'Another dark day for cycling' - Critérium du Dauphiné peloton streets last massive crash

Midway through Wednesday afternoon, a battered and bruised Critérium du Dauphiné peloton made its way across the stage 5 finish line, still dealing with the aftermath of the horrific mass crash that had torn through the peloton just an hour earlier.

Cuts and bloodied elbows, hips and legs could be seen throughout the peloton during the neutralized 20 kilometer run-up to Saint Priest, riders in no hurry to complete the final part of what should have been an innocuous and probably boring transition stage.

Gouvenou confirmed that the crucial problem in neutralizing the race was that there were not enough ambulances to continue with the peloton if it continued. The sometimes heavy rain meant that passengers had to wait for the ambulances to return, further complicating the situation. Then there was the fact that the stage was only 20 kilometers from the finish when the crash occurred. From a global perspective, suspending the stage was the only option.

Riders like Chris Froome (Israel-Premier Tech), himself the victim of a very bad fall just before the Critérium du Dauphiné six years ago, spent some time with the race organization’s lead car and told them what he thought.

But Gouvenou said that while several riders, not just Froome, had expressed their views, in any case the decision had been made by the race organizers and the UCI in collaboration with medical services, and in just 10 minutes after the crash occurred. As Gouvenou put it, “the crash had a huge impact on the race” and “our medical service was overwhelmed.”

One factor that could have contributed was that, as Wright noted, the weather had started dry but then turned wet, meaning that some riders’ tire pressures may not have been set for the less favorable conditions that started halfway through the 167 kilometer stage. .

But with not one but two crashes happening simultaneously on a straight, apparently well-paved section of the descent, that’s almost certainly impossible. Conditions had previously been risky enough for the peloton to briefly neutralize the day break chase, about 50 kilometers down the road, on a windy, wet descent, before full racing resumed – after which the double mass crash occurred.

But although he suffered only minor injuries this time, Combaud himself said it was impossible for him personally to avoid thoughts of an earlier serious crash in the Dauphiné on stage 2 last year when he broke his collarbone. And as he also put it, the broader perspective of such a massive fall also had to be kept in mind, which would hopefully spark further debate about what could be done about it.

‘Another dark day for cycling’ – Critérium du Dauphiné peloton streets last massive crash

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