"The cycling industry should have taken action at a much earlier stage" - Jan Bakelants calls for action to prevent future tragic accidents in cycling

The debate among safety conditions in pro cycling is an everlasting one, one in which some argue the work is being done, whilst others believe otherwise. The possibility of a reduction or ban of downhill finishes is also possibly on the table after Gino Mäder's tragic accident.

“There is a lot to argue against that. Because what should we do with Milan-San Remo, for example?” Jan Bakelants told Sporza regarding the possible ban of downhill finales. “You can ask this question if the race wasn't difficult enough along the way, but now the descent was after a very tough stage, in which the peloton had completely split up and riders trickled in one by one . You cannot accuse the organization of negligence.”

Whilst the finish took place in a very fast descent, a few riders argued it was not particularly technical and had good road surface. Much would then have to be thought of the descents that are far from the finish, where unfortunately riders face close to the same odds of experiencing a bad fall.

“In addition, riders are paid to take risks. That is inherent to the sport. Less serious injuries such as a broken collarbone are too often dismissed with the idea: Well, after an operation, the rider will be fit again within six weeks. While people need to think much more about prevention.”

Unfortunately, there is no clear answer yet on what actions should or can be taken after the passing of the Bahrain - Victorious rider, the circumstances of the crash are also not clear. “The debate about safety in cycling far too often stops at the quip that there is not much you can do about it. The little that one can do, one should do," former pro Serge Pauwels argued.

"A change of mentality is necessary, but also difficult. Nowadays the riders do everything to gain even one watt. Also look at the example of disc brakes. They give more braking control and are therefore safer in principle, but as a result, riders also start braking later, which in turn entails more risk.”

“With a strong cycling federation, things could have been pushed in the right direction much earlier, but I, along with many others, note that that strong federation is not there, and never has been. Something must always happen first before measures are taken.”

The UCI will ultimately carry the responsibility to organize some type of change within cycling so as to act on this issue, but it is expected that whatever debate comes to light it will heavily rely on the requests and needs of the riders and race organizers themselves. “The cycling industry should have taken action at a much earlier stage. Bring the stakeholders together and see how you can maximize the security of cycling. That is a shared responsibility of the federations, the organizations and the teams," Bakelants concluded.