Rob Meijerink @meijerinkrob - Twitter Profile

about 2 years ago

The #Zurich2024 World Championships brought amazing winners from Tadej Pogačar to Cat Ferguson. But for me, the overwhelming feeling is sadness and anger. Muriel Furrer's passing is another reminder that our sport is dangerous, and it's too easy to say that the dangers of our sport can't be handled much better. Every time a cyclist dies in a race, we enter the same cycle. "The UCI mourns the loss of ..." turns into "we asked the family who wants the race to continue..." turns into "it's too early to discuss what could've prevented this". And at the end of the day, I can count the pro-safety decisions the UCI has made in the last 10 years, on a single hand. At the Giro d'Italia, Jenthe Biermans crashed into a ravine, and the only reason he was found quickly was because the riders in his group used their radio to tell their team car where he crashed. Meanwhile, the UCI wants to ban race radios. Why does the UCI not apply their own Parcours Guidelines which state downhill finishes and bends in sprints shouldn't happen? This actively leads to more crashes and sprint deviations. Why did the creation of the SafeR organisation turn into a political game within the AIGCP, postponing the creation of said organisation, postponing safety improvements in the sport? Who is prioritising politics over safety? Is there a centralised database of rider crashes which can be analysed, from which the conclusions can be used by race organisers to make their parcours safer? Why are race organisers often not held accountable for parcours safety issues? Is there currently research and development being done on rider tracking, crash alerts, concussion detection technology, anti-cut skinsuits? Is it possible for the clothing and helmet safety standards (in the rules) to increase based on this research (like standardising MIPS-like concussion reduction technologies for helmets)? Strict rider behaviour rules should be enforced consistently. Why does Maciejuk receive a multi-month ban for his RVV 2023 incident when Wiebes did the same in Brugge-De Panne the week before, crashed a group, and wasn't penalised? Why is Reusser getting a DSQ for hindering spectators by going on a footpath when MVDP does not? This is basic rule enforcement. Why do we not see small rule changes that could improve rider safety, like not allowing team cars to drive next to breakaways, instead having riders drop to the back of groups. In my opinion, all stakeholders in the sport can play a role in this, but it starts with the UCI. Standardisation, application and enforcement of safety requirements, and simply, making safety the number 1 priority in the sport. It's impossible that there are no ways to make this sport safer, and I personally feel like the UCI is not even close to doing the best they possibly can to limit the severe and fatal crashes we have seen in recent years. I am disgusted by @DLappartient's comments, stating that 50% of rider crashes are due to rider behaviour (without any statistics to support that), a mere 2 days after Muriel Furrer crashed in the UCI World Championships. This sums up the UCI's lack of accountability when it comes to safety, to the point that I'm shocked these people can look in the mirror at the end of the day. It's already too late to be proactive, but we shouldn't wait on the next cyclist to die before making the necessary changes in the sport. It's impossible to prevent every accident in this sport, but any measures that could reduce or prevent severe/fatal injuries, should be pursued with the utmost priority. Cycling needs safety reform. It needed it 5 years ago.

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Rob Meijerink

@MeijerinkRob

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