"A person doesn't watch a race to see youngsters suffer horribly" - Michel Wuyts calls for change after Itzulia Basque Country crash

The scenes of riders laying strewn across the floor following the mass crash on stage 4 of the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country are images that will live long in the memory of all who witnessed them.

Belgian cycling expert, Michel Wuyts was one of those watching on and was horrified by what he saw. "You just have to be the mother of a young rider. Or girlfriend. Or nephew. Or the otherwise tough father, then you averted your gaze yesterday afternoon. After the horror of what you saw," Wuyts writes for HLN. "Riders riding at breakneck speed for as yet inexplicable reasons straight ahead, sliding into the unprotected concrete ditch or jumping straight ahead, sliding, tumbling and chipping bark off trees. Into a desolate forest, where they then squirmed in pain, remained motionless or struggled to straighten up and shuffled along supported by a helpful arm."

"Perhaps you turned off the screen. And decided not to watch any more racing for a month," Wuyts continues ruefully. "I would completely understand that. A person doesn't watch a race to see youngsters waste away. To watch them suffer horribly."

The post-crash confusion of whether or not the stage would continue also left the Belgian unimpressed. "I respond loudly: 'Can't. Stop this misery. Stop the ride. Stop the Itzulia Basque Country!'" he recalls. "Ambulances keep waiting agonisingly long. There are too few of them to carry away all the fallen riders. Hospitals are contacted. They are asked if they can admit all the victims. No, this is not a war zone, this is racing."

"The peloton no longer wants to move forward. It does get moving, but rides neutralised. After brutal neutralisation of a series of colleagues, that is the only conceivable reaction," he concludes. "What follows is no laughing matter. Put the racing on hold for a month. Convene a States General, with representatives of all parties. Bring together riders, team managers, team directors, organisers, doctors, UCI bosses and safety specialists and work out a plan. A multi-point plan, thoughtful, innovative, far-reaching. Right down to impact-absorbing vests. What Formula 1 was able to do, cycling must also be able to do. The time is urgent. The time is now."