Categories: Defining MomentsLa Vie VelominatusMusings from the V-Bunker

On Motors and Bikes: The Next Ride

Rider and car (nearly) collide on the Koppenberg in the 1987 Tour of Flanders.

Every time I go riding, I know I subject myself to masses of cars and motorcycles, each of which has the potential to momentarily occupy the same space my bicycle and I are occupying, a physical impossibility that Nature will resolve via a messy process involving my death. I don’t know very much about the vehicles surrounding me or their drivers, apart from that they likely don’t know how vulnerable a Cyclist is, or how much longer it takes us to stop than it does them, particularly in the wet. I know that they don’t appreciate how fast a bicycle can travel, or that I likely can’t see or hear them coming up from behind, or that I don’t know whether they can see me at all or whether or not they will pull out in front of me even if they do. But I am certain that they don’t appreciate how lethal their vehicle is and I am even more certain that they are likely distracted; they might as well be pointing a loaded gun at me.

This reality comes with the territory of being a road Cyclist, and I accept that. I take every reasonable precaution I can to be safe, apart from not riding my bike in the first place; a life without Cycling on the road hardly seems like a life in the first place. I am also fortunate to have ridden as long as I have and that my experience has allowed me to develop a sort of sixth sense when it comes to recognizing which drivers are about to do something that will put me at risk. I accept the risk, I do whatever I can to control those factors I can, and hope for the privilege to return home safely and ready for The Next Ride.

I am terribly saddened by the death of Antoine Demoitie during Gent Wevelgem after being struck by a motorcycle involved with the race. I understand that motor vehicles are a part of the race, including for the purpose of providing live pictures for us, the fans. But I personally find it unacceptable that riders are being put at the same risk that we encounter on the street when we go out training. A bicycle race is already rife with danger; adding the risk of being hit by a car seems reckless.

I read Breaking the Chain shortly after it was first published. Apart from the shocking tale of drug use in the peloton, the story relays how many stimulants are used by the drivers in the following caravan. The notion that the bike race is packed to the gills with vehicles whose drivers are not only distracted and stressed out but are also intoxicated sends the imagination to dark, dark places. We will never be able to eliminate the risk of vehicles hitting riders, but we can certainly take measures to reduce their frequency. Race vehicles hitting riders isn’t new, but their occurrence have dotted race history with a frequency that makes the individual accidents noteworthy, the 1987 Tour of Flanders being a standout case. But it seems like every recent race involves an incident between a rider and a race vehicle, to the point that these accidents have even influenced the outcome of the race on several occasions. It all points to the fact that we’ve prioritized the publicity of the events over the safety of the riders. That prioritization is perverse and entirely in the race organizer’s control. It is time they take whatever measures necessary to minimize the risk to the riders who already stand to lose their lives without the help of the vehicles in the race.

On Sunday, Antoine was denied his Next Ride. Our thoughts and condolences go to his wife, family, and friends. Changing our approach to the motorcade will never bring Antoine back to life, but it can help us avoid repeating this tragedy. If the solution involves less live television coverage, then I’ll be the first to raise my hand and say I’ll happily give up the privilege of seeing the races live. I hope Antoine is the last rider to suffer his fate.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

Buck Rogers says:

Mar 28 2016 at 4:38 pm

@universo

There are few days when I get an estranged feeling and I choose not to ride. There have been few moments when only a couple miles remain until home when the machine halts and I’ll call my wife – based on an eerie feeling. This happens with me perhaps 2 or 3 days out of the year. I never ignore the feeling to stop. If there is a good place that inspires a stop and the many voices of reason start speaking at that moment – then all I see are my kids and wife.

I know this feeling and it is so important to respect it. Esp important when mountaineering, in my opinion.
hudson says:

Mar 28 2016 at 5:21 pm

Very sad. I don't know how many motos are actually in a race, but I'm certain there could be fewer. I would certainly take less coverage of a race for sure, the helicopter shots are great if there isn't a moto in position for a good picture. The Pros should always be protected before anything. If they touch wheels or take a corner wrong that's racing and that's on them, but there's no reason for these guys to be getting tagged by motos and cars. Sad time for our sport gents, sad time.
wilburrox says:

Mar 28 2016 at 5:58 pm

The senseless tragedy that particularly struck me was the terrible accident that resulted in Amy Dombroski's untimely death. And that was the first time I'd posted here. Young, healthy, strong individuals doing what they love; training in Amy's case and racing in Antoine case, and death is result? It's just hard to put in words, at least for me, how best to describe these circumstances. I hate it. Accidents do not need to happen. That is a fact. Make no mistake about that. Even "freak" accidents like this one involving the moto. They simply do not need to happen. And can be prevented if the will and desire were there. I sure appreciate Marcel Kittle's thoughts expressed on the issue.
Mikael Liddy says:

Mar 28 2016 at 6:08 pm

The scary thing is how little experience & certification they need before getting behind the wheel/bars of a support vehicle. A one day UCI course is the minimum mandated training according to this article from Neal Rogers.

http://cyclingtips.com/2016/03/commentary-gent-wevelgem-fatality-a-tragedy-that-has-been-a-long-time-coming/

A month ago I’d spoken with Jason Jenkins of Media Motos, a 15-year veteran race moto pilot, who told me he felt more needed to be done to license and certify anyone and everyone allowed behind the wheel at a professional bike race.

