Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 04/06/2014 02:59 PM |
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Vansummeren is out of hospital but the lady that got hit is in coma. The video really brings about the crazy danger that bike racing can be
http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/1001/Wielrennen/article/detail/1843565/2014/04/06/Vansummeren-geeft-op-na-harde-botsing-slachtoffer-is-er-erg-aan-toe.dhtml |
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Keith Richards
Posts:781
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| 04/06/2014 05:01 PM |
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| Wow. He blew her up. Ugh. I would be a mess if I did that to a spectator. |
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It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 04/06/2014 05:28 PM |
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Why the hell were they standing there? That just had disaster written all over it.
Race organizers are gonna have to answer why there was no marshall there....
Best wishes for the injured spectator. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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huckleberry
Posts:824
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| 04/06/2014 06:45 PM |
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Wow. Scary stuff.
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Patched Tube
Posts:29
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| 04/06/2014 09:37 PM |
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Jeez... that lady never knew what hit her and she went down like a bag of wet cement - never even moved. Not good.
What the heck were those people doing there and why wasn't there a race marshal at that location. Serious cock up by the organizers/local police. |
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| -- that which cannot be proven as true must be regarded as false or not affirmed as true |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 04/06/2014 10:21 PM |
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Worse than the Jalavert/Nelissen-Gendarme wreck in the 1994 TdF
That's a ugly situation |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 04/07/2014 01:28 AM |
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There was an incident in the Nationals TT, 1979? where a cement truck blew through an intersection and clobbered Alan Kingsbury who was on course to win. Very different circumstances, yet very similar in that the truck driver never knew there was a race happening. He was just doing his job, driving legally and properly on a quiet rural street on a Sunday morning. Entered an intersection he knew well with stop signs for the cross street. The riders were going through the stop sign and crossing the main street.
There was a course marshal, a young girl who was on the other side of the intersection with her hands full stopping a car coming the other way.
These incidents are on the race officials. It isn't the racers job to be looking for things that should never be there. It is up to the race officials and organizers to see to it that people are informed and that people, cars, etc. are not on the course.
Sadly, if justice in Belgium plays out to the fairest, this woman should receive a very large settlement from the race's insurance policy and all races will pay more later because of it. All for something that should never have happened.
Ben |
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ChinookPass
Posts:809
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| 04/07/2014 08:55 AM |
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| weird. I think she thought she was safe standing on that traffic island. VanSummeren was headed for the ground whether she was there or not. |
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zootracer
Posts:835
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| 04/07/2014 12:04 PM |
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| I watched the video several times. Looks like the lady was turning around and VanSummeren clipped her right shoulder, which was extended into the roadway. |
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Sweet Milk
Posts:93
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| 04/07/2014 12:14 PM |
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Wow - not good...
This is why I stopped promoting races - for the downtown crits that I promoted I usually had over a 100 volunteers working the races and I still lost sleep over the possibility of crap like this happening. You do the best job you possibly can, but you are dependent on the individuals watching the corners, access roads and driveways. I did my level best to have at least two marshals at any risk location and make sure one of them would have previous experience. This as much as to help each other as to having them keeping an eye on one another and make them sure that no bonehead moves were pulled. That said at every race day I promoted at some point some bad mistake did occur that I was aware of - fortunately never with a bad outcome, and I am probably unaware of most of the things that did happen...
I never promoted any road races; I can only imagine how much bigger the issues are there.
PS: Most volunteer marshals are very conscientious - we owe them a collective thank you for doing an often challenging job
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Keith Richards
Posts:781
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| 04/07/2014 12:26 PM |
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Promoting races is harsh work. I promoted a race and I told the volunteers to make sure the course was safe during inspection. So what happens? The only JR in the race I was in (3/4), crashes into a fire hydrant right in front of me! I actually pulled out of the race (rode straight off the course) to inform his mom.
Last time for me... |
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It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. |
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Sweet Milk
Posts:93
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| 04/07/2014 12:34 PM |
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| Yeah, course prep is the most essential part - The amount of hay bales that we would use was pretty impressive. Also the towns that I worked with allowed us to put up double barriers, that is put barriers at the intersections with the course, and another set of barriers one block away; creating a one block buffer zone around the course. Another critical step is to meet with the business and residence owners in the area, make sure that good relations are maintained and that they understand the nature of the event. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 04/07/2014 12:48 PM |
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apparently it was at end of a roundabout (exit) where they never put marshals; there was a marshal at entry of roundabout.
unclear what people where doing there but according to some comments people stands there "all the time".
Vansummeren and organization are at risk of being proscecuted
If he doesn't hit the lady Vansummeren is probably a lot worse off. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 04/07/2014 01:01 PM |
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| How the hell can they hold Vansummeren responsible? It is not like he said "Oh, I'm gonna tag that old lady", nor was he negligent in his actions. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Keith Richards
Posts:781
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| 04/07/2014 01:02 PM |
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| It took the death of Monsere for cycling to take road closures seriously, this will most likely result in changes in where spectators are allowed. |
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| -----
It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. |
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