“It’s frustrating. Nothing has changed since Gino Mäder" - Geraint Thomas criticises lack of effort in increasing rider safety

Safety within cycling is a hot topic at the moment. Geraint Thomas has seen the sport develop a lot during his near-20-year spell in the peloton. According to the Welshman however, not nearly enough is being done to keep the riders safe.  

“Traffic calming, curbs sticking out, all this kind of stuff: that certainly adds an element of danger as well. If I thought about it too much, I would be at the back, I wouldn’t be racing," the former Tour de France winner, who's been no stranger to a crash himself over the years, says in conversation with Velo. “It’s frustrating. Nothing has changed since Gino Mäder. In this sport, it’s got that danger element already, but I feel that they could do so much more to increase safety.”

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At the recent Itzulia Basque Country, the peloton was rocked by a mass crash that left Jonas Vingegaard in hospital for nearly two weeks and the likes of Steff Cras, Jay Vine and Remco Evenepoel also seriously hurt. Thomas' INEOS Grenadiers boss, Sir Jim Ratcliffe also recently demanded more from race organisers in an open letter posted to the team's website.

“In Formula 1, when Ayrton Senna had his fatal crash 30 years ago in Italy, the governing body set out to transform the safety regulations of one of the world’s most dangerous sports and significantly reduced injuries as a result,” Ratcliffe wrote. “This contrasts starkly with cycling where, until now, governing bodies have made very few changes and serious accidents are a common occurrence.”

With the one-year anniversary of Gino Mäder's tragic death following a crash at the 2023 Tour de Suisse nearing, UCI President David Lappartient recently attributed “50 percent of the crashes” to the attitude of riders themselves. “That is why we want to introduce a principle of yellow and red cards this year, just like in soccer,” Lappartient said. “So that these dangerous attitudes are better punished.”

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