Jonas Vingegaard blames UCI, organizers but also riders for safety problems: "Sometimes we fight for position for a bend that goes nowhere"
Cycling
Safety in cycling is becoming more and more of a problem. Whilst measures are being taken to increase it, the amount of crashes has been drastically increasing and in 2025 it is hard to go by a single race that doesn't feature several falls. The blame can't be shifted to any single person or organization, but rather it's everyone's responsibility, according to Jonas Vingegaard.
The Dane himself was at the risk of losing his life last year in the Basque Country, suffering multiple and serious injuries after crashing at high speed against a rock. It was the single worst crash of the year when it came to the riders it affected, leading to Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic's withdrawal from the race as well. "To be honest, if my daughter or son asks that question – 'daddy, can we race?' – the answer is ‘no’. The way the sport is now… It’s just too dangerous," Vingegaard told Het Nieuwsblad.
The Dane began his season at the Volta ao Algarve and although he managed to avoid crashes, he noticed right away just how much tension there is in the modern peloton. “We riders also fight and race at times when it is not really necessary. That was also noticeable in the Algarve: sometimes we fight for position for a bend that goes nowhere. Sometimes there is too little respect."
But then in other occasions, it's not fully the riders' fault either. In the opening stage of the race, the peloton steered off course and sprinted on a literal open road - which miraculously saw no incidents. However the mere possibility of this happening is a massive mistake, shared between all parties, but with a clear error on the part of the organizers that didn't make the race route clear enough.
"Something like this shouldn't happen in cycling, I think the organisers should take this seriously and the UCI as well," the Dane says. "It wasn't really clear where we had to go. In my opinion, in a sprint we have to have it clear where we have to go and where we should not go."
Often, most of the criticism falls on the UCI for failing to implement the necessary changes in due time, or not at all. It creates a complex situation where there is never an exact answer to be had. "In general, I would say that everyone in cycling needs to realize the scale of the safety problem. That is still not the case enough. And everyone has a responsibility: the riders themselves, the organisers and the UCI," he concluded.
Read also
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- This Giro is very strange in it's circular route. If you were to have stage starting in Trieste and ending atop Monte Zoncolan (end stage 20) you'd get a stage only 145 km long
Rafionain-Glas13-11-2026 - When Thomas gets the bullet from INEOS he can get a job as a comedian.
Senna196013-11-2026 - Right on. The more the merrier.Occam13-11-2026
- Remember, Del Toro struggled in this Tour. He is great, no doubt about that, but comparing him to a four time gt winner is absurd at this point. He has the potential. We'll have to see how he develops.awp13-11-2026
- what did Jonas gift and to whom? just curious, haven’t heard about this.mij13-11-2026
- You don't gift grand tours as it has come to light that Jonas has come to regret doing such.
Front24213-11-2026 - Exactly you said it urslf - he outclimbed del toro by 19 sec. 19SEC and you say hes alot better than del toro still lol? And can also do the same where del toro did that to jonas even and del toro dauphine numbers better than jonas all year so why this hard whats the issue its super easy stuff - del toro wasnt that before. Then factor in both their trajectory the last years and the answer is self explonatory like i said. Nothing against jonas like many do but the typing is no the wall and so stupidly easy as its so self explanatory now. Have a good daymiguel13-11-2026
- Dirty ex doperFront24213-11-2026
- As far as points go they need to take a page or ten out of the Astana playbook!Lozza13-11-2026
- Ah, seems he’s been busy elsewhere! 😆Lozza13-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment