keg61

Alejandro Valverde went down HARD in the rain during theTdF time trial today, he didn't get back up and the announcers are saying he's out of the tour

Marcus_Ti

He's out and off to hospital

keg61

I saw several guys go down, but his looked to be the worst by far

diphthong

wish this was a case of that fake news that i hear is going around something fierce. the tour is always more fun with the green bullet.

DLBroox

I just read Ion Izagirre also fell in that corner and abandoned.

one4smoke

Metal barriers? Really?! Should have safer barriers, especially under conditions like that. Pitiful.

StanPark

Looked like he went into the fence knees first. Cant immagine what he is feeling right now

USAZorro

Sadly, may be the ending of a very storied career. Also completely alters the dynamics of the race. He has been a strong ally not only to his teammates, but has also collaborated with Contador on multiple occasions. As a person who can't abide team Sky, this is horrible news.

Pibevalderrama

He brokes his patella and (very) possibly his tibia. He's 37 years old, out of the 2017 TdF and also out of the high competition professional cycling????
Very sad news...
I don't understand what Alejandro wants to do today. In a very dangerous conditions, he push the limits (and literally broke them) in a short stage where there was more to lose than to win in these conditions, when his supposed role was to be the main support of Nairo Quintana in the mountain.

Caretaker

What do you suggest, rubber, plastic, straw or maybe just wrap all the riders in cotton wool?

Marcus_Ti

They're standard barriers you see at band shows and athletic events everywhere. They're standard because they're cheap, they compact/store tight for easy packing, and are fast to setup.


Further, just about everything you run your knees into at 30MPH is going to break bone.

USAZorro

I feel for him, and am bummed about the injury, but even with hindsight being 20/20, can't really blame the event organizers for doing what's been done for the past 3+ decades.

Best wishes for Alejandro to come back, but it's a tough thing at his age - especially with such a severe injury.

keg61

the announcers were also critical of the metal barriers, most of the riders that went down, slid across the pavement on their side/back but Valverde hit harder than anybody else at a pretty sharp angle, I figured he broke his left leg but they didn't say while I was watching what his injuries were

europa

The crash made me cringe. The idiots trying to 'help' him, especially the one with the red jacket, made me mad.

Pity he's out, he's always good value.

Caretaker

They were getting him out of the way before the next rider so he wouldn't cause another accident in which he could have been further injured.

Caretaker

NBC muppets.

CliffordK

Perhaps we need the Tour-de-Oregon.

Excellent riding weather.
Little or no rain from about June 15 (or July 1) to mid-September.

Actually, one could do the whole west coast from Northern California up into Washington and Vancouver.

It seems as if there are some bad rain days in the TdF every year

HardyWeinberg

Valverde, Izaguirre, Durbridge, a pretty high crashout rate. I wonder how many went down in total.

brianmcg123

How bout, just do what they used to do.

one4smoke

And I suppose you think metal is the optimum material for barriers in a bike race?

Marcus_Ti

It is used because they are durable and lightweight and last....you can also store a hell of a lot of them in a 53' (or equivalent EU shipping container) semi-truck.

If barriers could be made that perform as well out of something else...they would.



Fact is that fans are very hard on things like barriers. From leaning on them, to beating on them, to standing on them, to puking on them. Anything you make a barrier from that wouldn't break bone from running into it dead-on at 30MPH? Well...that barrier would have been broken and in pieces before the peloton got there. It sucks for Valverde, being probably the end of his carrier (he's about retirement age anyway)...but well, it is how it is, sometimes life sucks.

Caretaker

For crowd barriers, yes I do. For street furniture, straw bales but apparently these are becoming hard to get due to changes in agriculture practices and organisers are having to commission them specially.

On a totally different subject I thought it wonderful and heartening the large crowds that came out to support the riders despite the bad weather on stages 1&2.

Caretaker

They 'used to' race without helmets.

Notice they are using metal barriers in the photo. They could use similar padding where appropriate and where there's the space.

Marcus_Ti

It costs a ton more money. 50lb square bales only make sense for tiny farming operations...problem is that economics have dictated that the littler guys get driven out, resulting in bigger-ag farmers and their preference for 1-ton cylinder bales....so people who bale don't do 50lbers.

Further hay/straw bales mold and rot when it gets wet. IOW they go bad, so you constantly have to buy more. You also run into shipping issues, since you need lots more for the same perimeter, as well as the fact that they don't compact down at all.


I'm still amazed at how good the crowds were in Dusseldorf. Seemed like everyone was out on the street to watch.

one4smoke

Obviously, EVERY metal barrier isn't hazardous. Especially those on the straights. But in the turns, and especially on rain slick roads, put some straw bales or some other means in front of them to cushion any impact. I don't buy that it's not feasible. They knew some of those turns were gonna be big trouble.