Unbelievable crash in Tour de France today

[rainmaker]

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I was watching Tour de France today, and this crash is crazy. Stupid TV-car. (Think this is from Dutch TV or something?)

 

[jenn1381]

omg that's awful!!!! The driver of that car should be charged.

 

[ericlee]

you were watching the tour de france?

 

[rainmaker]

omg that's awful!!!! The driver of that car should be charged.

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Yes, Awful. And to make it worse, the guy on the left is falling straight into a barbed wire fence.

(picture from VG, Norwegian newspaper)

 

[rainmaker]

you were watching the tour de france?

Yeah! Tour de France is quite popular here in Norway

 

[ericlee]

hey how come that guys not wearing any pants?

 

[rainmaker]

hey how come that guys not wearing any pants?

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This will probably answer your question (photo from Reuters) :






And by the way, newspapers are reporting that the driver of the car is now "banned for life" from Tour de France

 

[Pulver]

Watched it live on the tv today, one of the worst cycling crashes I have ever seen. He was incredible lucky to not get more injured imo. When I saw it the first time I thought he was impaled by the pole.

 

[daveboz]

holy smoke!

 

[jod5413]

Barb wire is a nasty fence, it can really tear a body up, as the picture shows. I have talked about getting it banned since the 70's. Cows have a tough hide but it still scratches them. Horses can be crippled by an accident with a barb wire fence.

And I think that driver should be sanctioned somehow. I hope he heals quickly, he is in store for major league pain.

 

[chayton]

ow ow OW

Well if he's getting up and walking that's something. I was concerned about the guy who wiped out on the road, I thought that *yellow car was going to drive right over him.

EDIT: *the car with the yellow roof.

 

[luarod]

woah! TV-cars are really dangerous. The guy was really lucky...

 

[Repro]

I think the driver should be charged with attempted murder. Now this happend TWICE over the last few days. Maybe people are right and the maffia is indeed involved here.

BTW I stopped watching the Tour 10 years ago because those guys are all on dope anyway.

 

[luarod]

BTW I stopped watching the Tour 10 years ago because those guys are all on dope anyway.

Sad but true...

 

[same_old]

As the above poster said- Tour De France is crap nowdays.

Full of doping scandals and corruption.

Personally that video looks like the car did that on purpose so the other rider could get ahead. it actually happens in this sport.

 

[pevangel]

omg that gave me pains, that poor guy, it looked like that car deliberately turned into him, that is horrible.

pevangel

 

[Mousey]

We always watch it. And were watching the carnage this morning. Absolutely horrifying.

That young man that was knocked into the barbed wire fence... I've forgotten his name... I believe he finished the race? He's going to be in major pain for a few days. As are others who are scratched and bruised and battered.

In the earlier crash (where riders went into the ditch), one of those poor boys is out of the tour with a broken thigh bone or hip bone.

 

[rainmaker]

We always watch it. And were watching the carnage this morning. Absolutely horrifying.

That young man that was knocked into the barbed wire fence... I've forgotten his name... I believe he finished the race? He's going to be in major pain for a few days. As are others who are scratched and bruised and battered.

In the earlier crash (where riders went into the ditch), one of those poor boys is out of the tour with a broken thigh bone or hip bone.

Yes, he finished the race and his name is Johnny Hoogerland

 

[Mousey]

Yes, he finished the race and his name is Johnny Hoogerland

Yes! I wonder where he's from? .... j/k

All those poor guys in crashes yesterday look as if they tangled with a tiger. Hopefully having today off with give them all time to recoup a bit.

 

[rainmaker]

Yes! I wonder where he's from? .... j/k

All those poor guys in crashes yesterday look as if they tangled with a tiger. Hopefully having today off with give them all time to recoup a bit.

I think he is Dutch

 

[vinylweatherman]

It looks like the driver swerved out to avoid where a tree's roots made a slight narrowing in the road, but around the same time, the cyclist moved away from the other cyclist, and closer to the car.

The problem seems to be in allowing TV cars to travel among the riders on such narrow and unpredictable roads. The cyclists should NOT have to be constantly on guard in case a TV car makes a mistake, they have a hard enough time racing and avoiding the other competitors.

Either only allow TV motorcylces (take up less space, and who's occupants are just as vulnerable as the cyclists, which should be an incentive for them to take more care), or insist that the TV cars go ahead and film from their rear when the roads are so narrow.

With those cars taking up so much space, surely they are affecting the race as cyclists can't overtake each other in case they are hit by a TV car. This may have been why this cyclist moved over, to overtake the one near the fence with enough clearance to prevent them from colliding.

The TV car's driver didn't seem to have the necessary skills and experience for this type of driving, else he would have ensured he was never put in a position of having to swerve towards the cyclists at the last minute.

 

[rainmaker]

It looks like the driver swerved out to avoid where a tree's roots made a slight narrowing in the road, but around the same time, the cyclist moved away from the other cyclist, and closer to the car.

The problem seems to be in allowing TV cars to travel among the riders on such narrow and unpredictable roads. The cyclists should NOT have to be constantly on guard in case a TV car makes a mistake, they have a hard enough time racing and avoiding the other competitors.

Either only allow TV motorcylces (take up less space, and who's occupants are just as vulnerable as the cyclists, which should be an incentive for them to take more care), or insist that the TV cars go ahead and film from their rear when the roads are so narrow.

With those cars taking up so much space, surely they are affecting the race as cyclists can't overtake each other in case they are hit by a TV car. This may have been why this cyclist moved over, to overtake the one near the fence with enough clearance to prevent them from colliding.

The TV car's driver didn't seem to have the necessary skills and experience for this type of driving, else he would have ensured he was never put in a position of having to swerve towards the cyclists at the last minute.

Yes, I agree VWM. And the worst thing is that these TV-cars often do not have any functions. TV cars like the one in this crash are mostly used when VIP people are taken on tours/sightseeing among runners.