“The UCI needs to do something, and it doesn’t look like they are,” he’d told me. “It infuriates me, that you can go to a course run by UCI just before a WorldTour event, with no experience of pro cycle racing, do your daylong course, and come away with a certificate that entitles you to ride in WorldTour event. Shouldn’t it be competency led? They should require a resume, references — something more stringent than just a daylong course. There needs to be some sort of metric by the UCI to acknowledge guys who have done this, for a long time, safely.

“You see these clips on the internet, and I feel sorry for the rider, but I also feel sorry for the pilot that made him crash,” Jenkins said. “Nobody wants that. No one sets out to cause an incident. My worry is, what is it going to take to do something about it?”

Given that pro cyclists are the reason for the events themselves, I asked Jenkins — should every incident ultimately be considered the moto driver’s fault, no matter the situation?

“It’s the cyclists’ field of play, “ he said. “Every moto is a guest in their field of play.”
Mikael Liddy says:

Mar 28 2016 at 6:14 pm

Not a good weekend for cycling...Daan Myngheer has also died as a result of the heart attack he suffered after stage 1 of the Criterium International.

http://cyclingtips.com/2016/03/belgian-rider-daan-myngheer-dies-after-criterium-international-heart-attack/
Daccordi Rider says:

Mar 28 2016 at 6:35 pm

Very very sad. I've driven a team car in a UCI race, Ladies tour this year in Adelaide. The requirement to be able to be the driver was that I hold a current race licence (and drivers licence of course) and attend the drivers briefing, that's it. I've got to say it was a nerve wracking experience. Cars coming and going, motorbikes, police bikes leapfrogging ahead to the next cross road, dropped riders coming back, moving back up. then driving forward when required to hand out drinks. Trying to get as close to the peloton as possible, match speed with the rider, hand off the drink, not run over all the other riders coming and going or hit another car, I was exhausted after the race!

The number of moto in those races seems ridiculous and really needs to be cut down, far too many photographers.
mulebeatsdrums says:

Mar 28 2016 at 6:57 pm

Two pro cyclist deaths in as many days. My dearest sympathies to the Demoitie and Myngheer families.

As far as vehicles in the peloton, I think there are only three moto cameras. The commissaire and neutral service vehicles make sense. It's the still photographer cameras and reporters shouting into a GoPro to the studio (something I saw for the first time during Sporza's coverage on Sunday) and the myriad of lone riders that serve apparently nothing.

I'm really upset at the UCI for not looking into this last year, when Sagan got forcibly unmounted twice during the Tour (or the Vuelta, I forget which it was), and before this tragedy took place.

I don't want to politicise the issue. But equally I don't think any of us want this to happen again.

Stay safe out there, brothers and sisters!
Barracuda says:

Mar 28 2016 at 7:03 pm

@universo

There are few days when I get an estranged feeling and I choose not to ride. There have been few moments when only a couple miles remain until home when the machine halts and I’ll call my wife – based on an eerie feeling. This happens with me perhaps 2 or 3 days out of the year. I never ignore the feeling to stop. If there is a good place that inspires a stop and the many voices of reason start speaking at that moment – then all I see are my kids and wife.

Great minds think alike !

I'm the same whereby a couple of weeks ago I chose not to ride a usual Thursday night loop after work for no other reason than "that feeling". Weather was fine ( I still ride in #5 and #9 weather ), so it wasn't that. My lights are exceptional, so it wasn't that either .

For what its worth, was it a journalist moto or a TV camera moto ?
Oli says:

Mar 28 2016 at 7:07 pm

@Barracuda

I believe it was a UCI Commissaire's moto.
Edwin says:

Mar 28 2016 at 7:28 pm

@Barracuda

Note that many/most motos in (smaller) races are not TV or photo motos but actually safety motos that leapfrog the peleton to signal dangerous spots, block traffic, herd spectators, etc. They prevent a lot of accidents but shit still happens. In the case of Demoitié even his team manager Van der Schueren who saw the accident happen does not blame the motard. (who apparently had 20 years of experience riding motos in bike races and is devastated).

But there is always room for improvement and hopefully the right lessons are learned from the deaths of both Demoitié and Myngheer.