[ad_1]
A fan-made video from final month’s Tour de France, which captures the second Ineos rider Carlos Rodríguez crashed closely on the descent of the Ballon d’Alsace, taking down Sepp Kuss within the course of, has prompted a social media debate this morning regarding biking’s strategy to its concussion protocols.
The harrowing crash, which occurred on the primary descent of the penultimate stage of this yr’s Tour, within the Vosges mountains, noticed Rodríguez – who was linked with a transfer away from the British staff this winter, however now seems set to remain – lose management of his entrance wheel whereas driving behind the yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard.
The 22-year-old then proceeds to skid alongside the highway, face down, as Vingegaard’s Jumbo-Visma teammate Sepp Kuss makes an attempt and fails to leap over the falling Ineos rider, flying over his handlebars within the course of. Pello Bilbao, in the meantime, manages to, by some means, nearly keep away from driving straight into Rodríguez’ head.
Within the clip, we are able to see a clearly shaken Rodríguez stagger to his ft, stumbling alongside the highway, as riders stream previous and teammate Omar Fraile waits together with his bike.
As a badly bloodied and bruised Rodríguez continued racing after his fall on the descent, ending twelfth on the day, simply 52 seconds behind stage winner Tadej Pogačar, and managing to retain his high 5 putting on GC, the worrying nature of his response to the crash, clearly proven on the fan’s video, has this morning raised questions on how Ineos and the Tour’s medical staff responded to the 22-year-old’s bodily state through the stage.
(Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
“I don’t perceive why the protocol was not activated for after they fall and stand up like this. I additionally don’t perceive how lengthy the medical automotive took to get to him,” one Spanish Twitter consumer wrote. “It’s a miracle (no different phrase after watching this) that Carlos Rodríguez didn’t go away his face and all his enamel proper there.”
“The place’s the concussion protocol while you want it?” requested David. “Somebody staggering like that shouldn’t be put again on a motorcycle.”
“Rodríguez not with the ability to stroll in a straight line however allowed to proceed driving,” Fabrizio famous.
> UCI publishes new concussion protocol as other sports face lawsuits from retired athletes
The controversy round Rodríguez’ return to motion after showing to indicate indicators of concussion will add additional weight to the argument proffered by some that biking continues to have a “concussion downside”.
In December 2020, the UCI published a new concussion protocol – which recommends that riders don’t return to competitors for not less than per week after their signs have gone – following a warning from mind charity Headway that biking is “lagging miles behind different sports activities” in terms of coping with sports-related concussion.
And final yr, a examine carried out on the College of Northampton discovered that 4 out of 5 aggressive cyclists have been unaware of the limitations of helmets in terms of defending them from concussion.
Earlier this yr, Ineos Grenadiers did, nevertheless, act swiftly when one in all their riders confirmed indicators of concussion, withdrawing Tom Pidcock from the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico following a nasty crash.
A number of days later, the staff issued a press release confirming that the Yorkshireman, who was constantly monitored by the staff’s docs after his crash, had been displaying signs of delicate concussion, leading to a prescribed interval of relaxation, line with the British squad’s established concussion protocols, that precipitated him to overlook Milan-San Remo and a few cobbled classics.
> Why pro cycling needs to ditch its ‘hardness’ obsession
After all, concussion stays a troublesome difficulty in a sport the place riders put together for months for main targets just like the Tour de France, the place cash, contracts, and UCI factors are always on the road, and the place riders can typically be again on their bikes earlier than a member of the medical staff – tasked, in these situations, typically to avoid wasting a rider from themselves – may even attain them.
And, if a few of the replies to in the present day’s unique tweet are something to go by, evidently riders stay unfairly burdened by the expectation that they’re the hardest of all athletes, and that they need to simply stand up and get again on their bikes, no matter how a crash had impacted them. Biking’s concussion downside, it appears, tends to go hand in hand with its angle downside, too.
[ad_2]