BikeMax Posted December 8, 2006 Share I don't deny that what happened was dangerous' date=' believe me. I saw my life flashing before me a few times with cars heading straight for us but thankfully stopping just in time. Talking about it now and how it actually felt when you're fighting to survive in the group is simply 2 worlds apart. You can't expect the group to act purely rationally (safety first etc...) in racing conditions. You're dealing with "a big organism" and not individual riders. I believe that is was unavoidable under the conditions. Ofcourse the reason for the guttering on the wrong side was the wind and I believe it is the responsibility of race administration to have active enforcement, ie bikes riding next to the group, to curb the problem. So, I believe race admin must be held responsible and if the elite group is disqualified, I believe we should boycot the race. And yes, the roadworks also made things interesting, but at least the life threatening danger was on the "right" side of the road, so no worries about that I suppose...[/quote'] If a bunch of riders rode off a cliff - would you just ride over with them as part of the "big organism" ? As adults, we are responsible for our actions and consequences of those actions - we choose where we ride, walk, etc etc and do not just follow others. If we follow your logic then it is understandable when a group of guys beats up an individual - hey they are just one big organism and can't really be blamed because nobody stopped them... This an amazing excuse in my miind and carries no water at all. How can it be unavoidable ??? I for one have been dropped on a good few occasions because I have taken the decision not to follow a bunch across the centre line - tough maybe, but certainly not unavoidable, and in my mind being dropped or risking being hit by a car - not really a tough call.. Sure, the organisers should have policed things but the bottom line is that the rules were broken and riders compromised their safety and IMO should be disqaulified and warned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinnekop Posted December 8, 2006 Share Bikemax. I fully agree. And the punishment fits the crime. DQ.But you have to see both sides. The Elites does this as a professional...i.e. if he does not win, he does not eat (In a scew kind of way-not reality!) So, if he needs to go to the other side of the road in order to stay with the bunch, he does so....at own risk. But it is almost an unavoidable instinct. In a perfect world, there would be road closure because there are "professionals" at work........imagine a construction company not closing the road to finish a bridge over a river.....the cars will just drive of into the water......like sheep.......If they (Construction company) are able to close the road because they have to work under save conditions, so must a pro cyclist.... But that is only in a perfect world......... My 2 cents... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwissVan Posted December 8, 2006 Share It?s a no win situation?<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Ultimately the blame lies with the officials for not enforcing the rules they preach, human nature accepts risk in return for personal gain. In the same breath you cannot blame the officials for STUPID riders. Just like everything else in on planet earth, if humans are allowed to exist without supervision and enforcement of law and order then all manner of stupid action sets in?. Time for another Cappuamarulaccino and Schnapps BiYour friendly resident Alien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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