Matteo Trentin: "When athletes in any sport tell you something is not safe, then everyone has to listen to them"

Matteo Trentin is one of the most experienced riders in the peloton and also one of the most vocal when it comes to rider safety. In a recent interview, he has discussed his current opinion on a few things that could potentially change in order to improve it.

One such proposal is gaining speed, as the Italian (such as the likes of Christian Prudhomme and Chris Froome) also defends limitation on the bigger gears: "Gear restrictions can be part of the solution, together with bigger changes. We can't take crashing for granted. We have to have that mindset and change for the better, as other sports have don," Trentin said in words to Cyclingnews. The purpose is to prevent riders from reaching very high speeds in the descents as much as possible, as it can seriously increase the risk in case of falls - but also increase it's likelihood.

"We need to understand that cycling has changed. The speeds are higher but that's not actually the main problem. The general level of intensity and competitiveness has increased too. Where we once had 15 riders going into a corner, now we have 50 riders going for it," he adds, although this is something that is logical and it's unlikely that it can be prevented. "In other key moments of big races, riders aren't dropped or lined out like they once were. That only creates more problems and needs more attention."

It's the natural evolution of a sport where every detail matters, and nowadays teams, regardless of their quality, simply don't voluntarily allow the stronger teams to be at the front of the race all day long. Into the start of climbs (mainly in the classics), cobbled sectors, technical descents or other features, nowadays most teams make functional plans of entering at the front. The increase of riders forces all teams to pace harder in order to stay at the front, and some are also willing to take big risks to ensure this.

"I can remember when we were always on one side and the organizers were on the other side. The new SafeR project has brought us together. The UCI can no longer put their head in the sand every time something happens. They've realized they need to act like any good governing body, find solutions to problems and bring everyone together," Trentin says directly.

The 35-year old does not hide that he is very concerned with the dangerous nature of pro cycling, specially as a classics specialists where you can have dozens of such moments in a single day.

"Athletes always want to perform. We work our asses off 365 days a year to perform. If I don't want to race, it's not because I'm soft or that I'm looking for a confrontation, it's because it's not safe and so not possible. When athletes in any sport tell you something is not safe, then everyone has to listen to them."

However he does point out that some changes are effective, and he gives the very obvious example of the Trouée d'Arenberg at Paris-Roubaix, wich had an artificial chicane inserted before it's start in order to slow down riders entering it. "The way they changed the entrance to Forest of Arenberg in Paris-Roubaix after listening to the riders was an example of that. There have been so many crashes there but now, thanks to the chicane, that danger has been reduced."