Former professional cyclist Martin on safety: "Relatively little happened"

Following the tragic death of Gino Mäder, former time trial world champion Tony Martin has massively criticised what he sees as the unchanged safety standards in professional cycling.

Tony Martin criticises before the start of the Tour de France

"The way I see it, relatively little has happened. It feels like we're still riding at the same standard as at the start of my career. I've tried to do a lot, but relatively little to nothing has happened," the 38-year-old Martin told the German Press Agency ahead of the start of the Tour de France this Saturday. The former Jumbo-Visma pro ended his career in autumn 2021.

A week and a half ago, Mäder fell into a ravine at high speed on the descent from the Albula Pass to the finish in La Punt on the last few kilometres of the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse and had to be resuscitated. A day later, the seriously injured Swiss rider died in hospital.

Fundamental handling worthy of criticism

For Martin, the fundamental approach to safety is worthy of criticism. "I think it's an extreme shame that an association doesn't protect its riders and doesn't do everything it can to get the riders safely from a to b. There will never be cycling without crashes and serious injuries, but there are many countermeasures that can be taken," said the former time trial specialist, who is currently developing a children's bike with Marcel Kittel.

Martin has clearly identified a responsible party. "From my point of view, the first responsibility lies with the world governing body, which has to set certain standards. They have to set the standards and the organisers simply have to follow them," said the experienced rider, who once defused a stage of the Tour in 2020 by sitting at the front of the peloton and calling for a leisurely pace from the front. Before that, there had been a festival of crashes.

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