Recently, theUCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) banned riders from celebrating the victory of their sprinter before the finishin order to improve safety within the peloton. In the podcast Beyond the Podium of NBC Sportsthe two former riders of the training BMC Racing Team, Tejay van Garderen et Brent Bookwalterreturned to this subject and, more generally, to the risk-taking of certain riders in today’s peloton. The former 5th of Tour de France on two occasions (2012 and 2014) declared in particular: “I’m glad I’m not in the middle of all this now.”
Video – David Lappartient’s speech at the end of 2024
Tejay Van Garderen: “Runners must make running safer…”
In this podcast, Tejay Van Garderen states: “I hate to say this, I hate to be the one to shout ‘riders need to make racing safer’, but it’s kind of true. We used to do the Mallorca Challenge, and there was no ‘breakaway because no one wanted to attack. It was calm, we got into the rhythm at the end and everything worked out. These races at the start of the season were safer. Today, that’s no longer the case. Even in January and February, races are already very lively. Only the flat stages of the grand tours still sometimes end with a so-called walking stage. Even for some ProTeams, the visibility offered by such a breakaway is no longer sufficient. possible result at that time”he explains.
“Riders race how they race. And the way they rode at the end of my career made things a lot more dangerous. I’m glad I’m not in the middle of it now. But these tricks, like the reduction teams of nine to eight riders, haven’t changed anything either. 95% of the peloton hasn’t even developed their frontal lobes yet.jokes Van Garderen.
Brent Bookwalter: “At the end of my career, riders started riding larger chainrings…”
The former teammate of Tejay Van Garderenthe American Brent Bookwalteris of the same opinion as his compatriot: “Time will tell. From my own experience, towards the end of my career, riders started riding with bigger chainrings, while I kept my 53 teeth. The average age in the peloton , I don’t know the exact statistics, but it has certainly gone down And that’s exactly what Tejay Van Garderen says: ‘runners need to make the race safer. A young man of 19 or 20 thinks differently and takes. more risks than a 37 year old Brent Bookwalter who is about to retire, I’m like this: 53, we’re going to leave it there Whereas a 21 year old says: ‘I want one. tooth of 58 and I’m going all out on this descent”concludes the 40-year-old former professional runner in the podcast Beyond the Podium from NBC Sports.
