The CPA needs to strap on some balls
Last Post 09/06/2017 11:12 AM by 79 pmooney. 13 Replies.
Author Messages
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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02/25/2016 01:29 AM
The rider's union needs to man up.  Yet another ridiculously unsafe course.  They make a lot of noise, the go quiet and just let their riders line up for another crash fest.  Peter Stetina last year hitting pole out in the course.  A week or so ago, riders hitting an unmarked median winding up for the sprint.  And today, riders hitting a speed bump mid turn 150 meters from the finish.  Really?

They union should lay down the law.  Like for one race, they should have the riders line up, then just not start. (And pick a big enough race that it matters.)  This would make promoters furious, but we would also see real changes.  The big guns of the big races would be on the UCI big time to make sure lessor races got their act together so their races would run smoothly.  So, CPA, do you have the guts and power to pull this off?  Do you actually care about your riders?

Grow up.  Make things change.  Show us the riders really are your number one priority.

Ben
Dale

Posts:1767

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02/25/2016 07:21 AM
I thought the same thing The riders need a rep to pre-ride the course and veto anything that looks unsafe.
Red Tornado

Posts:159

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02/26/2016 02:29 PM
Agreed. Anything to make sure the course is safe. With the motorcycles/road furniture/speed bumps it gives the appearance that it's becoming MORE dangerous to race. That is unacceptable.
Understand we don't necessarily need a freeway, but taking the peloton (with sprint trains forming) around a speed-bumped corner was idiotic. Let's have the promoters/CPA/UCI/etc. show some common sense and concern for the very individuals who are at least in-part the reason they have a job.
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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02/28/2016 01:30 PM
Another rider hit by a moto.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/02/news/motorbike-takes-out-rider-at-kbk_396797

It was Lotto – Soudal rider Stig Broeckx. Not a major ride, but still, all he was doing was racing. He had just taken a pull and was drifting back along the peloton. The entire right hand side of the road was empty and he was standing and looking over his shoulder to the right, drifting further right when a moto moving up on the right (and going a lot faster than the peloton) ran into his right side and dumped him. Moto just kept on going like it hit a squirrel. Looked just like the hit and run we all fear as roadies.

Yeah, Broeckx was being pretty vague about his line. And yeah, it was going to take some slightly skillful driving for the moto drive to get past. But I believe those motos are equipped with brakes and even accelerators that when you turn them back, the motos slow down. And I don't think there is any protocol that says they cannot be used.

CPA, it's time! Strap them on! You can make this stop. It is all about dollars and you have the tool that makes it all work, your riders. A good craftsman takes time and spends money to see that his tools are sharp, well oiled and overhauled. That issues that might cause harm or degradation to them are addressed. Are you willing to do the same for your tools?

Edit:  The irony of it all.  It was a medical moto and Broeckx was sent directly to the hospital.

Ben
Gonzo Cyclist

Posts:568

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03/01/2016 08:37 AM
Another rider hit by a moto, and a barrier blows over, knocks out another rider? It's only March 1st, and we have already had several incidents? WTF is being done about rider safety?
Yup Ben, you would think the UCI and organizers would do more to protect their meal ticket
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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06/03/2016 03:24 PM
So: had the CPA stepped up and struck a race, maybe this wouldn't have happened. (Baloise Belgium Tour Stage 4 where Stig Broeckx was placed in an induced coma after a motorcycle crash involving 11 riders canceled the stage.)

I will now defer to the thread title.

Ben
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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06/05/2016 04:30 PM
Just a post to see if anybody is home. (Forumites, the website, anybody?)

Ben
smokey52

Posts:492

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06/05/2016 06:43 PM
Ben,
It is fairly quiet.
smokey
Dale

Posts:1767

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06/05/2016 09:09 PM
Thrilled to see Contador win the prolog.



Totally slammed last week, this week and next so I'll only pop in occasionally. Two sales meetings and a week prepping my house prior to the new owners taking possession. Zero bike miles in the past ten days and likely be another couple before I get back on the saddle
Orange Crush

Posts:4499

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06/06/2016 12:51 PM
I am thinking this post is a bit misdirected. The blame needs to go squarely to UCI and more specifically Cookson. UCI is responsible for rider safety. This is just one of many things going off the rails at moment with cycling. Cookson has promised us many things but has yet to deliver on anything. His tenure is a failure IMO.

As to CPA, they'd have the guts to pull of a rider strike but they don't have the power. There is no rider unity. And a negotiating table they don't have the kind of representation (read lawyers) that other members of cycling family (UCI, teams, organizers) have. Its up to the riders to empower the CPA.
ChinookPass

Posts:809

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06/06/2016 04:09 PM
In defense of Cookson, I believe he should get a fair amount of credit for the women's world tour.

The moto issue shouldn't need a rider lobby. It should be obvious that safety needs to be #1 priority.

Signs point to a better fall than summer, Dale?
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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06/06/2016 05:43 PM
But, cp & oc, the riders and CPA have the power to get quick changes, And it is the riders who pay the price of the current situation; risking earnings, their livelihoods and possibly their lives. If the CPA doesn't have the power to make changes, step up! Get the riders behind you.

I'm feeling little sympathy for the CPA at this point.

Ben
Orange Crush

Posts:4499

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06/08/2016 02:21 PM
Interesting meeting of Belgian cycling federation with Boonen and Montfort.

Boonen is a proponent of more, not less, safety motos. The argument being is that there's too few motos needing to do too many things, leading to stressed and harried drivers. More motos means possibly being able to avoid need to pass and less danger. Interesting argument.

Also talk about disallowing DSs from driving (i.e. requiring a driver; DS becomes passenger) and closed circuits as a potential evolution for bike racing.
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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09/06/2017 11:12 AM
Ancient thread, but what has changed? Tour of Briton. Blind left hand turn, a city block with a large building. A van parked on the right just after the turn. Legally? Illegally? Does it matter? All the race organizers had to do was set out pylons from the apex of the turn on. Yes, riders will cross that line of markers. But those riders will immediately be looking for the reason, see it, stop and curse. Probably one or two bike mix-ups and crashes.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bookwalter-out-of-tour-of-britain-after-crashing-into-parked-car/

The race officials could also have notified the team cars via race radio. (Isn't that why the radios are there - rider safety? Seems I've been hearing that for years now.) Someone with a bullhorn wearing orange before the turn.

Even if under the ordinances of that town there was no way to prevent or tow that van, crashes did not need to happen. CPA, it's time to strap on a pair. Pull a rider strike tomorrow while everything is fresh. Distribute decks of playing cards and instruct the riders to play the games of their choice for 45 minutes after the roll-out call. Ride the first 30k really slow. Then race. Finish an hour and a half after slowest predicted. Message will be heard. I promise.

Ben


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