The dangers in road cycling have always been ubiquitous. But for several years, the subject resurfaces at the heart of the debates. We find them, for example, racing with it since the beginning of the years 2000 the death of 27 professional cyclists during official events. Optimizing hardware and performance to go ever faster could, however, explain a certain increase in risks.. The risks in racing are mainly falls., cyclists whose only protection is a helmet while they sometimes descend at speeds that can reach the 100 km/h, but they are well aware of this and do not complain about it. Their only demands are that the racing organizations be carried out as seriously as possible to avoid course errors which could put them in danger or, as has been the case many times, to avoid motorcycles too close to the riders (camera, race information) which almost caused very serious accidents on several occasions. Some falls, inevitable, are sometimes very serious, as was the case recently for the young Bjorg Lambrecht, died following a fall during the Tour of Poland.
But one of the main causes of accidents remains the animosity and recklessness found between motorists and cyclists on the roads., especially during training. Samuel Plouhinec, former runner knocked down twice, in 2010 and 2013, explain : “At the entrance, we are more exposed. As long as there is no awareness, This will happen more and more.” In 2017, Michele Scarponi was killed by a truck during training in Italy. Two weeks later, Chris Froome, four-time winner of the Tour de France, was hit by a car. Or even Warren Barguil, hit by a car with his team on Spanish roads during an internship. In 2016, 159 cyclists were killed on the roads of France, a figure that has started to rise again since 2010 (+ 8 %). Yoann Offredo, victim of a bad encounter on the road, emerging with a fractured nose and broken rib, requires awareness followed by initiatives. He invites the government to increase awareness among motorists and to implement concrete actions to reduce the risk of accidents.. But until nothing is done, danger will always be present and cyclists threatened by accidents. The demands are becoming more and more numerous, and the UCI must now take its responsibilities to guarantee the safety of practitioners, in competition and in training.
Written by Mathys Carroz
