This is nothing new. Look what happened to Merckx. It's part of the sport. Most of the riders say they wouldn't have it any other way (even you could secure a 120 mile parcours.

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What a drag it is getting old. -- Stones

>>Or is this something that really needs to be fixed?<<

No.

Kashechkin was an accident. Lance admitted last year he shouldn't have been so close to the side of the road.

The Discovery car rammed the CSC car in a stage. Accidents happen.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

he wasn't punched...

There should have been barriers on the last 2K of the Pla D'Adet. That was insane.

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"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

It's a dangerous business and has been for a long time. A few years ago a child was killed by one of the cars in the publicity caravan. There have been a number of rider/spectator incidents over the years as well, I also recall a stage where an idiot with a camera didn't step out of the way quickly enough and caused the lead rider to crash, luckily he got up and still went on to win the stage. Also recall an overly eager gendarme causing a crash...

"The Discovery car rammed the CSC car in a stage."

You think that was an accident? ;-)

first case was Giuseppe Guerini at Telekom winning the Alpe d'Huez (the guy was a cop off duty!)...

second case was Laurent Jalabert in Armentieres...it was a benediction in disguise though...Jaja stopped being a sprinter and went on to become a very complete rider.

Heck, I think that it IS a lot better... In the old days you might just turn up 'missing' in one of the mountain stages if you were on the wrong team.

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Don't hold back

like this...

Well, as the second poster in this thread correctly poinbts out, it actually isn't only a matter of time. Four years ago a 10 year old boy was killed by a team car when he was hit running across the road.

As with soccer (football) there are an attendant set of risks/problems that seem inseperable from the event. You could argue that the entire mountain climb sections of the Tour need to be cordoned off with barriers. That is nearly as impractical as it is unappealing.

Good AND bad, part of the appeal of the Tour is the Roman Gladiator element present on the climbs, where the race walks the thin line between mayhem and sensation, sport and combat. Sometimes it crosses the line.

Making the Tour into a sterile, safe, pastueruized affair robs some of the allure. Some athletes and spectators pay for that allure with their lives.

It is a damn sight better than dudes in an arena duking it out with Lions and Tigers to the death, and like all aspects of human endeavor, a fair margin from perfect also.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

   

I think releasing a couple of lions and tigers in the middle of the mayhem, especially in the Basque region, would definitely up the viewership, especially in the USA. However, I would settle for letting a herd of bulls charge up the road in front of the riders.

Given the number of people, miles covered, number of nationalities involved, and amount of alcohol consumed in the areas it passes the Tour incident rate is already vanishingly low. No reason to do anything.

Heck Armstrong's friendship with W - leader of team america world police and world's largest vendor of collateral damage - hasn't caused any serious incidents so it's hard to imagine what would.

Yup alcohol is the problem.

They should send riot police ahead to do breathelizer tests and arrest all the drunkards and throw them into makeshift prison busses.

Last year's TdF some drunkard fell off a cliff and they found his body a couple of days later during the clean up. Normally someone dies from an accident, I would feel badly for that person ...