"I'm glad I'm not racing anymore, and that I made it out alive": Former world champion horrified by Milano-Sanremo crash

The second edition of the reborn Milano-Sanremo Women was full of stories. While Lotte Kopecky stole the spotlight with an epic victory in Sanremo, clearly showing that she's back to her former level after a lesser season, the mass crash on the descent from Cipressa sparked even greater emotions among riders and cycling fans alike.

The race leader at that moment - Kasia Niewiadoma - who had just attacked over the top of Cipressa went all out in the technical descent, but misjudged one of the corners and crashed hard into the guard rails. However the most dangerous part was that the place where she crashed was not visible to oncoming riders until they had entered the curve, causing a mass pile-up which saw fellow race favourites, including Kim Le Court, hit the deck (and Niewiadoma). Two riders were even sent flying over the guard rails and Debora Silvestri suffered serious injuries.

The 33-year-old Grace Brown had retired from professional peloton at the end of 2024 season, which means she never got to race La Primavera.

In a podcast for SBS Sports, the Australian analyzes why such incidents continue to occur: "It feels like the more we concentrate on safety in races, the worse crashes seem to get. We've seen some pretty bad ones so far this season, but that pile-up on the descent of the Cipressa during the women's Milano-Sanremo made me audibly yelp."

But seeing the pile up on Cipressa descent, it doesn't give the former time trial world and olympic champion a sudden urge to go and return to racing just for Sanremo. Quite the contrary.

"Honestly, the first thing that goes through my mind when I see footage like this is 'I'm so glad I'm not racing anymore, and that I made it out alive.'"

Looking for a cause, Brown ultimately agrees that it's been above all a rider mistake from Niewiadoma. Although anyone could've crashed in that corner. "Kasia was leading down the descent of Cipressa when she took a bit too much risk and lost control of her bike. Because of a blind corner, countless riders behind her had no time to brake and nowhere to go."

With a clear notion among cycling stakeholders to improve on safety, the sport continues to grow more and more hectic - and injury reports caused by in-race crashes continue to pile up. Brown wonders how is that possible...

"As part of the SafeR initiative, the UCI has been reviewing injury data since 2014, showing almost a 400% increase in rider injuries at a professional level in 12 years."

"So why are crashes getting worse? I think it the answer has less to do with the rules and more to do with what's at stake. There's more money in the sport now; in prize money and contracts, but I think the biggest shift is visibility. Racing has never been more watched and riders know it. But if the root cause is partly psychological - riders performing for cameras, chasing contracts, justifying the risk because the reward has never felt bigger - then no rulebook is going to fix it on its own," she points out.

"The sport needs to be honest about what it's asking of riders, and riders need to be honest with themselves about why they take the risks they do."

Perhaps, it's sometimes better to lean back for a moment and gain a different perspective to see the risks riders are taking. "That's something I always struggled to grapple with during my career, and it took stepping away from the sport to see it more clearly," she concludes.