Terrible news 
Cycling thread
- Thread starter Bruce Wayne
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Disgruntledgoat
Player Valuation: £50m
Lambrechts was supposed to be the next great sprinter for Belgian cycling. Sad loss, so young and so much untapped potential.
tommye
Player Valuation: £120m
RIP Bjorg.Official now
Bjorg Lambrecht: Belgian cyclist dies following crash during the Tour de Pologne
Belgian cyclist Bjorg Lambrecht dies aged 22 following a crash during stage three of the Tour de Pologne.www.bbc.co.uk
Terrible news. So sad
Seems the poor sod had a standard racing accident but fell into a ditch with a bunch of concrete pipes and went into cardiac arrest straight away. I've never organised a race so no idea if this is harsh, but given the likelihood of riders falling off, it seems crazy to have concrete pipes anywhere in the vicinity to me.
Disgruntledgoat
Player Valuation: £50m
Sounds like it was a drainage ditch between a road and a field. Those things have small bridges (earth on top of concrete pipes) to allow access to the fields and it sounds like he's fallen at exactly the wrong place, into the ditch and hit the pipe at full speed. It's a freak accident, but one I've often given thought to fighting for position in the gutter...
I mean it's rotten luck for the lad, but if these things can't be removed, maybe races should have marshals there to flag their presence to allow the peleton to get through safely.
spectateur
Player Valuation: £30m
I don't think they have a choice as to where they are forced into the gutter Bruce.
Disgruntledgoat
Player Valuation: £50m
That's the issue, you can do that in the Tour de France but I'm not sure the Tour of Poland has the resources. In fact, in the Tour you probably don't need to as spectators will be standing on them, marking them clearly.
if I look at how they marshal a race in Belgium (same for amateurs as for pros), there is a rolling road closure and guys with signs and the legal power to stop traffic on every junction leading onto the course. You'll then have guys on motorbikes stopping at hazards as they see them to flag them. The problem with flagging stuff like that is that, if I think to my local circuit, there's a stretch with about ten of them in 2 kilometers. Also, professional bike riders being professional bike riders, they're going to fight for position whether stuff is flagged or not.
I'm not disagreeing with you, but I can't think of a practical solution. However, shrugging ones shoulders and saying you can't do anything is a cop out when a 22 year old died at work.
They have marshals flagging the presence of dangerous road furniture so surely if there is dangerous piping on the route then that could be flagged and the riders could be less aggressive in their positioning?
Aye, it's a tough one, and obviously the Tour of Poland is very much a 2nd tier race with the resources to match, so fully appreciate that it will be difficult. Also well aware of the phenomenon of over-reacting to what are frankly freak events. Does kinda make you think Chris Froome was a lucky boy though.
Disgruntledgoat
Player Valuation: £50m
Froome was deffo lucky. His injuries were quite similar to Beloki after his crash in 2003, with the added complication of hitting a wall. I'll be amazed if he can get back to his previous level. Stig Broeckx was the other guy from Lotto who had a bad one, he was in a coma for a couple of months after getting hit by a motorbike in the Baloise Tour. That's an accident you can do something about.
The third one wasn't Lotto, it was Michael Goolaerts from Wanty Group Goubert who suffered a cardiac arrest whilst riding in the break at Paris Roubaix and sadly died.
In slightly more positive news. Chapeau.
www.bbc.co.uk
Transcontinental Race: Germany's Fiona Kolbinger becomes first female winner of endurance race
Germany's Fiona Kolbinger beats more than 200 men to become the first woman to win the Transcontinental Race, riding more than 2,485 miles across Europe.
www.bbc.co.uk
In slightly more positive news. Chapeau.
Transcontinental Race: Germany's Fiona Kolbinger becomes first female winner of endurance race
Germany's Fiona Kolbinger beats more than 200 men to become the first woman to win the Transcontinental Race, riding more than 2,485 miles across Europe.
Incidentally, that event goes over the Timmelsjoch pass, which I can heartily recommend. It doesn't have pro pedigree, as it's only been included in the Giro once, in the infamous edition where Andy Hampsten went over the Gavia in the snow. The Timmelsjoch was one of the following climbs, and the riders went on strike in one of the tunnels when it started sleeting, and the race has never been back.
It's in a cracking area though, as you've got the Stelvio and val Martello the other side of Merano, and the Timmelsjoch and the Jaufenpass/passo Giovo starting from San Leonardo. All are around 20km long and cracking climbs, but the Timmelsjoch has a real wildness about it, especially near the top. When we rode it we got on the wheel of a grizzled old bloke who must have been 60. Leathery skin and looked like he was born to ride. We managed to hang on for about 5km before he killed us. Grovelled on for a few more km and rode past a cafe and there was the old sod sat having an espresso giving us a wry grin lol
Snow's kind of a constant threat in the area because of the height, and of course val Martello was famous during the edition where the race was neutralised on the descent of the Stelvio because of the snow. It has some sexy switchbacks near the top but there's nowhere to go when you get there, just a straight up and back down job.
You could even check out the Reschenpass into Austria and see the quite bizarre lake there, where the local town was flooded, and all you can see now is the church tower peaking out of the lake.
Incidentally, the mountains in the background there are the Ortler alps, so the Stelvio passes right over them. Incredible view of that whole range on your left as you climb up.
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Disgruntledgoat
Player Valuation: £50m
Incidentally, that event goes over the Timmelsjoch pass, which I can heartily recommend. It doesn't have pro pedigree, as it's only been included in the Giro once, in the infamous edition where Andy Hampsten went over the Gavia in the snow. The Timmelsjoch was one of the following climbs, and the riders went on strike in one of the tunnels when it started sleeting, and the race has never been back.
It's in a cracking area though, as you've got the Stelvio and val Martello the other side of Merano, and the Timmelsjoch and the Jaufenpass/passo Giovo starting from San Leonardo. All are around 20km long and cracking climbs, but the Timmelsjoch has a real wildness about it, especially near the top. When we rode it we got on the wheel of a grizzled old bloke who must have been 60. Leathery skin and looked like he was born to ride. We managed to hang on for about 5km before he killed us. Grovelled on for a few more km and rode past a cafe and there was the old sod sat having an espresso giving us a wry grin lol
That looks great.
TCR you get to choose your own route. There are just certain checkpoints and sections you have to hit along the way. It's a monster of an event, I've applied a few times and not got in, but I really like the style of racing whereby the clock starts when you start and stops when you finish, no stages ride as much as you can and no outside assistance. All you can use is what you can carry and buy along the way.
Aye, takes a special kind of rider to do those ultra-endurance events. I was waiting for my mate at the top of the Stelvio and an old boy was telling me about all the times he'd done the Race Across the Alps, which is only 520km but covers 12 mountains and you do it in around 32 hours or something. Brutal stuff. It's a shame that the Stelvio has been spoiled by motorcyclists, especially on weekends. They make a right din.
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