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Cycling Dangers in America and Milan
By spokesman | May 17, 2009
This traffic sign, intended to warn drivers about a upcoming bike trail, was run down by a car on Bike-To-Work Day. Fortunately the collision involved just a sign and not a cyclist. I assume it was the result of bad driving and not an angry gesture by a driver.
However, even if there are no drivers on the road, cycling can still be dangerous. In fact during stage 8 of the Giro D’Italia today the riders decided that the route was too dangerous to race. The stage involved a circuit race around the streets of Milan. Due to the large number of sharp turns, cars parked on the course and railroad tracks (parallel to the direction of the riders) the riders held a strike. At one point during the stage, the riders stopped and the race leader explained to the crowd why the riders felt it was too dangerous to race. The promoters of the race decided not to count the times from today’s stage and then the race continued. A group of riders did race but the majority rode at a leisurely pace and completed the course. See details on the Velonews site.
It has been a dangerous Giro. A rider crash on a mountain decent yesterday. The finishing segments on several stages had cobblestone streets and tight sharp turns. However today’s strike was something that is unique to the sport of cycling. In the middle of the event, the riders decided not to compete. While other sports (baseball, football, hockey and basketball) have had labor strikes that cancelled games, the strike don’t occur in the middle of a game demanding a rule change for a single event. There have been other strikes before in both the Giro and Tour De France. I will discuss this topic and provide some links in a future post.
This has been an exciting Giro and there are several great stages to come. I am sure that this strike will be quickly forgotten when the race resumes after the rest day on Monday.
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Topics: Flotsam, Professional Racing |