them in races, and particularly when the directeur sportif can also be driving the group automotive.
In most main races, particularly WorldTour races and Grand Excursions, the directeur sportif not drives the automotive to allow them to absolutely give attention to race technique and speaking with their riders safely.
“We’re so grateful Amandine fell on the left facet and never the precise, because the automotive couldn’t cease quick sufficient and it might have been deadly for her,” Hansen wrote on social media in response to the video of the incident.
“We’ll watch this closing final result of the DS very intently. I hope regardless of the final result is, he realises a automotive is usually a weapon within the mistaken palms.”
TDT – Unibet Biking Staff proprietor and directeur sportif Bas Tietema responded to Hansen’s feedback, questioning the worth of the group automotive in races, suggesting “loopy s**t occurs within the convoy.”
He identified that he handed his UCI take a look at to grow to be a directeur sportif “with out using a single km in a automotive.”
Tietema prompt an even bigger impartial service that serves all groups and central race communications may very well be a strategy to eradicate the necessity for a group automotive for every group and likewise cut back emissions.