"Something has to be done and we shouldn't make it a political process" - Richard Plugge demands more be done for rider safety after tragic death of Andre Drege
Cycling
The cycling world was again rocked by the sudden death of one of its riders last week in Austria as Norwegian prospect Andre Drege, on the verge of a move to World Tour level, had his life tragically cut short following a crash on the penultimate stage of the Tour of Austria.
This has once again brought forward the topic of rider safety and the need to improve things. Arguably no one has been as outspoken in this regard, as Team Visma | Lease a Bike boss, Richard Plugge. Following another tragic occurrence, the Dutchman has once again come forward to demand more safety for those whose job it is to entertain us on their bikes.
"It's very sad," reacts the CEO of Team Visma | Lease a Bike in conversation with Het Nieuwsblad. "We don't want anyone from the cycling family to be left behind on the asphalt and die. Our condolences to his family and team. It shows again that something has to be done. Cycling is dangerous and will always be that way, but we now have to look at how we can fall safely."
"We need to make much more haste with that and we shouldn't make it a political process," continues Plugge, who previously attempted to spearhead the introduction of SafeR into the professional peloton. "There are countless ideas. Above all, we need a professional organization that intervenes in this. Not a political organization, which is what SafeR is threatening to become."
"You have to look at this as a business," Plugge concludes. "Because this is about lives and about the health of the riders. And then also about the image of the sport. There are more things to gain and achieve together if we look at this in a different way. But let us now focus on that boy, because that is the most important thing at the moment."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
Loading
Johannes told Norwegian TV2 that he got extra strength from wanting to honor the late gravel specialist André Drege. 🌹 The 60 kg 20-year-old Johannes finished in the yellow-jersey group on day 9 of his Tour debut. #TDF2024
2 Comments