The recent tragic death of Gino Mäder in a crash at the Tour de Suisse has helped prompt additional safety measures at the Tour de France, with CPA (Cyclistes Professionnels Associés) riders’ association president Adam Hansen among those leading the charge.
Hansen has been highlighting potential dangers on the course and relaying the concerns to the organisers ASO, who are in charge of selecting the Tour de France route. The result has been a notable increase in the use of pads in potential danger areas of descents, in particular the two downhill finishes of the Tour on stage 14 and stage 17.
It might be the first time in history that riders have had a direct say in measures taken for their safety. Cyclingnews spoke to the Australian about his efforts to find out how he’s accomplished so much in a short amount of time as CPA president.
Hansen previewed two of the trickiest descents in the 2023 Tour de France and posted onboard videos from the downhill finish off the Col de Joux Plane (stage 14) and Wednesday’s descent from the Col de la Loze (stage 17) along with advice for riders.
He also confirmed with the ASO that there would be extra padding in turns and appealed to riders to stay within their limits.
A few hay bales and air pads may not prevent riders from crashing altogether, but Hansen said: “These small things can help a lot. I really do believe this.”
Mäder’s crash was one of several devastating incidents in recent years. With each death or permanent disability from a fall, the UCI seems to attempt to add safety measures but so far has only provided guidelines to races. Most safety rules in place apply to riders: for example, helmet requirements were added after the death of Andre Kivilev in Paris-Nice, and more recently the UCI banned the super-tuck and discarding bidons except in specific zones.
The UCI have been more reluctant to make demands of race organisers. After unstable barriers at the finish contributed to Fabio Jakobsen’s life-threatening injuries in the 2020 Tour de Pologne, the UCI finally created standards for barriers but they were only suggestions.
Hansen wants these guidelines solidified into UCI rules.
“That’s sort of how I got everyone’s attention. When I was speaking to the riders, I would ask, ‘Did you know it’s only a guideline to have these types of barriers? It’s not a rule’? This is not right.”
He says organisers are largely receptive to improving the safety of their infrastructure but are reluctant to take steps until the…
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