how about just making it mandtory to stop and put on body armour at the top of the climb...

or make them ride fixed...

or just be a bit more zelous on calling the ride due to rain, or it probabaly wouldn't be a hard job to slow the bunch in adverse weather conditions, a " yellow flag" situation.

or tyre rule for days that might be wet,

as you can tell IMO a lot of the issues are when it is wet....

Cycling isn't just about going up hills. It's about skills and descending is a skill.

If then riders don't like it ride slower. Fuglsang got dropped a little bit as he didn't go down the hill as quickly, then got back on their wheels.

Adding to all this, perhaps race organizers can temporarily relocate the trees to make conditions even safer...lol.. but I do think the yellow flag sounds like the best alternative and the descent would be more about spectators being able to watch the riders. While I think that would take a lot of the beauty away and fun, I think with as many crashes this year things have to be changed.

This! Roads are not inherently dangerous. It's how we use them that makes them dangerous. Racing by it's nature pushes competitors to push boundaries. It's up to the competitors to decide how close to the edge they go.

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Trust me I’m a doctor!
Well, I have a PhD :-)

well not entirely sure I can agree with what you are saying. In the motorcycle racing world, moto GP bikes were nutered when they did not allow riders to use 1000cc engines. They can only use 800cc motors to make things safer. if left to the rider to make the decision on how much to push envelope, that is just a recipi for disaster

They can use their brakes to make things safer and choose to lose time to guys that can actually ride downhill. Why should they cater to someone that can only ride fast uphill? Froome wasn't the best descender a couple years ago......he has obviously learned. Maybe they should make the TDF 21 stages of flat time trials without any corners just in case it rains?????

LOL relocating the trees is a good one!

good points about rider skills which I agree with, hence just aiming the safety at when there is bad conditions.

Ban triathletes from doing them.

(Just kidding, I love Richie Porte and this race is boring without him.)

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'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'

Yes moving trees to another location would be great start...lol....the spectators should earn their keeps by making the first dig but think yellow flag would make things safer.

reminds me of Simon Lessing (for those who don't know who he is, a former phenomenal tri star). part of his training regimen was climbing the Alps with pro cyclists. he said the hardest part is not keeping up with them in the climbs. but in the descents. those guys are outright coocoo. you got to respect that.

I bet they already do, but maybe mandatory and more-in-depth rider's meeting pre-stage start. Go in detail over the route. Just like F1 or other elite auto racing series.

Are you going to stop racing Le Mans or Isle of Man TT because some guys go balls out and die? No. Grieve the fallen and respect their efforts by moving on and readdressing just some practical measures.

MAYBE PUTTING UP A "SLOW DOWN" SIGN IN ALL CAPS WOULD DO THE TRICK !

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"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "

I could understand if the roads were slick with oil, or metal plates to the point where even someone who wanted to be cautious couldn't control their bike and crashed. Or if the descents were so steep, that everyone was frying their brakes which caused mechanical failures.

I agree with others that descending is a skill, and taking chances with handling is an integral part of bike racing. If we want to eliminate those risks completely for the sake of safety, then we should just set up an arena full of smart trainers and have the entire "peloton" ride each stage virtually.

We can even set up some treadmills next to the riders so fans can run next to them in their silly outfits.

i edited the title, replacing caps with lower case except for where they're needed. and, i got rid of the double spacing between paragraphs in your first post.

hint. hint. ;-)

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Except that new lap records were set in the first year of 800s, and IIRC, every 1,000cc record was broken the next year. On what most riders felt was an inherently more dangerous machine.

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Brian

Gonna buy a fast car, put on my lead boots, take a long, long drive
I may end up spending all my money, but I'll still be alive

...applause ....

Wouldn't you say Porte being held as the favorite was premature? Before his crash he was 2 minutes behind the yellow jersey and I Just thought it was arrogant of him to think he could win it all.

you know nothing...

please educate yourself before spreading utter nonsense... fact check

Wouldn't you say Porte being held as the favorite was premature? Before his crash he was 2 minutes behind the yellow jersey and I Just thought it was arrogant of him to think he could win it all.


you know nothing...


So how far behind was Porte before the crash?

39s

Solved problem people!

The tour lost 13 riders on Stage 9 if I have the numbers right.

In my opinion when it rained the morning of the stage, I think they could have changed the finish to the top of the climb, and allowed riders to descend without it being a race. The issue with the climb as I understand it, there was no place to have the big finish line the Tour typically does at the top of the hill.

Having 30K after the climb makes the climb less important as riders can catch back up and those who risk more and descent bravely have opportunity to gain time, but there is a risk. The reward to being the best climber is gone on a few stages.

It used to be competitive in GC you had to time trial well and climb as one of the best in the peleton now you need to be able to descend well too.

In the 15 years or so I've been watching the tour seems the organizers, try to do a few things, make it more exciting, stack the route against certain successful rider who continually win and seems to me they design more stages to be more exciting and in turn is more dangerous to the riders with roads choice, road furniture, tight turns close to sprint finishes. This year it seems there are less police standing where traffic furniture is and holding a flag warning riders but instead have spray painted pink on the dangerous spots.

I think the ASO has a tight fist on all things about the Tour. Maybe a committee of riders and team management have a say in safety of the course. TT in Dusseldorf with no hay bales? Bob Roll was talking about a Crit in GA that they use technology from auto racing with some type of air bag on the barriers to protect riders. The tour can't have top notch safety and a crit in GA can? A rider union might help with safety as well but no real traction in that idea.

That is still quite a bit and why it's never. A good idea to allow anyone to boast on your behalf.if he was favored he should have been leading not trailing. He obviously wasn't taking enough ped to keep up and/or he was over rated

Millennials. Sigh....

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