Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

What is the safest cycling race discipline?

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

What is the safest cycling race discipline?

Old 04-24-20, 03:19 PM
  #1  
DeathCurse7
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 22
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 28 Post(s)
Liked 4 Times in 4 Posts
What is the safest cycling race discipline?

Hey so I want to get into racing and I did my first crit race and crashed at 30 mph luckily it was not to bad just a sore wrist and road rash. I really enjoy endurance sports and don't want to have a bad accident and be on a wheelchair for the rest of my life. So I was wondering what is the safest discipline in cycling? (Mountain biking, cycle cross, road racing, etc)
DeathCurse7 is offline  
Likes For DeathCurse7:
Old 04-24-20, 04:33 PM
  #2  
motorapido
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: harrisburg, pennsylvania
Posts: 351

Bikes: 1976 Schwinn Super Le Tour, tricked out with modern components. Shimano Alfine 11 internal gear hub. Dynamo hub. Titanium racks and bottle cages. Mercier Kilo Wide Tire dropbar singlespeed

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 44 Post(s)
Liked 8 Times in 1 Post
Touring

Come on a tour with me. Every couple of days we might hit 9. Mph. 😁
motorapido is offline  
Old 04-24-20, 04:34 PM
  #3  
DrIsotope
Non omnino gravis
 
DrIsotope's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: SoCal, USA!
Posts: 8,553

Bikes: Nekobasu, Pandicorn, Lakitu

Mentioned: 119 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4905 Post(s)
Liked 1,731 Times in 958 Posts
Probably Zwifting... and only half joking. But if you're determined to go outside, I would reckon time trials to be the "safest," as you're riding alone, and therefore far less likely to have someone run into you.

But then again, it's racing. If you're set on "safe mode," you're not pushing yourself to the limits of your abilities, so you're not trying to win. At that point, why do it at all?
__________________
DrIsotope is offline  
Old 04-24-20, 04:38 PM
  #4  
79pmooney
Senior Member
 
79pmooney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,790

Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder

Mentioned: 125 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4731 Post(s)
Liked 3,832 Times in 2,492 Posts
Hill climbs. Ride your hardest. Those 12 mph crashes don't hurt very much.
79pmooney is offline  
Old 04-24-20, 05:01 PM
  #5  
texaspandj
Senior Member
 
texaspandj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Heart Of Texas
Posts: 4,236

Bikes: '85, '86 , '87 , '88 , '89 Centurion Dave Scott Ironman.

Mentioned: 99 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1603 Post(s)
Liked 582 Times in 379 Posts
Time trials, however it'll still hurt even if you don't crash.
texaspandj is offline  
Likes For texaspandj:
Old 04-24-20, 05:08 PM
  #6  
Steve B.
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: South shore, L.I., NY
Posts: 6,811

Bikes: Flyxii FR322, Cannondale Topstone, Miyata City Liner, Specialized Chisel, Specialized Epic Evo

Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3179 Post(s)
Liked 2,006 Times in 1,149 Posts
Triathlon.

Crit races are dangerous as hell, especially when your in the beginner category (was called Cat 5 when I did them). Too many riders with marginal handling skills taking too many chances.
Steve B. is online now  
Likes For Steve B.:
Old 04-24-20, 05:15 PM
  #7  
hillyman
WALSTIB
 
hillyman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,798
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 280 Post(s)
Liked 384 Times in 183 Posts
Tour de France video game pretty safe
__________________
www.bikeleague.org

hillyman is offline  
Likes For hillyman:
Old 04-24-20, 05:27 PM
  #8  
mihlbach
Senior Member
 
mihlbach's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 6,642
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 114 Post(s)
Liked 123 Times in 66 Posts
Bmx racing
mihlbach is offline  
Likes For mihlbach:
Old 04-24-20, 05:45 PM
  #9  
Rogerogeroge
Full Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 355

Bikes: Trek Emonda SLR 9; Moots Routt YBB; Trek Fuel EX8+; LeMond Poprad

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 178 Post(s)
Liked 176 Times in 100 Posts
While I have never raced cx, I would think that would be the safest discipline to race between that, MTB and road. With cx the ground is the softest and the discipline has the lowest max speeds. But gravel racing may be the second safest discipline IMO. I would guess that the average wreck is worst for MTBing, but road riding has the greatest chance of a catastrophic wreck.
Rogerogeroge is offline  
Likes For Rogerogeroge:
Old 04-24-20, 05:51 PM
  #10  
Maelochs
Senior Member
 
