‘The most dangerous thing is the riders’ – safety top of agenda between Itzulia crash and Paris-Roubaix

This week, the ongoing issue of rider safety in cycling has been brought into sharp focus with a horror crash afflicting Itzulia Basque Country just hours after a controversial peloton-slowing chicane was added to the men’s Paris-Roubaix route on Thursday.

In the same 48 hours which saw Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Jay Vine suffer serious injuries in the Basque Country, the riders in France have been having their own tussle with safety on the most dangerous cobbles of Paris-Roubaix.

The crash in Itzulia occurred on a high-speed descent when riders crashed on a corner, and the injuries were exacerbated by the fact that many of them crashed into a concrete gutter, with no padding or protection.

Read more: Full medical bulletin from the horror crash at Itzulia Basque Country

Both incidents have sparked debate about how races can be made safer, and what various stakeholders should do, but the reaction to both things shows how complex the situation is, with riders calling on organisers to intervene, yet not always supporting the interventions that they do implement.

The "chicane" debate

Meant to prevent high-speed crashes on the entrance to the treacherous Trouée d’Arenberg cobbled sector, the Paris-Roubaix ‘chicane’ – not really a chicane, more a full hairpin turn just metres before the cobbles – was added after calls from the CPA to make the moment where the peloton hits the cobbles safer and slower, rather than a 60kph fight for the sector.

However, the change has received a mixed reaction, with Mathieu van der Poel saying “Is this a joke?” in response to the move, whilst others have been more positive.

“I think it's nice that they took the initiative to do something,” was Kasper Asgreen’s take. “The last couple of years the entry to the Arenberg has become faster and faster and every year we've seen a crash in the first 200 metres, so clearly something had to be done. If it's the perfect solution, I don't know, but at least it's a step to do something.”

Van der Poel, meanwhile, was allowed to expand upon his comments and reinforced that he did not think the current situation was the best solution.

“First of all it's good that they try something different, but in my opinion, the chicane is not the way to go,” he said. “Doing it the week before is also maybe not the best option. For sure it's one of the most dangerous sections we do in the entire year, and I am also not really feeling comfortable there in the bunch, so it's good that they try and think about something. But just changing to change something is not always the way to go.”

He said that he had discussed other options with CPA president Adam Hansen, who has been instrumental in the change.

“Now the chicane, in my opinion, is going to be even more dangerous, because if you go into Arenberg in 20th position it's quite okay, you're in the race, but if you enter the chicane in 20th position, I think everybody after position five or ten is just standing still and you'll lose half a minute maybe already. I don't think it's the way to go, but if the majority of cyclists and DSs think it's better then I'll join.”

Read more: Adam Hansen defends Paris-Roubaix Arenberg chicane amid Mathieu van der Poel's public criticism

Other riders stayed more even-handed, with Mads Pedersen criticising how the decision was taken, but hesitating to take a stance as he spoke to the media ahead of Sunday.

“To be honest I want to stay quite neutral on this,” the Dane said. “Some of this is above my pay grade and I don’t think that we have to discuss this with you guys. It’s something that we have to discuss with the riders, the organisers and so on. So I don’t want to throw stones when I don’t have a clear solution. It’s better to be neutral.”

Some riders are definitely in favour of the move, though, particularly those who have seen firsthand how bad the entrance to the Arenberg can be.

“​​I'm not against it to be honest,” Luke Durbridge told GCN. “Mitch Docker is one of my best mates and I was there the year he faceplanted and took his face off in the Arenberg and no one wants that to happen.

"The pace that you come in is quite scary and it really is something that I don't enjoy, so the slower we go into Arenberg the better. For me, we could turn around and go the other way and go uphill, I wouldn't care. There's probably going to be a crash in the chicane, but at least you're not going to crash into gnarly cobbles.”

‘The most dangerous thing is the riders themselves’

Whilst riders have been keen to speak their mind about the Roubaix chicane, the worrying crash in Spain has highlighted just why races do need to make these interventions in the name of rider safety, and in the context it can be difficult to hear riders criticising safety measures. Both Van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen took time to share their sympathies for the riders affected.

However, many riders have also pointed out that a certain level of risk is not influenced by course design or terrain, but rather by the peloton itself, and is therefore very difficult to mitigate against.

“The most dangerous thing about cycling is the riders themselves,” Van der Poel said. “We take the risks, and that's the main problem – everybody wants to be in front at the same time and that's just not possible. For sure you can do a lot of things to make it better, but it will never be completely safe in my opinion, which is a shame.”

There is a degree of acceptance among some riders that cycling – especially the Classics and cobbled terrain – is dangerous, and that can’t be changed.

“I don't think you're going to avoid crashes in Roubaix. If we're really looking at it, just don't do Roubaix then. If we're all going 'let's make Roubaix real safe' it's like, well, probably don't do it then if you really want to make it that safe,” Durbridge said.

“There are dangerous run-ins, but we make them dangerous because of how crucial they are in the race, and that's been the case for the last 30 years. The Classics aren't that safe, but there's not really much you can do. I think it's really good that they're having initiatives to try and make the peloton go a little bit slower, which is great, but you're never going to make it a Formula 1 race track. It's a balance.”

How well the chicane works or doesn’t work remains to be seen, and Thursday’s crash is evidence that a total absence of safety measures is not the answer, but all of this must be mixed with the inevitable risk in the sport, and the need to not overly soften the tough spring Classics.