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"Stupid and irresponsible" - stunt ace Vittorio Brumotti under fire for risking lives of others in latest video

Italian ex-trials world champion rides above busy road in Barcelona - but what happens if it all goes wrong?

Has former UCI World Trials champion Vittorio Brumotti gone too far in his latest video? That’s the overwhelming opinion of road.cc readers after we shared it on Facebook yesterday evening.

One of the Italian’s trademark stunts is his ability to ride along the narrowest of surfaces – a railing above the Ligurian Sea near his home town of Finale Ligure, say, or a bridge parapet while attending Astana’s recent training camp in Spain.

It takes nerves of steel and Brumotti, with no safety line in evidence, clearly has those in abundance. And if the unthinkable happens – well, as the macabre saying goes, it’s his funeral.

Bring other people into the equation, however, and it’s a different matter altogether according to many people commenting on the video we shared on Facebook yesterday.

Filmed in Barcelona, Brumotti rides across the wooden frame of a footbridge across a busy dual carriageway in the Catalan capital.

And according to many comments, that means that it’s not just his own life that Brumotti is risking – it’s also those of the motorists and passengers in the vehicles below should something go wrong.

There’s also the issue of him distracting the drivers of the cars, vans and trucks below should they notice him riding across the top of the structure, which has clear implications for road safety.

One commenter, Gavin Knight, said: “Stupid. I love watching talented cyclists perform remarkable feats, but this is selfish. One slip and not only would he have risked his life, but the lives of those below.

“Imagine a cyclist crashing through a windscreen, or landing in the road ahead of you. Nope. He should be getting a bollocking from his sponsors for that bullshit.

“Most cyclists are doing their hardest to break the ‘us and them’ attitude between cyclist and motorists and frankly this stupidity doesn't help one bit.”

In response, Terry Halls said: “He doesn't even have to fall to cause a pile-up, rubber necking at accident spots causes a lot of serious accidents, so this could do the same.”

“Stupid and irresponsible” and “reckless and foolish” are two of the more succinct (and printable) comments made by others – and no-one has yet stepped forward to defend the rider.

We’re not familiar enough with Spanish law to determine whether there might be legal implications for him, and the situation may be complicated by the fact he is not riding on the public highway.

However, in a comment on Facebook, Lawrence Hallett said that Catalonia’s police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, should bring charges against Brumotti for reckless endangerment – in Castilian, riesgo imprudente.

We love watching skillful riding as much as you do, and when it comes to tricks and stunts, Brumotti is up there with the best. But it's difficult not to think, 'What if ...?' when watching this one.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

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.

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11 comments

Avatar
J90 | 7 years ago
0 likes

Hint, Vitto doesn't give a single fuck.

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Gourmet Shot | 7 years ago
0 likes

Nevermind the stunt bit.........I don't know how he managed to climb the bridge in his shoes...I can barely get down a stair carpet without slipping all over the shop

Avatar
J90 replied to Gourmet Shot | 7 years ago
0 likes
Gourmet Shot wrote:

Nevermind the stunt bit.........I don't know how he managed to climb the bridge in his shoes...I can barely get down a stair carpet without slipping all over the shop

I think they're MTB shoes, so grippy and a recessed cleat. He uses normal trainers in some of his videos.

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Grahamd | 7 years ago
0 likes

Terrible, he should not have done this; climbing in cycling shoes is inappropriate. He should stick to challenges that involve him remaining in his bike from start to finish.

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tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
1 like

He's leaning to the left so that if he falls he'll fall inwards. 

 

Danger is relative to skill, something people curiously neglect when watching stunts. 

I do this when riding a thin smooth patch next to a ditch on my main route or white lines on rough roads. Tilt away from the obstacle you want to avoid in case you mess up. You always veer away from it. It's physics.

Avatar
RMurphy195 replied to tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
1 like

unconstituted wrote:

He's leaning to the left so that if he falls he'll fall inwards. 

 

 

Not if his wheel slips to the right, I suspect. Even if he fell onto the bridge, a driver below who was keeping an eye on this fool is likely to take avoiding action if he looked like he was falling off the bridge, maybe colliding with another vehicle as he does so.

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Yorkshire wallet replied to tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
1 like

unconstituted wrote:

Danger is relative to skill, something people curiously neglect when watching stunts. 

This is what people who are very risk averse don't understand. If you can do something, you don't do it thinking you'll fall, you do it thinking you'll make it. Why do it otherwise. Just because it's beyond your skill level and would be daft, it's perfectly acceptable for someone else. 

 

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madcarew replied to tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
1 like

unconstituted wrote:

He's leaning to the left so that if he falls he'll fall inwards. 

Well, this is stupid. If he's leaning to the left, he's falling off. Regardless of what angle you hold your bike or your body, your CoG is directly over the wheel contact or you are falling off (or veering to correct your lean).  He's not leaning to the left, or he would ride off the bridge iron. 

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whobiggs | 7 years ago
2 likes

My thoughts exactly, definitely irresponsible but "rubberneckers" have only themselves to blame.

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danthomascyclist | 7 years ago
9 likes

Yep, this is fucking stupid. However...

 

Quote:

In response, Terry Halls said: “He doesn't even have to fall to cause a pile-up, rubber necking at accident spots causes a lot of serious accidents, so this could do the same.”

 

If you're rubber-necking and you crash, that's your fault. Not whatever you're rubber-necking at

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to danthomascyclist | 7 years ago
0 likes
danthomascyclist wrote:

Yep, this is fucking stupid. However...

 

Quote:

In response, Terry Halls said: “He doesn't even have to fall to cause a pile-up, rubber necking at accident spots causes a lot of serious accidents, so this could do the same.”

 

If you're rubber-necking and you crash, that's your fault. Not whatever you're rubber-necking at

Tricky one, really. I'm not convinced that is true in every imaginable case. It depends on how reasonable or unreasonable it is to be distracted by any given event or behaviour and how reasonable that behaviour is in itself.

And there's brainless 'rubbernecking' (typically at an accident scene which drivers ought to be aware they are going to encounter occasionally) and there's being involuntarily distracted by something very unusual. I don't think the latter is the same as the former.

Also if this guy fell, he might land on someone's windscreen.

On balance I'd say this was naughty and he should get a wrist-slapping or perhaps get away with no penalty at all, much as happens with motorists when they do something that endangers others (like parking somewhere that blocks sight-lines, say).

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