At the end of January, 19-year-old young rider Sara Pfiffer from the Mendelspeck team died in South Tyrol. She was hit by a car that was travelling in her lane while overtaking. In Great Britain, national junior time trial champion Aidan Worden was hit by a car and fatally injured. The 19-year-old from the 360 Cycling Team died at the scene of the accident. Six riders from the German team got off relatively lightly. Track cycling national team. They were knocked down from behind by an 89-year-old car driver while training on Mallorca. Two athletes suffered lumbar vertebrae fractures and two riders sustained shoulder fractures. According to German Cycling, the other two athletes suffered deep abrasions, concussions, fractures and a hairline fracture. Team doctor Dr Matthias Baumann does not expect any permanent damage. National coach Lucas Schädlich was in the support vehicle and witnessed the accident: "We behaved in an exemplary manner, we rode according to the rules and didn't do anything wild," he told TOUR.
Have the roads become more dangerous for road cyclists? What can be done? We asked people from the world of cycling:
Road bike training and car drivers - what the experts say
"It's difficult to say whether it has become more dangerous. You simply have to pay more attention to each other and show consideration. Drivers should give cyclists space and cyclists shouldn't swear at drivers. To minimise danger, you should avoid major traffic flows during training and use side roads and farm tracks and increase your visibility. This includes wearing light-coloured clothing and attaching a flashing light to the seat post, which should be left switched on regardless of the light conditions." - Lucas Schädlich, national track endurance coach
"There are definitely more cars on the road. Caution and consideration should be a matter of course for everyone involved - including us cyclists. When we train with the children, we choose routes where there are fewer cars and we have our lights on in daylight. But I've never had any problems myself - apart from things like close overtaking." - André Greipel, ex-professional, junior coach
"Traffic is simply increasing and I have the feeling that things are getting rougher. The 1.5 metre distance when overtaking should be enforced more. Drivers don't understand what it feels like to pass so close. Drivers get particularly agitated with large groups - if they have to drive behind a tractor, it's not a problem. The car is a deadly weapon and offences should be punished more severely. But it also varies greatly from region to region. I used to train in Freiburg and experienced many dicey situations. Now I live in Münsterland and drivers are more careful there. I've also had bad experiences in Italy - especially when overtaking." Fabian Wegmann, Sports Director Deutschland Tour
"I think that the roads are getting busier and busier, which means that dangerous situations are increasing. I also think that cyclists are travelling faster and faster and sometimes create dangerous situations in the villages, which makes car drivers more aggressive. I avoid the big roads and in the Netherlands we are very lucky that there are many cycle paths. I always train abroad with lights on my bike. For the breaks, I look for quiet roads and in busy areas I take it easy to avoid danger." - Ellen van Dijk, The Cyclists Alliance
What the data says
Four cyclists killed and 58 seriously injured - that is the number of accidents on German country roads in an average week. This is almost 30 per cent more than ten years ago, according to a scientific study on serious cycling accidents on rural roads by the German Insurance Association's Accident Research Unit (UDV). The increase follows the trend that more and more people are cycling. However, many accidents could be avoided. "The main problem is that cyclists are repeatedly overlooked on rural roads," says UDV head Kirstin Zeidler. The most common cause of accidents is collisions with cars (41 per cent), with car drivers also usually causing the accident (59 per cent). Every third serious cycling accident out of town happens without other parties involved, for example in the event of a fall.
Kristian Bauer
Editor
