PARIS: The president of French professional cyclists’ union (UNCP) on Thursday called on the UCI, the world governing body, to take “responsibility” for making the sport a safer place.
Pascal Chanteur said he was “angry” about the recent spate of high speed crashes which have seen three of the world’s top riders land in hospital in the last week.
“Do we have to wait for the umpteenth death? For a rider to have both legs cut off and lose his life, so that people become aware? If that’s the idea, we’re not far off,” Chanteur told AFP.
After Wout van Aert broke his collarbone and several ribs in a high-speed mass fall during last week’s Around Flanders one-day race, there was further carnage on the Tour of the Basque Country on Thursday
Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard was taken to hospital after suffering broken bones and lung damage during a crash which also took out Remco Evenepoel, who also suffered a broken collarbone.
“I’m not saying that the UCI is responsible but they do have a responsibility to take the full measure of our recommendations to make progress on safety,” said Chanteur.
“For example, we’re perfectly capable of reducing speeds by changing tires. Why can Formula 1 do it and we can’t?
“We’re the only sport that doesn’t know how to adapt, and we’re still killing people.”
