The hilly and cobbled roads of the classics have paved way for the mountainous malaise of the Giro d’Italia, which kicks off in Turin this Saturday with the back-breaking climbs set to return for the Italian Grand Tour (six mountain-top finishes, phew). But with the impossible climbs also come blazingly fast and ominous descents, and with crashes unfortunately stealing so much of the spotlight during the spring cycling season, one could assume the safety of the peloton would be one of the key things on the minds of anyone associated with the sport.
One of those people goes by the name of Geraint Thomas, the lanky and lean cyclist from Cardiff who used to train in the same velodrome that I’ve done a couple of rides myself as well. But you know, he just has a Tour de France, a Paris-Nice and a couple of national championships to show for.
Following the horrific crash on a descent of the Itzulia Basque race, which ended up severely injuring a bunch of riders including Jonas Vingegaard, Primož Roglič, Remco Evenepoel, Steff Cras, and Jay Vine, Thomas believes that safety in pro cycling is not a thing that should be taken lightly anymore.
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Speaking to The Guardian, Thomas said: “Everyone’s talking about this now because big-name riders have crashed, but it’s been happening for years. Racing’s got that danger element already, but I feel like it could do so much more to increase safety. There’s road furniture, traffic calming, kerbs sticking out, all that kind of stuff. That adds an element of danger as well. When you’re in it, if I thought about it, I’d be at the back [of the peloton]. You wouldn’t be racing, you couldn’t do it.”
And taking on the burden of an all-seeing prophet, just 48 hours after the interview, there was another crash in the Tour of the Alps where Thomas was adding in the final touches of preparation before he embarks on the ambitious Giro-Tour double at 37 years of age.
Chris Harper and Ben O’Connor hit nasty bumps on the road of a high-speed descent at Trentino, northern Italy, with the former being launched into the air and sliding head-first into a lamp post — coming away with a concussion and superficial wounds.
The crash reeked eerily of the Basque Country crash, where the front of the peloton descending at almost 80km/hr, hit a bump on the road and were thrown into the concrete ditches on the side.
Geraint Thomas at stage 20 of the 2023 Giro d’Italia (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Thomas said: “Ninety per cent of the guys won’t know the roads [in this race],” Thomas says. “You’re going down these descents, flying down them. If this was a new sport, there’s no way it would be allowed.”
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He also gave his backing to his team boss, Ineos Grenadiers owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in April issued a public plea for a ramping up of cycling’s safety protocols. “Cyclists are always going to push things to the limit as they are elite sportsmen,” Ratcliffe said, before urging David Lappartient, the president of the UCI, pro cycling’s governing body, to “ensure the safety of the sport”.
Lappartient’s recent comments, claiming that “50 per cent of the crashes are down to riders’ attitudes”, which already drew scrutiny from the cycling world didn’t sit well with Thomas, even if he acknowledges that some riders take risks he wouldn’t.
“I think Lappartient needs to focus more on the 50 per cent he can affect,” Thomas said. “I agree with what he says, but it just doesn’t make sense to me even saying it. That means 50 per cent is still down to him and organisers to do everything they can.”