The UCI has been criticised for lack of action and
lack of anger following the death of Britain’s Fin Tarling, killed by an
oncoming vehicle in the Tour of Portugal two weeks ago.
The race operates with a police rolling road closure,
as do many smaller stage races in Europe. Only the Grand Tours get a full road
closure. It’s a costly business. But the loss of one life is a price too high
to pay for anything less and the rolling road closure has been shown to have
holes in it.
And yet the fear is organisers will just say sorry –
and carry on.
Richard Plugge, manager of two-time Tour de France
winner Jonas Vingegaard, says in today’s Guardian that leading teams “should
take responsibility for ensuring safety.”
Plugge is angry that “neither UCI President David
Lappartient, nor anyone else, stands up and says, ‘Wait a minute, we really
need to think about how we are going to prevent this happening in the future.’”
A formal investigation into the Tarling tragedy is
underway, but neither the UCI nor the Portuguese Cycling Federation has
commented further.
However, the Portuguese police have confirmed that
Tarling had become isolated and was racing without a police escort.
The rolling road closure needs to be backed up with
complete marshal cover on all side roads including roads into and out of
business premises. Crucially, there must be an escort for every group and single
rider behind the main peloton.
This should also be applied in the UK, which brings me to
the recent women’s Tour of Britain (see previous blog). This saw Aussie star Maeve
Plouffe come close to being hit by vehicles on stage one based on Cockermouth.
Over a week later and still no explanation about
this security breach, but plenty about Kim Le Court who won the overall
classification when the Tour finished at Leamington Spa a week later.
Let us hope the pro riders will demand answers to an
incident which could have had tragic consequences.
The organisers cannot be allowed to brush this issue
under the carpet for fear of bad publicity scaring sponsors!
So let us remind ourselves what happened on the
Women’s Tour of Britain.
Plouffe was chasing alone a couple of minutes behind
the peloton – she could see them ahead - when suddenly she was “assailed by cars
coming at me from all directions, including one nearly h it me on a roundabout.”
The irony is that at the stage start that morning the
field held a moments silence to honour Finley Tarling.
Clearly the safety bubble created by the police
operating rolling road closures – the method adopted for the Tour of Britain to
allow riders the full width of the road - has been punctured.
Riders’ safety is at risk especially when taking
blind bends on the wrong side!
If organisers cannot improve security they should be
frank with the riders on the start line and tell them - as would an army
commander before battle: “Some of you
may not make it.”
Too blunt? I don’t think so.
Riders who fall behind the main race and therefore
outside of the security bubble should in future be warned: “ride on the left (on
the right in Europe) to at least avoid risk of head on collision.”
It brings
a new and horrible connotation to DNF!
The “police bubble” on the Tour of Britain is intended
to operate from front to back - to last vehicle in the race, the broom wagon shepherding
the last of the riders.
Crucially, the police “bubble” allow riders to use
the full width of the carriageway!
For years they have got away with it.
The question is how did traffic get onto the course
with the potential to drive head on into the race?
We know the police escort is intended to keep the
roads clear. It is a skilful and risky job given the outriders at the front are
driving into traffic situations they must slow down and prepare to stop, with
public vehicles everywhere.
We remember the death of PC Dave Hopkin performing this task on escort
duty in the 1998 Tour of Britain, killed in a head on collision!
We know from the TV that not all side roads have a static
marshal present.
Did that contribute to this incident with Plouffe?
Driveways to property need ropes across them. Side
roads need barriers or a marshal.
As it is now, an absent minded driver may, on the
spur of the moment, decide he or she needs to be somewhere and forget there is
a race due past the end of their road, or t heir driveway and drive onto the
“course”.
I read on social media today that the National
Escort Group in Britain has been reduced in size?
What for? To save money? Surely with money bags Lloyds Bank as sponsor
they can afford more outriders not fewer?
Following her brush
with death, Plouffe quit the race.
At least she lived to
tell the tale!
….
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