Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic (BORA - hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) were victims of a terrible fall on Thursday in the Tour of the Basque Country a few days after the setbacks of Wout van Aert (Team Vism-Lease a Bike”), in Across Flanders. A situation which worries Marc Madiot who has continued to call for reforms in the world of cycling for several years.
The bike today goes too fast
Marc Madiot
In an interview with Ouest-France, the boss of the Groupama-FDJ team calls on the community to take urgent measures regarding the speed of the riders.
“We have to overhaul everything and take inspiration from motorsport. When cars go too fast, they know how to use the necessary means to slow them down. We don't do it. The bike, today, goes too fast, we are constantly looking for speed, we even make comparisons on the descents… At one point, we will have to stop,”
explains the former cycling champion who warns of the fact that runners are always taking more risks.
“There is less of a gap between them, the average level is very high, so we will look in detail at what will make the difference. Among the details that make the difference, you have to rub
,” explains Madiot, who also calls on manufacturers to think about solutions concerning the equipment.
“Today, with disc brakes and crazy gears, there is no longer any response time when braking
,” he adds, wondering about the rigidity of current bikes:
“Carbon doesn’t has no flexibility. The slightest roughness on the road, you take it in the handlebars. If you are focused and grip the handlebars tightly, it will work. If you're a little relaxed, it doesn't work anymore."