New safety measures set to be introduced by UCI ahead of 2017 season

On September 30, ahead of the final UCI WorldTour race of the 2016 season the Giro de Lombardia, cycling’s governing body is going to bring together stakeholders in order to review and improve rider safety ahead of next season. After a year that saw one rider die and others seriously injured by race vehicles and road furniture, the Union Cycliste Internationale is ready to implement new safety measures for the 2017 season.

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Incidents throughout the season highlighted the safety issues the UCI have decided need to be addressed. At Gent-Wevelgem, Belgian Antoine Demoitié was struck by a race motorcycle and tragically passed away in hospital. At the Tour of Belgium, two race motorcycles attending to overtake the peloton collided and lead to a pile-up that caused 19 riders to crash. Stig Broeckx sustained serious injuries in the crash and remains in a medically induced coma. Broeckx had sustained collarbone and rib fractures just weeks early in an incident with a motorbike at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. At Paris-Roubaix, a motorcycle toppled over on the Carrefour de l’Arbre forcing Elia Viviani to withdraw from the race though he sustained no serious injuries. Steven Kruijswijk’s crashed out of the Vuelta a España’s , stricking a bollard at full speed in the final kilometers of Stage 5.

The UCI said in its statement that it, “will discuss various topics including the maximum number of riders in the race, safe course design, in particular within the final three kilometres of a race, a set of best practice guidelines for race finishes adapted to different course conditions, including reconnoitre and hazard identification, protection from obstacles and the finish.” These issues were brought up by the riders union in June. “These were elements brought to the discussions by the CPA during the last UCI Road Commission meeting”

In addition to measures to improve safety for next year, the UCI outlined a list of actions that will be immediately implemented at the 2016 road world championships in Doha, Qatar. The final 1.5 km of the circuit will undergo road works to remove potentially dangerous road furniture and improve the racing line, barries will be placed to take into account the width of the road, smaller and lighter motorbikes without panniers will be used in the caravan, and increased measures to ensure all vehicles are being operated by qualified drivers.

Ahead of the 2017 season, a Race Caravan guide will be published that will provide a comprehensive set of regulations and guidelines for race vehicles. The rules to ensure safety and security, especially in regards to vehicles overtaking riders, will outline the positioning of vehicles within the race.

At the meeting, riders will be represented by the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), teams by the Association Internationale des Groupes Cyclistes Professionnels (AIGCP) and organizers by the Association Internationale des Organisateurs de Courses Cyclistes (AIOCC).

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On Thursday, a close call at the Eneco Tour saw a race motorcycle crash as it came out of a roundabout very narrowly missing the lead riders. The race has gotten praise of rerouting vehicles on alternate routes to avoid passing riders on narrow technical roads. Despite the races best efforts, incidents such as these highlight the unpredictable and potentially dangerous hazards riders face. The UCI, implementing new protocols, like they did last year in regards to severe weather, is a step in the right direction.