Movistar rider Matteo Jorgenson has added to the pro debate around disc brakes. The American needed surgery in 2019 after a disc rotor sliced through his calf muscle during a crash at Paris Roubaix Espoirs. Jorgenson told Cyclingnews that disc brakes are "definitely more dangerous than rim brakes".
"They're an exposed piece of the bike that gets super hot, especially in a bike race. They can cause damage if they happen to land on a rider in a specific way, and it depends just by chance, on how they touch a rider. Especially if you're on that side of the bike and you fall on top of a rider like I did."
Despite his injury, Jorgenson did admit that disc brakes provide a far superior performance to rim brakes and said he was shocked by how much better discs are. "I didn't see much problem with rim brakes, I thought they were very good. But last January I switched to a new bike with discs, and I was shocked at how much of a difference it makes. In a bike race, there's so much to be gained by being able to brake later.
"Disc brakes are very consistent, so when you pull the brake at first, it grabs just as much as 10 seconds later. Whereas with a rim brake, especially in the rain, you pull it and it starts to heat up, and then you get either less or sometimes it grabs more depending on the pad type. It's very inconsistent, you have to kind of think through it while you're braking. If you're braking quite hard into a corner, you have to try and anticipate how much more you can brake."
On Monday, Chris Froome said he wasn't completely convinced by disc brakes, while talking about his new Factor Ostro VAM. The four-time Tour de France winner "doesn't believe the technology is where it needs to be yet for road cycling". We took a look at what could be wrong with his disc brakes...