Safety

Safety,
Words are not powerful enough to describe the tragedy that struck at the Giro d’Italia last week. I offer my sincere condolences to Wouter Weylandt’s friends and family. Let us never forget that cycling is a dangerous sport where sometimes organizers neglect rider safety.
One week later, here at the Tour of California, I found myself in the middle of a meeting that was called to discuss the safety situation due to poor weather conditions at Lake Tahoe. Of particular concern was the hazard posed by melting snow. At the end of the day the right decision was made to cancel the stage and protect the riders. Andy Schleck showed some great leadership as the riders lined up at the start.
Some teams and riders decided to ride to the next day’s start location, ending up with frozen brakes before quickly being forced to abandon the idea. Two motorbikes wiped out. Luckily there were no injuries, but I still don’t understand how some would still have considered riding/racing in such conditions. Our Team RadioShack riders rode their home trainers for somewhere between one and three hours. A much safer and healthier approach for what will come later this week.
The Amgen Tour of California organization handled the situation very well. Keep in mind that sponsors, television networks, riders and, most importantly, fans are all eager to get the show on the road. But the organizer quickly realized that safety and the health of the athletes are crucial to the future of the race. The Tour de Suisse has had to cancel many stages, but its great reputation is undeniable.
I am here at the Tour of California helping out with Team RadioShack. It is a really cool experience to be part of such a great organization and I plan to take what I learn here and apply it next month when I return to Trek-Livestrong. It is also good to catch up with a lot of people I haven’t seen in three or four years.
Team RadioShack is one of the obvious race favorites, with two really high-ranked contenders. Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner both are looking in great shape and have an extremely strong team around them. It is also really cool to see U.S. national champion Ben King and other former Trek-Livestrong riders competing in the race. It’s a good time to catch up on things with all of them and get their take on moving up to the Pro Tour ranks. As director of Trek-Livestrong I’m always looking for ways to improve the team.

My boys are on their way to Europe where they will be directed by nobody less than Dirk Demol for Ronde de l’Isard and Paris-Roubaix U23. They are really lucky to have a former Paris-Roubaix winner guiding them for the next couple of weeks. It will be a huge opportunity to impress the European scene and an important step in their development. I am sure they will do great and I’ll be cheering for them from over here.