- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
boucles_de_la_mayenne_motorbike_crash.jpgVideo: Another crash at a pro race involving a motorbike rider
Little more than a year after Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas was forced to abandon the Giro d’Italia due to injuries he sustained after crashing into a motorbike at the roadside, a similar incident has been caught on film at a race in France although thankfully none of the riders brought down was seriously hurt.
> Video: "It shouldn't happen" - Geraint Thomas on crash that wrecked his Giro d'Italia hopes
The incident happened yesterday at the UCI 2.1 Boucles de la Mayenne race in the Pays de la Loire region when a motorbike belonging to the race organisation – the specific role the rider was performing is unclear – was parked on the left-hand side of the road as the riders approached in single file.
Another crash caused by a motorbike #boucles53 pic.twitter.com/b0KOjBmv1C
— McEEV (@GosuSM) June 3, 2018
Former world cyclo-cross champion Mathieu van der Poel of Corendon Circus – in the race leader’s yellow jersey which he retained to seal the overall win – managed to avoid the motorbike, but others behind him weren’t so lucky.
German 20-year-old Max Kanter of Team Sunweb’s development squad crashed, as did AG2R-La Mondiale’s Julien Duval and Vital Concept rider Tanguy Turgis although fortunately none was seriously injured.
We’ve reported on several incidents over the years in which race motorbikes have been involved in crashes, prompting calls for increased focus on rider safety.
The two most serious involved young Belgian professional cyclists.
In March 2016, Wanty-Groupe Gobert rider Antone Demoitié, aged 25, died from injuries sustained when he was run over by a motorbike after he crashed at Gent-Wevelgem.
> Team Wanty-Gobert rider Antoine Demoitié dies after Gent-Wevelgem crash
The previous month, Lotto-Soudal rider Stig Broeckx, also aged 25 at the time, was knocked off his bike when a moto rider hit him from behind in another one-day race in Belgium, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.
He escaped without serious injury on that occasion, but spent six months in a coma after another crash involving motorbikes during a race, this time at the Tour of Belgium in June of the same year.
> Lotto-Soudal’s Stig Broeckx in coma after motos involved in crash at Tour of Belgium
Two motorbikes were involved in that incident, in which 19 riders crashed with five taken to hospital.
Initially it was feared that the brain damage he sustained would lead to him being in a permanent vegetative state, but by the end of the year he had emerged from the coma and was starting to respond to stimuli.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- Gbjbanjs 2 hours 18 min ago
Crazy, crazy country.
- eburtthebike 2 hours 16 min ago
A Felixstowe lorry driver accused of causing the death of a 69-year-old cyclist by careless driving has been cleared by a jury....
- WillPage 3 hours 25 min ago
Nothing says "welcoming environment" like uniformed thugs, umm I mean "security patrols " roaming the area.
- ktache 3 hours 26 min ago
My thoughts are with the family and friends of David.
- galibiervelo 4 hours 43 min ago
That is class news. Super bikes and vision. Bet there will be no stand at the Taiwan bike show next year! Big luck to all the team
- Destroyer666 5 hours 25 min ago
Pretty clearly stated several times in the text that the issue was not related just to his son. And besides, everybody watching the races could see...
- Rendel Harris 5 hours 41 min ago
All Fizik and Selle Italia saddles (though not all their other products) are made in Italy I believe, and their 3D printed models definitely are.
- chrisonabike 6 hours 7 min ago
If you're not on the road with a car, I bet its driver is much less likely to swerve into your space *. Because you're not "in the way"! (Any...
- mdavidford 6 hours 23 min ago
The problem with this argument, though, is that it's just not true....
