Giro d’Italia, why so many crashes? Extreme choices on bikes, weather and risky maneuvers by the riders – Corriere.it

In Tortona it was the turn of Tao Geoghegan (hip fracture), Oscar Rodriguez (kidney trauma) and the unfortunate Alessandro Covi who, after taking down Tao, broke his sacrum. Yesterday Alberto Dainese and Jack Haig crashed (luckily for them, passing unscathed under the blade of a guardrail).

In cycling we end up on the ground more and more often. In addition to the wet roads and the exploits of some reckless runners, many technicians blame bikes that are now too extreme. really so?

In recent years, bicycles have not lightened (under 6.8 kg you cannot go, by regulation) but have significantly improved aerodynamics (with larger section tubes) and stiffness (carbon fibers superimposed in a special way and more geometries compact), two features that serve to make them slide faster on the asphalt by reducing air resistance and increasing sprint response.

The average speeds of the stage are impressive. When the race becomes difficult (wet roads, winding paths, tiredness of the rider) a bike that is too stiff can become a runaway horse. Certain forks and especially certain types of wheels contribute to making the situation worse. The high-profile carbon ones (hyper-performing), especially if the tires are inflated to too high pressures, slide but don’t cushion, transforming the bike into an F1 racing car launched on a road circuit.

Disc brakes, which some still dispute, do not create direct problems. But their ruthless precision induces some riders to pull away late (sometimes too late) before a corner or a dangerous situation. Moral: technological extremisms in increasingly unpredictable weather conditions, and on roads that are sometimes not in good condition, often lead to trouble.