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David Lappartient: ‘50 per cent of crashes are due to riders’ attitudes’

The president of the UCI also blamed disc brakes, among other things, for the recent accidents

David Lappartient: ‘50 per cent of crashes are due to riders’ attitudes Photo by: UCI/Twitter
April 5, 2024
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David Lappartient, president of the Union Cycliste International (UCI), conveyed his thoughts following the brutal crash affecting top riders in the peloton during the Tour of the Basque Country. Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, and Primož Roglič all went down, with the first two going to hospital. On Wednesday, Wout Van Aert was forced to skip the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix after crashing out at Dwars door Vlaanders.

In an interview with AFP he immediately brought up disc brakes. “It’s a subject we have to put back on the table. There is no such thing as a taboo subject,” he said. “Equipment is obviously one of the issues. Bicycles have made an extraordinary leap forward.”

Yellow and red cards to riders to prevent crashes?

Except he said it’s not just the bikes to blame. He said it’s also the riders themselves.

“Fifty per cent of the crashes are due to their attitude,” he added. “I’m not here to say it’s their fault. It could simply be a quick moment of inattention.”

“That is why we want to introduce a principle of yellow and red cards this year, just like in soccer,” he added. “So that these dangerous attitudes are better punished.”

Measures to protect cyclists who crash

The rider union, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés, (CPA), has been implementing more and more measures to increased rider safety. After the death of Gino Mäder at the Tour de Suisse, Adam Hansen has been pushing for organizers to include hay bails or cushions on corners which could be risky.

For Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix, riders will be forced to take a chicane and U-turn before entering the Arenberg forest. Previously, it was a straight shot and riders would be riding 60 km/h before the cobbles, which could lead to serious crashes.

The terrible crash in Spain

The crash in Basque country was notable as it contained three of the top favourites for the Tour de France, and has left at least one’s chances–Jonas Vingegaard–in jeopardy.

The Dane is still hospitalized in Spain following the crash. His initial injuries included a fractured collarbone and ribs. The Visma-Lease A Bike team announced on Friday that additional examinations showed Vingegaard also sustained a pneumothorax and a pulmonary contusion.

Changes for 2025

The UCI boss also posted on X about it. “In recent weeks, our sport has been hit hard by a series of serious crashes,” the post read. “My heartfelt wishes go to all the riders in the peloton, in particular to those who suffered injuries for a swift and full recovery. It is precisely to avoid such situations in men’s and women’s professional road cycling that we created SafeR, in collaboration with riders, teams, organizers and all cycling’s stakeholders, at the end of last year. We anticipate seeing the initial effects of this initiative in 2024.”