Tour de Pologne

[Eldron]

Did he cause it? Yes. But to hold him responsible for the mechanical failings of barriers and helmets is a little silly. Punish him for his actions not the unimaginable consequences caused by other parties.

 

Short/medium term ban and fine should suffice in my opinion. Jail and life ban is just emotional sign of the times.

[Gen]

Did he cause it? Yes. But to hold him responsible for the mechanical failings of barriers and helmets is a little silly. Punish him for his actions not the unimaginable consequences caused by other parties.

 

Short/medium term ban and fine should suffice in my opinion. Jail and life ban is just emotional sign of the times.

Now to see if change regarding safety is made.. I still say everything that is in the hands of race organisers and the UCI has to be made to minimise the risk of serious injury...it is not possible to eliminate crashes in cycling but they damn wel can do something to try and prevent serious injury when it comes to these kind of crashes.

[Jewbacca]

I agree about the UCI/Organisers being accountable too. Especially after some pro's have come forward saying they have been requesting changes for years with no feedback or action from the UCI.

 

Look, I'm not saying 'go on a massive witch hunt and lock Gwagen et al away for life'.

 

I'm more saying that calling Peter LF senile and old for his comments and saying that 'it's fine, everybody does and has done it' is not going to fly if you want change and you want rider safety to become more of a concern.

 

Like I said in an earlier post, he MUST feel terrible and will have to live with his decisions and actions. If he didn't feel terrible then there is something seriously wrong with him. The person who signed off on the barriers will have to, the person who installed the barriers may be wracked with guilt and or shame.

This runs really deep as the effects of something like this for all involved is hectic. I can only hope they get the trauma counselling and support they need.

 

 Unfortunately, grief and remorse don't absolve you.

 

Anyway, my main concern is that Jacobsen gets out of this with his life in tact. Career may be over but we can only hope not. If he can recover physically, I'm pretty sure he will have the finish line jitters for a heck of a long time. 

[Eldron]

On a slightly different note - staff at Specialized must be sweating bullets. Pics of their helmets coming off riders during a crash is not good for business!

[Vetplant]

If he can recover physically, I'm pretty sure he will have the finish line jitters for a heck of a long time.

I think this is the true reason why Cavendish never really featured after the Sagan crash. He didn't have the nerve anymore to be in the tussle at the end.

 

I remember numerous times where TDD put him in a good position to contest, but as soon as things got hectic and shoulders started rubbing he would sit up.

[WrightJnr]

I think this is the true reason why Cavendish never really featured after the Sagan crash. He didn't have the nerve anymore to be in the tussle at the end.

 

I remember numerous times where TDD put him in a good position to contest, but as soon as things got hectic and shoulders started rubbing he would sit up.

I think he had gone off the boil even before that.

 

Side Note: Most “extreme” athletes (cycling sprinters, MotoGP riders, F1 Champions etc.) are typically single and child free in their prime as well as younger. The story that goes the older you get the wiser you become is true, add to that maybe a spouse and a kid or two in your life and suddenly that gap you used to go for instinctively you hesitate, even for that split second. The result is you finish second.

 

A lot of top extreme athletes have remained single and focused throughout their careers. Yes, there are the exceptions but they are few and far between. We used to joke in the paddock about it, you see so and so get married and then family starts, within 2-3 years, they either mid field or stopped all together. And no, there’s nothing wrong with that, just the stages of life.

[Baracuda]

Now to see if change regarding safety is made.. I still say everything that is in the hands of race organisers and the UCI has to be made to minimise the risk of serious injury...it is not possible to eliminate crashes in cycling but they damn wel can do something to try and prevent serious injury when it comes to these kind of crashes.

Indeed. Those "barriers" are not crash barriers, they metal bars that go down the side of the road. Hitting them at any angle and at any speed about 20km is going to lead to injury. They also have great gaps and sticking out feet for handlebars and wheels to hook up on. They made to keep crowds back, not keep cyclists in, in a safe manner.

[Gen]

On a slightly different note - staff at Specialized must be sweating bullets. Pics of their helmets coming off riders during a crash is not good for business!

Appears the helmet came off when he hit the barrier...scary.. I would imagine they will be having a look at why that happened..the force to knock a helmet right off is scary.

 

There is a video (which I won't post) that a fan took... if you see what's on the spectator side of the barriers it is shocking.. train tracks, concrete blocks all over some keeping the barriers in place ..

Edited August 8, 2020 by Gen

[jimmycool]

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mcewen-uci-need-to-take-responsibility-after-jakobsens-horrific-pologne-crash/

 

'They need to start listening to riders' says former sprinter who designed a safety barrier but never received a response from the UCI

 

Former sprinter Robbie McEwen has called on race organisers and the UCI to take greater responsibility for rider safety and ensure that riders’ concerns are given more attention.

 

`

 “What was most disturbing to me was that when Fabio Jakobsen hit the barriers, he didn’t deflect back into the road. He went straight through them. That’s really poor planning, not just from the organisers themselves but the UCI, and they have to take responsibility for that. This is something that has been going on for years. I lobbied for it when I was racing, and I’ve been retired for eight years.

"I put forward a barrier design to both the UCI and the ASO at the same time, for exactly the circumstances like this. While things have improved at some races, a good barrier set-up has to be solid, it can’t come apart, and it’s got to be heavy. The board on the front of the barrier also has to come down at an angle and meet the road. Everything has to deflect the rider back onto the road. 

 

"The barriers in Poland flew every which way, and it looked to me like they were made of plastic. One of them broke into pieces and that doesn’t happen with the metal ones. There’s a lot to be done in regard to safety in the last few hundred meters.” 

[Patchelicious]

On a slightly different note - staff at Specialized must be sweating bullets. Pics of their helmets coming off riders during a crash is not good for business!

Think this is hardly the case where Specialized should be taking hits.

 

No road bike helmet is designed to withstand that.

[Patchelicious]

I think this is the true reason why Cavendish never really featured after the Sagan crash. He didn't have the nerve anymore to be in the tussle at the end.

 

I remember numerous times where TDD put him in a good position to contest, but as soon as things got hectic and shoulders started rubbing he would sit up.

Cavendish crashed out a few riders in his time.

 

Think he was already on his way out at that stage of his career.

 

Bling has also said that he sees no reason to risk this kind of injury for the ‘peanuts’ they earn.

[Gen]

Think this is hardly the case where Specialized should be taking hits.

 

No road bike helmet is designed to withstand that.

Very true. Of course we can only speculate, is it possible that the impact with the barrier broke a part of the helmet or cut it somehow.. a helmet isn't just going to come off.. Edited August 8, 2020 by Gen

[ChrisF]

Very true. Of course we can only speculate, is it possible that the impact with the barrier broke a part of the helmet or cut it somehow.. a helmet isn't just going to come off..

Which is why helmet design is such a complex topic ...

 

Mips solved some of the issues. But ultimately, at some point the helmet has to "absurb" the energy of a very severe crash, even if that means it comes appart ....

 

The problem with these ultra high speed crashes is that there may well be a 2nd or even third bump to the head ....

[Eldron]

Think this is hardly the case where Specialized should be taking hits.

 

No road bike helmet is designed to withstand that.

Taking hits? You really are Speshsenstivie. Any helmet manufacturer who saw their helmet come off during an accident (along with public footage of it) should be sprinting to their R&D dept to start a million simulations.

[Dexter-morgan]

I will search for the pictures of my helmet when I met the Tarr at 70km/h, broke in 2 but I had no serious head injuries.

[Eldron]

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Edited August 8, 2020 by Eldron