Giulio Ciccone’s collision with a distracted race official proved a fitting end to an ignominious day for rider safety at two of the biggest week-long stage races on the planet.
Earlier at Tirreno-Adriatico, as we noted on yesterday’s live blog, the peloton was forced to negotiate a junction seemingly straight out of a particularly gruelling Mario Kart course…
Um this is an INSANELY dangerous road furniture situation - spot the course official hiding at the end... 😬#TirrenoAdriaticopic.twitter.com/3UsLlG5iPK
— Katy M (@writebikerepeat) March 9, 2023
And later that afternoon at Paris-Nice, as the riders entered the final kilometre in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, a spot of (admittedly very brief) segregated cycling infrastructure at the exit of a roundabout added a rather unnecessary layer of sketchiness and terror to the usual drama of a bunch sprint.
900 meters from the finish line.
Cycling is one of the worst sports bad for the safety of riders and spectators. 😡 https://t.co/gwhQhmqmZF
— Florian Senechal-Staelens (@flosenech) March 9, 2023
As Astana’s Joe Dombrowski and several others noted on Twitter, Paris-Nice’s perilous roundabout proved a telling indicator of the disparity between the increasing range of road safety measures being put in place for everyday cyclists and the safety needs of the pro peloton.
Is safe cycling infra making road racing more dangerous?
You’re absolutely right Brian, but bearing in mind the traffic calming measures and bike lanes that all French towns and cities are putting the only realistic way to avoid situations would be to finish in the countryside
— Peter Cossins (@petercossins) March 9, 2023
Ironically all the infrastructure to make cycling safer in cities, makes it more dangerous for us ..
— Joe Dombrowski (@JoeDombro) March 9, 2023
Nevertheless, the pitiful lack of warning given by the race organisers during yesterday’s finale did at least emphasise one common ground shared by commuters and pros alike: that paint is not protection:
But it has paint.
— Thomas De Gendt (@DeGendtThomas) March 9, 2023
Everything under control, it’s even coloured in pink, we’re used to this!! Right @cpacycling ?
— Alessandro De Marchi (@ADM_RossodiBuja) March 9, 2023
It just goes to show, you can wear a helmet and brightly-coloured clothing, and even be one of your country’s finest pro bike racers, standing in one spot, conducting an interview with journalists in the finish area of a top-tier international race, and distracted motorists will still find a way of hitting you…
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) March 9, 2023
Trek-Segafredo’s three-time Giro d’Italia stage winner and former Tour de France yellow jersey wearer Giulio Ciccone, who was speaking to the press after moving into the top ten on GC at Tirreno-Adriatico yesterday, had a few choice words (in Italian) for the race official who shunted him and his bike.
And so did the rest of the internet:
It's only a pro bike rider.. what is up with our sport!...idiots!!! https://t.co/2QVHhwXxed
— Brian Smith 𝕆𝕃𝕐 (@BriSmithy) March 9, 2023
Car brain is not switched off.
— CyclingVsDepression🇺🇦 (@CyclingDepri) March 10, 2023
Wasn't wearing hi viz or have any lights on,own fault.....
— ian2wheels (@Ian2Wheels) March 10, 2023
Fortunately Giulio is fine ! But the driver ???😡😡😡what was he looking at ?
— Damiano Cunego (@DCunego) March 9, 2023
However, while former Giro winner Damiano Cunego remarked that Ciccone was “fine”, Bici.PRO reported this morning that the collision caused the Italian climber’s handlebars to hit his knee, causing pain and reported swelling.
The 28-year-old, however, is expected to take to the start of today’s crucial Tirreno stage in Morro d’Oro.
Motorists, eh?
Ah, one last Jeremy Vine video this week wouldn’t hurt, would it? Come on, let me off with this one, it’s Friday…
@JonnyBadcockPag new Jeremy video dropped 🔥
— Lee Eaton (@lee_eaton10) March 9, 2023
Anyway, the latest snazzily-annotated commuting clip from the meme merchant and Mad Max impersonator (sorry, presenter-broadcaster) highlights how some people just can’t resist a dig at cyclists – even when drivers are putting them in danger.
How people see cyclists, part 41. pic.twitter.com/O2GUmmvoO4
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) March 9, 2023
In the video, titled ‘How people see cyclists, part 41’ (I swear he’s getting his ideas from the live blog), Jeremy stops at a zebra crossing before waving at two pedestrians to cross.
So, how does one of the pedestrians react?
Well, he turns to Vine, waves back, and remarks, “Unusual for a cyclist”… before making his way around the motorist abruptly stopped bang in the middle of the zebra crossing.
He says while the van sets off 🤦🏻
— NeilV74 (@Neil_A_V74) March 9, 2023
Normalized behaviour for the motor vehicle.
— Julian Mason (@julesmason27) March 9, 2023
Actually, what he's REALLY saving is that it's par for the course that cars drive onto the zebra crossing when peds are about to cross or crossing, and that's why he didn't bother to comment on it ...
— ExitStrata (@ExitStrata) March 9, 2023
I think what is most scary is that he thinks it’s normal for a car to not stop correctly at the crossing. Just goes to prove how many drivers don’t use them properly.
— Kerensa (@Kerensa_74) March 10, 2023
“He is completely blind to the danger posed by the metal lump beside me,” Vine wrote in his video.
“That’s how it works on Planet Petrol.”