Madiot in favor of reducing speed: "Is a race with an average of 48 km/h really less exciting than one with 55 km/h?"

The 2024 cycling year will enter the records as unprecedented. It was unprecedented in terms of sporting achievements, such as those of Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar, but also in terms of crashes, such as those of Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard. So this year, the call for more safety became louder than ever. However, solving this remains a tricky issue. Marc Madiot supports Tour boss Prudhomme.

At the annual meeting of the Association of Cycling Tour Organizers (AIOCC), Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme caused some commotion with his comments on rider safety. He argued that it is necessary to reduce speed to reduce risk. "The riders are driving too fast. The faster they go, the greater the risk and the more they endanger themselves and others." However, these statements faced resistance within the sport. Jonathan Vaughters, team boss of EF Education - Easypost, reacted strongly to X.

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One of the most terrible crashes in 2024

Madiot and Martin join Prudhomme and draw examples from Formula 1

Marc Madiot, team boss of Groupama—FDJ, in an interview with Le Parisien actually supports Prudhomme's words. "The riders ride faster and faster on terrains designed precisely to slow down vehicles. On the descent, it is even more dangerous. And since many riders refuse to understand what is happening, there is only one solution: reduce speed."

Madiot uses a common example: Formula 1. "They never stopped limiting the speed of cars there, but it did make them safer. Not only has it saved lives, but it hasn't cut down on the spectacle. Is a race averaging 48 km/h less exciting than one averaging 55 km/h?" the Frenchman wonders.

He is supported by his newly appointed leader, Guillaume Martin. "I feel that the bikes break every time you crash, which means the crash is more violent,' analyzes the cycling philosopher. Who suggests another idea from Formula 1? Everyone has the same tires. That way, we wouldn't have differences in grip. We could choose a brand that is not hyper-efficient, with tires that make you a little slower, the speed could vary by 3 km/h."

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Guillaume Martin

Protection for aerodynamics in the development of cycling clothes

But of course, that alone is not a solution. Prudhomme also thinks something needs to be done about the clothes. "In the Netflix series, Jonathan Vaughters says you have to imagine the impact of a crash as if you were jumping out of a moving car with your swimwear. We can't think that's normal, can we? All impact or speed sports develop clothing to protect the athlete," he told Wielerflits.

The Tour boss, therefore, believes that teams should not only look at aerodynamics. "Whether it's motorsports, skiing, or rugby. Yes, in rugby twenty years ago, nobody thought that clothing would be designed to protect rugby players. Today, it is a fact. Either way, there has to be clothing that protects riders better."

Something that Team dsm-firmenich PostNL has already partially accomplished. DSM, a chemical company, has invented the Dyneema fiber. This has now been incorporated into the Dutch team's cycling outfit, and it can prevent abrasions. Richard Plugge of Visma l Lease a Bike agrees with the statement that teams should consider more protective clothing, he says in the X-message below. Can we also expect new developments from his team regarding this topic in the coming years?

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