Not a lot of websites wrote what happened yesterday during the GP Lugano,so I'm going to spend some minutes writing about this race,because I believe that what happened yesterday was a really awful thing."Why? What happened?",I hear you ask.Well,it happened that yesterday afternoon,when the riders had already faced 3 of the 5 laps of the GP Lugano,a private car entered the race parcours and hit Simon Spilak,who was at the head of the "breakaway group" in that moment.Luckily Spilak was uninjured from the crash,but it's obvious that things could have gone much worse.
After Spilak's crash,the other 15 breakway riders that were with them stopped and so did all the other cyclists who were taking part in the race.Some riders (like Evans) immediately got retired,while 40 others,after talking with the race organisers,decided to end the race,that was finally won by Roberto Ferrari.
After Spilak's crash,the other 15 breakway riders that were with them stopped and so did all the other cyclists who were taking part in the race.Some riders (like Evans) immediately got retired,while 40 others,after talking with the race organisers,decided to end the race,that was finally won by Roberto Ferrari.
Unfortunately for Ferrari,everyone was paying attention to Spilak's accident and to the riders' protest,so not a lot was said about his victory.According to what I understood and to the pics of the race,Ferrari won a sprint between 7 riders.Kocjan came in 2nd ahead of Cheula,Bouet and Ermanno Capelli (well done boy!!).Hollenstein (a rider that I really do like) was 15th and John-Lee Augustyn was 18th.
"I've looked for this victory for the whole race,although this victory hasn't got a sweet taste because of what happened to Spilak.I hope he's fine now.I dedicate this victory to my girlfriend and to my little son Mattia", Ferrari said after the race.
However,as already said,all the attention was on Spilak,who didn't get seriously injured but didn't end the race.Talking about his misadventure,the Slovenian rider said: "I was riding uphill together with 15 riders.It was a good action and my teammates Cunego and Loosli were with me.Then after a curve I saw a car,that hit me and made me fall".
Now,me's got one little question about what happened: How the hell can such things happen during a professional cycling race? In my own stupidity,I haven't managed to find any possible answer yet.
The organisers of the race said that according to the UCI Jury everything was ok as far as the riders' safety was concerned "The inhabitants of the zone received information about the race already some days ago.After all,we couldn't imagine that someone would have taken his car out from his private car-park right in the middle of the race.We've done what we could to guarantee a good race.The negative reaction that some riders had can't compromise the whole race".
So,this is the point of view of the organisers.After all,something of what they say sounds convincting.For example,it is true that they couldn't know that all of a sudden a complete asshole would have started to drive on the parcours of the race.However me thinks that also this risks should be considered when you decide to organise a race,but perhaps I am wrong and the organisers are right,who knows.Anyway,according to some witnesses (check http://www.ciclismoweb.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1112:2347-spilak-fuori-pericolo-a-lugano&catid=42: if you believe I'm making up everything),2 cars (and not just one) rode on the parcours during the race.Now,me wonders: are there so many assholes in Lugano,or was there something wrong with the race organisation? I usually follow mtb races for young riders during the year and even there there's always someone who controls the traffic.How can things be different for a professional race? I know,you can't put an armed soldier outside of every single door and force people to stay in their houses,but I do believe that a better organisation was possible.
So,this is the point of view of the organisers.After all,something of what they say sounds convincting.For example,it is true that they couldn't know that all of a sudden a complete asshole would have started to drive on the parcours of the race.However me thinks that also this risks should be considered when you decide to organise a race,but perhaps I am wrong and the organisers are right,who knows.Anyway,according to some witnesses (check http://www.ciclismoweb.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1112:2347-spilak-fuori-pericolo-a-lugano&catid=42: if you believe I'm making up everything),2 cars (and not just one) rode on the parcours during the race.Now,me wonders: are there so many assholes in Lugano,or was there something wrong with the race organisation? I usually follow mtb races for young riders during the year and even there there's always someone who controls the traffic.How can things be different for a professional race? I know,you can't put an armed soldier outside of every single door and force people to stay in their houses,but I do believe that a better organisation was possible.
Another awful thing to notice about yesterday's "little problem" during the race is,in my opinion, the reaction that the Responsible of Lugano's Police had after the race."We couldn't imagine that a car would have started to ride on the parcours in the middle of the race",Alvaro Franchini repeated."To be honest,I believe that the riders weren't very sportive when they decided to leave the race.After all,nothing serious has happened-the rider didn't have any injury.These things can happen".(source: http://www.ticinonews.ch/articolo.aspx?id=184761&rubrica=2 ).I believe that those statements don't need further comments-and the few comments they need,I can't write them down here because they aren't actually very polite."Nothing serious has happened".A good reason to do it again,isn't it? What an anger.
Last thing I'd like to say about yesterday misadventure with the car is the lack of excuses towards Simon Spilak.I think he deserves them.Just try to put yourself in his shoes: You're riding.You're at the head of the race with your captain,Cunego,and a teammate, Loosli. Everything's going well for you.Then,as the road starts to go uphill,you face a curve and you see a car.The car can't avoid hitting you,you fall.Personally,the experience would shock me.And, personally,I'd appreciate it if the organisers of the race told me they're sorry for what happened. After all,under a certain point of view,they have been lucky since,as Franchini said,"nothing serious has happened"-what if Spilak broke something?
And talking about the poor Spilak: this wasn't his first misadventure caused by the organisation of a race.In fact during the 13th stage of the 2009 Tour de France,he ended the stage alone and out of time limit because he encountered fans and traffic on the roads (read more on http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/spilak-allowed-to-remain-in-tour ).Of course me hopes he'll have better luck in the next races and that he'll soon forget what happened to him yesterday. Allez Simon!!
(Pics by Bettini and Picasa)
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento