What can be done to make mountain stages safer?
July 15, 2023
As the Tour de France goes into its mountain stages, it begs the question: What lessons can be learned from Gino Mäder's tragic accident just weeks ago? Is such a risky stage finale really necessary?
Nikias Arndt of Team Bahrain Victorious says no.
"In light of what happened at the Tour de Suisse, I question whether you really need a technical descent at the end of a stage," he told DW.
The German rider was there last month when Mäder, his teammate, crashed at high speed on a descent and died from injuries suffered in the crash. The tragedy has sparked a fresh debate about safety in cycling.
The Bahrain team's jerseys are now emblazoned with the hashtag #RideforGino. It is a difficult balancing act between mourning the loss of a teammate and concentrating on the season's highlight, the Tour de France. So far, the team has managed it well, with Spaniard Pello Bilbao winning a stage and German sprinter Phil Bauhaus coming close several times, with three podium finishes. And yet the memory of what happened to Mäder is present. Nobody wants to see something like that happen again.
Now we're into the Alpine stages and with them two final descents to the finish: on the 14th stage to Morzine and on the 17th stage to Courchevel. This reminds the riders at Bahrain Victorious of that tragic June 15 in the Swiss Alps, when Mäder also crashed on a final descent.
Arndt sees a fundamental problem.
"If you save a small lead of 10 seconds over the top of the mountain, you will try everything you can to defend your lead on the descent, or, the rider who is behind will naturally try to make up those 10 seconds. Just as you give everything you've got on the ascent, you you also give everything you've got on the descent," Arndt said.
Cycling is getting faster – when it should be getting slower
How much risk is do you need to take to win – and how much is too much? It's a thin line.
The riders hurtle downhill at top speeds of over 100 kph (60 mph) in some cases – on tires that are a mere 28 millimeters wide. However now, in a sport that is all about speed, Adam Hansen, a former rider and head of the racing riders' union CPA, is attempting to apply the brakes.
"We want to educate riders more about how dangerous cycling is and make them more aware of the risk and danger," Hansen told DW. "I think we need to slow them down a bit."
How can that be done? The Tour 2022 was the fastest in history, with an average speed of over 42 km/h. Technical innovations such as aero clothing, aero frames, aero wheels or tubeless tires with reduced rolling resistance are making riders faster and faster. And freshly paved roads in the mountains – something that the riders had asked for – make the ride downhill safer, but just as fast again.
High speeds shorten the time to react to things like stones, fallen riders or other obstacles on the road. And, ironically, another safety innovation is actually contributing to the danger.
"Disc brakes make a hazardous area even more dangerous in a certain way," Hansen said. "This is because with disc brakes, which decelerate better than rim brakes used to, riders now brake later. There's only a short time for riders behind to react to something in front of them."
Acoustic warning signals and padded barriers
The UCI, world cycling's governing body, is well aware of the problem.
"The speed of riders is getting higher and higher, it's clearly getting more dangerous," UCI President David Lappartient said prior to the start of the Tour. "Our mission is to make the roads safer."
To do that, the UCI has started the SafeR project, in which dangerous situations in races are now being recorded and evaluated in a database. A first examination of the data is cause for concern: this year, with almost 200 incidents, we are already 24% above the number of incidents at this time last year.
That's why additional measures are being taken at the Tour de France: Dangerous curves are secured with padded barriers. In addition, acoustic signals were introduced some time ago to warn the riders when they approach tricky sections of the route.
"A great safety feature," Arnt said. "You hear a shrill whistle before sharp or blind curves, so you know from a relatively long distance away that danger lies ahead. This is very good for our safety."
The measures are important steps towards greater safety in the race – and yet only small building blocks of a larger mosaic. At the world's biggest cycling race, an immense effort is made to protect the race against external dangers. 300 police officers accompany the Tour, plus a total of 28,000 additional police officers and firefighters who secure the route. In addition, 1,000 trained stewards are tasked with pointing out dangers and ensuring safety. Ten doctors and seven nurses, in addition to the team doctors, provide medical care.
Despite all these measures, the CPA still regards descents immediately before the finish as a decisive risk to the riders' safety.
According to CPA boss Adam Hansen, most riders agree.
"I did a survey of the riders. The majority said there needs to be at least three flat kilometers before the finish, some were in favor of at least 10 kilometers. I agree with that, we need a flat section at the end so it doesn't all come down to the descent."
This article was translated from German.