"The yellow and red card system is here and the cycling world is simply ready for it" - Christian Prudhomme calls for introduction of yellow and red cards system in cycling
Cycling
The men's team presentation of Paris-Roubaix took place on Saturday afternoon in Compiègne, tomorrow's starting point. Over this week the infamous chicane in front of the Arrenberg was heavily discussed as well as the need for more safety in the races in general.
On Friday, Oliver Naesen called on the international cycling association UCI to introduce a system with yellow and red cards. In this way, "the men who cross the line could be punished," the Belgian said.
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme told Het Nieuwsblad the following about the need for more safety: "The only positive thing that came out of the heavy fall in the Itzulia Basque Country is looking for the real causes."
According to Prudhomme, it is not only the speed, but also the clothing of the riders. "If you look at the falls of Wout van Aert, Jonas Vingegaard and Steff Cras, you see a completely exposed back of those riders. The jersey is simply not capable of protecting a rider's body. Many things in cycling have already evolved in a positive way, but this can clearly be improved."
The Frenchman is clear about the system with yellow and red cards. "We have already thought about it very carefully and you have to keep thinking about how you can better protect the riders. In general the speed of the riders is much too high. New talents, who are just entering cycling, are getting younger and younger, but they lack the years of experience in the peloton and the habit of respecting the rules. The yellow and red card system is here and the cycling world is simply ready for it. It is clear to me that that heavy fall has only accelerated the introduction."
He has some good points but loses a lot of credibility with other things. If it took the Basque Tour for him to notice there was a growing problem… If he only now realises speeds have increased? Mathieu has been setting record speeds in races all season and seems to continue today, even above record speeds Tadej set last year. T-A had record speed stages. At some point, these records are no longer down to marginal improvements or optimal conditions (they weren’t always) but to the way the races are being raced. Vertebra and necks are relatively easy to protect, ribs a bit less so, collarbones, legs and hands will be difficult but not impossible. If there is the will, some tech genius will design optimal bespoke products for riders.
Well, this is stupid. The whining about fabrics, since when were the fabrics supposed to "protect" the rider? Whining about speed. It's a race! Whining about the riders and the fall, Evenepoel hit a bump in a corner, his bike jumped, hit another rider, and the crash happened. That's not his fault! The UCI is a criminally stupid organization that keeps people from using new, improved machines as tech improves. Had they not been around, I'm convinced we'd see full fairing recumbents, 99% sealed away from the elements, mass produced and cheap. How many more people would choose to ride then?
Probably not many. Clive Sinclair hardly sold any C5s, all those covered motorbikes and scooters never made a breakthrough either. And a recumbant between a line of nervous SUVs, rather you than me :-) The Dutch (Chinese and many others) have zero problem riding shitty antiquated steel through pouring rain, others use weather as an excuse because they don’t WANT to ride at all, we’ve stopped our kids from riding to school since it’s become too dangerous but we never say why it is that way. Cars weren’t safer before, drivers were but now for many cars are more a symbol and the more child unfriendly the outer design, the better, heck, most parents buy them?!? The UCI doesn’t stop ANYONE from commercialising anything remotely relatable to a bike, design and tastes do and in the days when the UCI was much more tolerant with experimentation, the general public showed ZERO interest to adopt it in practice. Apples & pears
The UCI will not enforce it fairly. Like everything they do it will focus the penalty on certain teams and riders while 'not seeing incidents that involve others'. Just look at the example of not riding on pavements to see how they do/do not enforce the punishments.
Like a yellow card for a sticky bottle instead of pulling them out of the race? :-)
Hope you get banned for commenting😑. Stop harrassing UAE ffs!
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- Also, note how fast a counter article appeared, either naturally or as part of a comm. strategyMistermaumau17-03-2025
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