|
Sunday, July 16 – Watching the horrendous crash today that put a pair of riders out of the Tour de France reminded me of the time a rider came up to me before the start of a road race around the Branched Oak Lake State Recreation Area near Lincoln, Neb.
“You might want to have someone sweep some of the corners,” the rider told me.
It immediately occurred to me that he was making a request that was in the best interests of everyone’s safety, but certainly not something the race officials or promoter was obliged to do. After all, it was a road race – not a criterium.
The corner where Rik Verbrugghe (Cofidis), David Cañada (Saunier Duval-Prodir) and Matthias Kessler (T-Mobile) slid out (with Verbrugghe and Canada having to abandon) had a pretty nice pile of dirt and gravel on it. And that’s all it took to cause a bad crash. There was a second incident not long after that one, where the front of the peloton nearly careened around a corner into a bunch of spectators at a point where the course narrowed considerably. Fortunately, the spectator pulled her feet in close and the riders behind the lead racer didn’t panic and hit the brakes.
It just goes to show that even in cycling’s biggest race, you must expect the unexpected. Sure, we’d like all races to be run as safely as possible. But in the blink of an eye, something can happen to make the race unsafe for the competitors and spectators.
Two instances come to mind in terms of local racing:
In a race in Norfolk in 1993, a car turned onto the course just 200 meters from the finish line as the pack was bearing down at 30-plus mph. I don’t remember who won, but the car finished fourth.
At a race on the tractor proving grounds track on the campus of the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, a racer didn’t hold his line in the sprint to the finish. He locked handlebars with another competitor and the pair careened off the course 10 meters from the finish line. When I looked up, five people were lying on the grass: both racers and three spectators, including a young child.
It bears reminding that in a sport where speed is of the essence, it’s also important to keep your head up and to always have an “escape route” planned out. If you’re riding in the middle of the pack, you should always be looking three, four or even five riders ahead. And it’s even better if you can ride closer to the outside, so you have somewhere to go if someone goes down in front of you.
You can also be proactive in making the course safer for your fellow competitors. Don’t be afraid to yell, “hole” or to sweep your arm left or right to indicate to the rider behind you that there is an obstacle to avoid in your path ahead. It’s also OK to put a hand on the rider in front or beside you to move (nudge) them to a safer place. This is best practiced on a training ride before actually doing it in a race situation.
From the Notebook
Riding A Stage of the Tour: Omahan Steve Jarrett returned from riding “L'Etape du Tour 2006” last week to win Saturday’s mountain bike time trial. L’Etape du Tour is an actual stage of the Tour de France (the one which will be raced Tuesday) that is a race for non-professional bicyclists. Jarrett finished in 1,364th place (of more than 8,500 riders), completing the 191km race in 7 hours, 59 minutes and 34 seconds. The race passed over two mountain passes: the hors-category Col d'Izoard (14km at 7 percent) at 86km and the Cat. 2 Col du Lautaret (12km at 4.4 percent) at 134km before finishing with L'Alpe d'Huez. Jarrett said he was “shattered” by the time he reached L’Alpe d’Huez, but still finished within the time cut (which eliminated more than half the field).
L’Alpe d’Huez Heroics: Some of the most exciting stages of the Tour de France have finished on the famous climb. In 1986, it was Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond raising their arms in triumph as the pair left the field minutes behind. Six years later, American Andy Hampsten soloed to victory as a member of Team Motorola. LeMond nearly crashed in 1990, as he took the tight left-hand turn 250 meters from the finish. If you’re making a pick for the stage winner Tuesday, you might go with someone from Italy. In the past 10 tours, Italians have won six times on the fabled 21-hairpin climb.
Sean Weide is an accomplished sports journalist who has been avidly following the Tour de France since 1981. He has been involved in cycling as a competitor, race promoter, team director and USCF official. His "real job" is public relations director for Envoy, Inc., an Omaha, Neb.-based advertising agency.
|
