A French stage race came close to disaster on Wednesday afternoon when the driver of a car turned onto the course and towards the peloton.
With 17km to go on stage two of the Étoile de Bessèges, the driver of a Mini Cooper pulled out of a side road moments before the peloton was due to come charging past. The hazard was fortunately spotted by the riders, who braked to allow the driver to reverse backwards and off the course.
Although the car was not directly involved in a crash, the slowing of the peloton caused a small pile-up, with several riders falling to the floor. Among them was Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), who has since abandoned the race and been taken to hospital, according to a report by journalist Daniel Benson.
Speaking to Benson, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe sports director Heinrich Haussler said the car caused a “domino effect” in the peloton.
“The whole peloton brakes, and the boys were just coming back from a mechanical, and they were at the back of the peloton,” Haussler said. “They just rode into the peloton, and Maxim crashed into the ditch.
“In this race, there are cars everywhere, parked on the side of the road, and traffic. It’s dangerous. I’ll ask the other directors what went on because sometimes, in the heat of the moment, guys overreact or something.”
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Commentating on the race for Eurosport at the time, José Been said: “Somebody has to reverse back off the road in the Mini Cooper… Why? Why? Why? There’s always somebody, isn’t there, who thinks that the roads are owned only by them.
“Luckily that crash didn’t look too scary and too damaging. But imagine you’re travelling at 40-45km/h and all of a sudden a car comes your way.”
The incident occurred shortly after the UCI held a press conference updating the media on its SafeR initiative, put in place to improve the safety of road races.
During the press conference, one journalist raised the issue of cars entering race courses. Kiko García, representing the race organisers' association AIOCC, responded by saying this is a “big challenge” for organisers.
“It’s very difficult to organise, and especially to close the roads with enough time to not block too much the traffic of cities,” García said, talking generally about the issue. “That’s a big challenge for any organisers, especially for the small organisers, because they are not allowed to close the roads with a long time in advance.”
“We need to also educate the public, cycling fans, and all the drivers outside of the race, that when the race is coming, to respect the athletes, to respect the riders, and to have a bit of passion to have a safe race.”
Stage two of the Étoile de Bessèges, held in France’s southern Gard department, was won by Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X) in a bunch sprint. Paul Maginer (Soudal Quick-Step) leads the race by eight seconds, having won the opening stage.
