The Crash Video

[George]

Here is my crash video from the surrey league 3 day.

Amazingly it was caught on film.

[url]http://www.dailymotion.com/gbenduro/1[/url]

[Stu Merckx Man]

bloody hell george that was pretty spectacular.
i could see your neck bend when you hit him. ouch!

[Dominic]

Ouch, thank god your wheels were allright!!!

[Dominic]

Just watched it again and again and again.

WTF was he doing. I like the way he looks over accusingly at you George and shakes his wrist. Does he know how much damage was done to you George?

[Stu Merckx Man]

it sounds pretty girzzly when you smash togther.

[Andrew G]

Amazing the way you quickly get up and clear the road so you don't get in the way

[John the old'un]

Makes you wonder what the h*ll the marshals were doing. Total organisational incompetence. On a junction like that it's obvious good marshalling is an absolute necessity to ensure the riders safety.
Am I to believe it was a Surrey League event? Certainly questions should be asked.

[John the old'un]

Hi George,
Have pm'd you.
Cheers.
John.

[Alex P]

Was the camera person a marshall?

Perhaps was a lap counter as you can hear them calling out the numbers as they go past.

Whatever, it must be down to the marshalling!!

[Marek]

Ouch, but I would just say one of those unlucky circumstances. Both of you were very close to the middle of the road, common when racing. It was being videoed as they sell DVDs. Sleeping bear productions.

Good example of what happens in a race is watch the guy who goes around the corner after George, look how he is riding on completely the other side of the road, that is racing for you.

Cheers

Marek...

[John Cochrane]

"Whatever, it must be down to the marshalling!!"

Maybe but necessarily. I was lead car in one event and turned right at a junction. The marshalls were correctly placed with a red flag extended outward and held open. This did not stop a white van swerving round the flag. I even repositioned my car to centre of road as an extra warning. It made no difference. The van driver arrived at the junction at the same time as the leading bunch. His brake lights had not even come on. It was only by some luck and excellant bike skills that no accident happened.

I have been told that in France if a car driver kills a cyclist they automatically face a manslaughter charge. Also I understand that in some counties marshalls have temperary powers to stop traffic. If that's true it sounds like a good thing.

[Marek]

That is true, if the rules were slightly different then it would be safer for the racing cyclist. I think that in France they are much more patient about cycle racing, I would have thought that over there you would have a rolling road closure for an event such as the 3 dayer, in fact I think they would probably have for most events.

Look at the TOB, even in a pro class event the authorities stopped them going through one county as the paper work had not gone through. Can you imagine that happening in the Tour de France, I somehow think not.

But the way things stand cyclists have to abide by the rules of the road, not rely on marshalls stopping traffic as they are not allowed and therefore the cyclists need to be extra vigilant. I have been in a few races where people have crossed over the other side of the road to then meet a car coming the other way, thankfully they were ok, just ended up in the ditch. But that is all part of racing in the UK, I don't think it will change, in fact I reckon in a few years it will get even stricter as people get ever more impatient to get to whereever they are trying to go on a Saturday or Sunday morning. To be slowed down by a bunch of lycra clad young men enjoying themselves, well its not on, better to mow them down or get them off the road than have that.

Cheers

Marek....

[Andrew G]

John's right that it may not be poor marshalling. You are not allowed to stop cars, just hold out your flag and request they wait a few seconds for the riders to pass.

When marshalling the ACC RR in 2006 I held out my flag, the 4X4 (obviously) went to move past me, but as the lead car had already gone through I knew the riders would be there any second. I stepped out to stop them. I politely requested they wait a few seconds as the race was about to pass.

The reply was "But I live here!", at which point he drove off towards the bend, Keith came round as outrider and headed straight for them blocking their path, the race then arrived and fortunately managed to wiggle through. Without Keith it isn't nice to think what might have been.

As Marek says that's racing in the UK. Not right but sadly I don't think it'll be changing too soon.

[-Adam-]

Should the marhsal not have been able to stop a cyclist/ at least warn the cyclist to get the fcuk out the way?

Now i no full well i cut corners like that guy has (when im out training), but no way if i knew there was a race on, which perhaps the marshalls could have made clearer?

Either way, I totally agree with Marek, in that 'thats bike racing in the UK' for you. Its almost everyman for himself. But in no way is that the fault of the organisers like the Surrey League.

I blame Tony Blair

[John Czernobay]

Oh George, that is awful brother. It sounded bad from your posts but now to see it. What were the Marshalls etc doing? We are all thinking of you George, you take it easy.

Best wishes.
JohnCz..