Maelochs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15,434

Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE

Mentioned: 143 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7621 Post(s)
Liked 3,432 Times in 1,813 Posts
Randonneuring
Maelochs is offline  
Likes For Maelochs:
Old 04-24-20, 07:30 PM
  #11  
JanMM
rebmeM roineS
 
JanMM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Metro Indy, IN
Posts: 16,215

Bikes: Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 653 Post(s)
Liked 345 Times in 225 Posts
Cat 6 racing is not too dangerous.
__________________
Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer
JanMM is offline  
Likes For JanMM:
Old 04-24-20, 07:35 PM
  #12  
Drew Eckhardt 
Senior Member
 
Drew Eckhardt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Mountain View, CA USA and Golden, CO USA
Posts: 6,341

Bikes: 97 Litespeed, 50-39-30x13-26 10 cogs, Campagnolo Ultrashift, retroreflective rims on SON28/PowerTap hubs

Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 550 Post(s)
Liked 325 Times in 226 Posts
Originally Posted by JanMM
Cat 6 racing is not too dangerous.
I'm sure Cat-6 racers get taken out all the time by pedestrians, inline skaters, and dog walkers sharing the same courses.
Drew Eckhardt is offline  
Likes For Drew Eckhardt:
Old 04-24-20, 07:46 PM
  #13  
CAT7RDR
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Hacienda Hgts
Posts: 2,075

Bikes: 1999 Schwinn Peloton Ultegra 10, Kestrel RT-1000 Ultegra, Trek Marlin 6 Deore 29'er

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 810 Post(s)
Liked 1,941 Times in 933 Posts
I'm CAT7Rdr for a reason. CAT6 is just plain nutz!
CAT7RDR is offline  
Likes For CAT7RDR:
Old 04-24-20, 07:47 PM
  #14  
JanMM
rebmeM roineS
 
JanMM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Metro Indy, IN
Posts: 16,215

Bikes: Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 653 Post(s)
Liked 345 Times in 225 Posts
Originally Posted by Drew Eckhardt
I'm sure Cat-6 racers get taken out all the time by pedestrians, inline skaters, and dog walkers sharing the same courses.
And e-scooters, of course.
__________________
Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer
JanMM is offline  
Old 04-24-20, 08:00 PM
  #15  
asgelle
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 4,509
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1023 Post(s)
Liked 445 Times in 261 Posts
Originally Posted by DeathCurse7
Hey so I want to get into racing and I did my first crit race and crashed ...
Hmmm, where could you ride with a big enough group to have a race?
asgelle is offline  
Old 04-24-20, 08:03 PM
  #16  
downtube42
Senior Member
 
downtube42's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 3,785

Bikes: Trek Domane SL6 Gen 3, Soma Fog Cutter, Focus Mares AL, Detroit Bikes Sparrow FG, Volae Team, Nimbus MUni

Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 875 Post(s)
Liked 1,998 Times in 1,046 Posts
Individual pursuit is probably pretty safe.
downtube42 is offline  
Likes For downtube42:
Old 04-24-20, 08:36 PM
  #17  
c0rbin9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: Houston
Posts: 82

Bikes: None

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 60 Post(s)
Liked 40 Times in 20 Posts
I don't think road cycling is particularly healthy. Atrial fibrillation, low sperm count, bad posture...

Do it for the fun of it, but don't have any illusions that it's better for your body than natural exercise.
c0rbin9 is offline  
Old 04-24-20, 08:50 PM
  #18  
DeathCurse7
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 22
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 28 Post(s)
Liked 4 Times in 4 Posts
Thanks alot for your reply!
DeathCurse7 is offline  
Old 04-24-20, 09:48 PM
  #19  
Russ Roth
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: South Shore of Long Island
Posts: 2,751

Bikes: 2010 Carrera Volans, 2015 C-Dale Trail 2sl, 2017 Raleigh Rush Hour, 2017 Blue Proseccio, 1992 Giant Perigee, 80s Gitane Rallye Tandem

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1071 Post(s)
Liked 988 Times in 704 Posts
As others have mentioned, time trial on a closed course is about the safest you can get, crash doing that and you usually need a mirror to point out the responsible party.