Add new comment
15 comments
in the clip shown the bike is stationary and the pillion is already off the bike. That bike has not suddenly stopped. It's been stopped for "some time."
the motorbike should not have stopped "there".
no reason to pull over and create an obstacle.
the riders coulda shoulda called out, they could of all gone round him safely, but they didn't. no good saying what should have happened, what did happen? a massive obstacle appeared in the path of the peleton and they all had to swerve round him.
not sure how anyone can lay any blame on the riders. they are expecting a clear road with no obstacles, and any obstacles road traffic etc would be signalled by a helpful chap with an orange pedant.
you might not agree. but say what you see.
riders on the left hand side of road, gripping kerb. motorbike stops. bike have to swerve round bike. they dont.
not seeing a crash caused like that as all that funny
It was more the 'massive obstacle appeared in the path of the peleton' - especially off the back of you talking about pianos falling from the sky. Was that massive obstacle the motorbike that hadn't just appeared, was in front of them the entire time, that was no further out than the group of spectators just up the road ? If it had stopped, no excuse - if it was slowing down, then why continue to follow it inline so closely, at the same pace ? Edit : already stopped at the beginning of the video, no further out than spectators - should have moved out, didn't until it was too late and gave no (visible) notice to the guys behind.
Without close up footage I'm not sure there's any way to know whether a call went up, yes there were no hand signals, but if they were expecting the bike to pull away before they got there, and then by the time they realise he isn't it's a bit late. Does seem like a bit of a stupid place to stop, especially if there's a cross wind you'd think to stop on the opposite side, Maybe the motos need to be fitted with warning flags that sit a good 5 or 6 feet above the bike, it'd give riders a little bit of a heads up from further back in the peoloton and shouldn't be too difficult to implement.
Rule No. 1 of Moto Club: unless a clear and current emergency dictates otherwise, do not stop on the circuit. This twit has pulled up opposite a perfectly good side road.
However, even a club run for newbies would be passing a call of "bike up!" through the group while flapping their left hands. Poor riding.
Clipping stationary objects does tend to have consequences.
Agree with BTBS on this - completely avoidable had van der Poel indicated to those behind him, moved out earlier or perhaps seen the motobike earlier; those behind him basically had little to no chance.. perhaps his relative inexperience with on-road races didn't help but that was ridiculous.
Yeah! Coz drones don't fall out of the sky, like.
Fewer bikes is all that's needed, with competent riders too. Better rules and penalties like not stopping on the circuit, in this case.
Actually looking to see what is in the road might help and a call from the front rider who only just misses them. The motorcycle rider is not at fault here, it's the riders, particularly the bell end at the front. I bet everyone else in the race managed to get past fine as they will have done for pretty much every race held across the globe. There's no accounting for ignorance and stupidity of head down noddies.
so if you are riding home, if you do ride, and a car stops in front of you suddenly and you crash into him, is it your fault?
a piano drops out of the sky and you crash into it, thats your fault right?
a passenger opens their door on you, thats your fault right?
a ped walks in front of you, and you crash into them,. your fault right?
so if you are riding home, if you do ride, and a car stops in front of you suddenly and you crash into him, is it your fault?
a piano drops out of the sky and you crash into it, thats your fault right?
a passenger opens their door on you, thats your fault right?
a ped walks in front of you, and you crash into them,. your fault right?
[/quote]
I think the scenario here is more like, you ride into the back of a parked car while trying to get as aero as possible and not looking where you are going.
And even if you do consider your scenarios, if a car stops in front of you and you crash into it, it is indeed your fault because you were obviously traveling too close to be able to stop safely in case of an unexpected action by another road user.
Use drones. Don't need motos anymore.
A drone has a battery life of about 15 minutes and a range of a couple of km at best from the transmitting unit (added to which you're supposed to fly Within Visual Range at all times). They're not great at carrying passengers, they can't stop or control traffic or crowds, they can't man junctions or level crossings, they can't hand up food, drink, or spares, they can't hold a blackboard in front of the riders to display time gaps, they can't carry a Commissaire or Judge...
You're assuming that all the moto does is provide footage but that's about 1/10th of the number of motos in a road race convoy.
Some of them are radio transmitter bikes (relaying message from front to back of convoy), some are on traffic control, some are staff to regulate the race and control movement of vehicles, some are there to mark hazards, some carry race officials and some are video and still camera bikes.
None of them can yet be replaced by drones. And if you've got a helicopter doing aerial footage, the absolute last thing you want is a load of drones flying around in the same airspace!