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When race motorcycles get too close

UCI force TV crew to sit out stage of Tour of Oman while riders continue to call out motos through social media

February 18, 2017
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In 2016, race motorcycles made the news for all the wrong reasons. Apart from bringing images of the races to our TV screens and computer monitors, race motos made the news throughout the season for causing accidents. Belgium rider Antoine Demoitié passed away following a crash involving a moto at Gent-Wevelgem and Stig Broeckx of Lotto-Soudal was involved in two collisions with one of them leaving him in a coma for months and with serious brain damage.

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The crashes in 2016 were reminders of how dangerous hectic race environments can be for riders. In response, the UCI vowed to make the peloton safer by introducing and enforcing new rules.

At the beginning of February, the UCI introduced new rules to enforce vehicle circulation in races aiming to make them safer for competitors. The 38-page document had a section titled “The special considerations for the movement of motorcycles”. After Stage 2 of the Tour of Oman, the UCI for the first time enforced those rules suspending one of the TV motorcycles for Stage 3 after it followed a racer too closely.

Another of the problems the UCI sought to address were riders gaining advantages from motorcycles ahead of them. According to the UCI’s new rules, motos should not stay directly in front of riders instead staying staggered and should not remain directly in front of the peloton for long. In time trials, the UCI wants motos to stay 100 to 150 m ahead of riders so they don’t gain an advantage from drafting.

However, the conduct of motorcycles and racers was brought into question despite new regulations this week. Andre Greipel of Lotto-Soudal who is racing the Volta ao Algarve used a screenshot to get his point across. It showed Primož Roglič of LottoNL_Jumbo drafting a motorcycle on his way to taking the race lead on the Stage 3 time trial at the Volta ao Algarve. Roglič took third place on the stage.

Dan Martin of Quickstep Floors had previously held the lead in Algarve but in between stages kept up with the racing in Oman where he spotted two riders in the breakaway drafting a motorcycle. Mark Christian of Aqua Blue Sport and Preben Van Hecke of Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise didn’t make it to the finish but it highlighted a problem that seemed to be recurring.

Finally, Tosh Van der Sande who is racing at the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol noticed a Trek-Segrafedo rider taking advantage of the TV motorcycle as he worked at the front of the peloton to bring back the break with 26-km to race on Stage 2. The break would eventually get caught and Alberto Contador of Trek-Segrafedo would take second on the stage and move into the race lead. Contador conceded time to Alessandro Valverde in the time trial the next day losing the lead by one-second.

Whether the UCI will be able to reign in drivers and enforce their rules more successfully at future races is yet to be seen. It’s one of the steps they committed to in order to make racing safer and more fair.

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