Cyclocross is my favorite, I've had a few crashes doing that but always related to the level of mud and rain, even had one race where I managed to get 2nd because every single racer went down in the same spot over the course of the laps, top 3 finishers only wiped out once there. While I'm sure they happen I've never seen a serious injury at a cross race since sliding usually happens.
Crits are just dangerous. Did 2 of them last year and will do a few this year virus permitting. I'll do my best to hang with the pack but have no intentions of sprinting for the finish line. The 2 I did and 3rd I attended all had crashes in the last 2 laps and at the finish. Claiming a place in a cat 5 race just isn't worth the cost. If you can lead out and stay ahead, go for it otherwise with a crit just hang back and let the leaders go nuts.
Russ Roth is offline  
Old 04-24-20, 10:03 PM
  #20  
canklecat
Me duelen las nalgas
 
canklecat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Texas
Posts: 13,520

Bikes: Centurion Ironman, Trek 5900, Univega Via Carisma, Globe Carmel

Mentioned: 199 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4555 Post(s)
Liked 2,794 Times in 1,796 Posts
Hill climbs. It'll hurt like hell the entire time. But even if you fall it's relatively safe on the steepest climbs where you probably won't exceed 15 mph.

Time trials may be second but will still involve a risk of crashing if the goal is to clock in a competitive time. There are lots of crashing among the pros in time trials, include practice rides to scout the TT segment. But it's usually a sliding sideways type crash, losing traction on curves. Not quite as bad as a bunch sprint crash with bikes and bodies spattered everywhere.

canklecat is offline  
Likes For canklecat:
Old 04-24-20, 10:24 PM
  #21  
Wildwood 
Veteran, Pacifist
 
Wildwood's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Seattle area
Posts: 13,295

Bikes: Bikes??? Thought this was social media?!?

Mentioned: 284 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3873 Post(s)
Liked 4,767 Times in 2,200 Posts
Originally Posted by Maelochs
Randonneuring
1/2 randonneuring
__________________
Vintage, modern, e-road. It is a big cycling universe.
Wildwood is offline  
Old 04-25-20, 01:07 AM
  #22  
smashndash
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 1,410

Bikes: 2017 Specialized Allez Sprint Comp

Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 850 Post(s)
Liked 344 Times in 247 Posts
Haven’t seen anyone mention a velodrome yet. Solo velodrome events are good, but I guess that falls under time trialing.

Gravel races seems to splinter up and be more about sustained power than one’s ability to get up in the mix and sprint.
smashndash is offline  
Likes For smashndash:
Old 04-25-20, 01:13 AM
  #23  
Leinster
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: location location
Posts: 3,033

Bikes: MBK Super Mirage 1991, CAAD10, Yuba Mundo Lux, and a Cannondale Criterium Single Speed

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 343 Post(s)
Liked 292 Times in 205 Posts
Originally Posted by Steve B.
Triathlon.

Crit races are dangerous as hell, especially when your in the beginner category (was called Cat 5 when I did them). Too many riders with marginal handling skills taking too many chances.
I’ve never heard of anyone drowning in a Cat5 crit race, though.
Leinster is offline  
Likes For Leinster:
Old 04-25-20, 04:18 AM
  #24  
alo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 1,060
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 529 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 255 Times in 185 Posts
Originally Posted by smashndash
Haven’t seen anyone mention a velodrome yet. Solo velodrome events are good.
I don't know statistics, but because you land on a smooth surface, I wonder whether velodrome races have less serious injuries. Others may have more information.
alo is offline  
Old 04-25-20, 04:23 AM
  #25  
Vintage Schwinn
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 633
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 339 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 385 Times in 252 Posts
There is risk in riding a bike period! The faster that you go (full speed) , where, and when - (the roads-streets) and the time of day/night and the weather conditions-visibility, all can elevate that risk level slightly. Now, racing a bicycle is much like open-wheel auto racing (Formula One / Indy Car) where the two vehicles cannot touch or something typically goes airborne and results in a horrific looking if not catastrophic crash. Lets characterize it this way, "You kant trade a liddle paint, like dem good ole boyz dat say yall no dat rubbin' is ray-sin and da fans ain't jumpin if da bumpers ain't bumping and da cars ain't bangin............................NO CAN DO, you're absolutely nuts if you race where the competitors on bikes think that they are NASCAR or Dirt Track Late Model drivers.

