The CPA rider’s affiliation president Adam Hansen has highlighted the hazards of staff 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 rapidly 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 staff automobile got here as much as communicate to Gery. The driver appeared distracted by the dialog, overlapped with Muller’s again wheel after which made contact. Fortunately, Muller fell to her left, away from the automobile and so averted being hit.
Gery crashed into Muller however neither was critically injured, and each managed to proceed racing. Gery finally distanced Muller to win the nationwide title and so they celebrated collectively on the rostrum.
The incident highlighted the hazards of staff automobiles driving beside their riders to talk to them in races, and particularly when the directeur sportif can also be driving the staff automobile.
In most main races, particularly WorldTour races and Grand Tours, the directeur sportif not drives the automobile to allow them to absolutely concentrate on race technique and speaking with their riders safely.
“We are so grateful Amandine fell on the left facet and never the proper, because the automobile could not cease quick sufficient and it may have been deadly for her,” Hansen wrote on social media in response to the video of the incident.
“We will watch this remaining end result of the DS very intently. I hope regardless of the end result is, he realises a automobile is usually a weapon within the improper arms.”
TDT – Unibet Cycling Team proprietor and directeur sportif Bas Tietema responded to Hansen’s feedback, questioning the worth of the staff automobile in races, suggesting “loopy s**t occurs within the convoy.”
He identified that he handed his UCI check to develop into a directeur sportif “with out driving a single km in a automobile.”
Tietema steered a much bigger impartial service that serves all groups and central race communications might be a strategy to remove the necessity for a staff automobile for every staff and likewise cut back emissions.