Mathieu Warnier, Media365, published on Friday January 3, 2025 at 9:30 p.m.
Victim of two heavy falls in a year 2024 marked by accidents, Wout Van Aert confided that he saw in the limitation of the gear ratios an element making it possible to improve the safety of the events.
The word “security” is on everyone’s lips. While the year 2024 was marked by numerous falls, notably that on the Tour of the Basque Country which brought down Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and even Primoz Roglic, professional cycling also paid a heavy price with the deaths of Muriel Furrer during the world championships and Andre Drege on the Tour of Austria. This has caused a new awareness among all stakeholders but without this materializing in measures aimed at improving the safety of runners who go ever faster thanks to improved equipment. Having not slipped through the cracks last year, with a heavy fall on A Travers la Flandre on March 27 then on the Vuelta on September 3, causing his retirement while wearing the green jersey, the rider of the Visma-Lease a Bike team was able to testify during an interview given to the Dutch-speaking Belgian channel Sporza. Asked what could be done in a practical way to improve safety and slow down runners, the Belgian surprised by taking the opposite view of the International Cyclist Union (UCI).
Van Aert pleads for limiting the gear ratios
Indeed, while the latter has abandoned the limits linked to the gear imposed in the youth categories, Wout Van Aert pleads for their application at the highest level. “An interesting debate has arisen between the riders because cycling is becoming faster and faster,” he first admitted before clarifying his thoughts. In my opinion, limiting gears can make the sport much safer. If other runners don’t think the same thing, I personally believe they do. » Taking a concrete example, the rider from the Visma-Lease a Bike team assures that “if you embark on a descent with a gear limit, no one can overtake you”. “The gears are so big at the moment that you are constantly thinking about overtaking,” he concluded. While some organizers have raised the idea of a “safety car” inspired by Formula 1 to reduce the speed of riders in dangerous sectors, Wout Van Aert’s proposal could hit the mark even if it will require very strict controls from the UCI. The ball is now in the court of stakeholders, ranging from riders to organizers to teams.