Triathlon has the real athletes! The other bicycle race competitions are largely wusses, pretty boy posers, and the occasional nut that isn't playing with a full deck!
Hey if you can't run with the big dogs, then you've gotta stay on the porch!
If you take it seriously and train and make certain that you are at least a decent swimmer, you will not drown!
There are some idiots that don't take the swimming portion seriously enough. An example is those morons train only in a swimming pool where the temperature is comfortable and there are no waves, current, cloudy-murky-muddy- very cold water where the water is not clear and visibility and swimming in the cold against current with no preparation/training in maintaining direction amidst other swimmers, a few of whom might be unprepared clowns too......... They don't know what they are in for and know the distance isn't much but didn't think that it would be so different than swimming miles of laps in an olympic sized swimming pool.
Triathlons are super fun.
They can be hazardous too, as of all the triathlons of which I have competed, the majority of serious crashes that have occurred to competitors have been due to tire blowouts on downhill sections at high speed causing the competitor to lose control and crash, and there has been at least one competitor that was hit by a car.
The swimming portion has safety crews on kayaks that are there to guard against anyone that wasn't ready for prime time and bit off more than they could chew...
I have competed where the organizers decided it was too dangerous to have the swimming portion of the triathlon because the wind and whitecaps were making it difficult for the safety crew to position themselves. The whitecaps and the 25mph sustained wind with gusts and the 45F outside temp without windchill at the designated start time had the organizers to initially delay then to just eliminate the swim portion and turn the tri into a bi-athlon with only the biking and running portions. This was not a Half Iron Man or anything significant, just the garden variety triathlon in the Columbia SC area several years back.
Rarely do you ever have two cyclists that colide while racing in a triathlon, and it is probably far more rare that anyone drowns! You sometimes have competitors that have heart attacks and require medical transport while on the running portion, occasionally they do die, sometimes it might happen on the bike portion or swim portion but probably 96% of the time if it happens it is during the run (the 3rd and final stage) and not the swim (1st stage) or the bike portion (2nd stage).
There is a significant risk sometimes with auto traffic on certain sections of the bike course depending on the event organizer/the course. By definition, one is covering a great distance at very high speed on public roads which sometimes the participant has only seen the course via a slow automobile drive along the entire course the night before the triathlon.
Triathletes are the real athletes. The dopeheads who gotta be like Lance and only think of the tour de France, not so much, although the ones that are actually racing in July in France on live television are real athletes even if they trust that the bike goes better with dope. The typical very fit, non pro, avid cyclist who does all the local bike shop rides, isn't in the same league with triathlon competitors, unless they are also tri competitors or former tri-competitors, marathon runners or serious swimmers.
Novice triathlon competitors who are strong swimmers or who are strong marathon runners will typically kick the butts of novice triathlon competitors who come from the cycling hobby even if those cycling folks have the latest and greatest equipment because unless they also have better than average swimming and running skills, the strong swimmers and the strong runners will clean the clocks of the cycling hobbyist with great equipment but average or less swimming & running skills.
Now, you'll find that the best triathlon winners have no overall weaknesses and they will also be riding the best equipment available. Somebody from the swim or marathon world that is a novice tri competitor will kick the butt of a novice tri competitor from the cycling hobby, even if that swim person or marathon person is riding something minimally adequate or outdated and the hobby cyclist is on the best equipment. You just cannot overcome the deficiencies in swim and run and likely the transitions if you are only average or less at swimming / running while up against someone strong in those areas.
It is a fun sport that you'd really enjoy when we all can gather in large groups again.
The coolest part is the tri people. They don't "judge" based on the equipment and how much you might have forked out in dollars for it, they reserve "judgement" for what you can produce with your bicycle, your swimming and running. They have seen all the posers who believe you can buy greatness without actually becoming a great swimmer and at least a better than average runner but quickly realize that no, it doesn't happen that way at all.
The most fun is that the courses vary greatly depending on weather and temperature and like a golf course could be more difficult or slightly easier depending on such conditions. I recommend that anyone that thinks they might enjoy doing a tri, to give it a go, but make certain that you train seriously enough and make certain to train in realistic, compareable open water conditions.
Vintage Schwinn is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.