Quote Originally Posted by mr brightside View Post
Someone died in a stage race today I heard, went up to join the guy who lost his life at the TT no doubt. I like the way the fallen comrade's fellow competition always race on; everyone knows the risk and accept it willingly, with no shows of forced grief for the hungry media or unexpected cancellations of racing. After Andy Caldecott's death on the Dakar, the year Charley Boorman did it, the riders interviewed said that in these circumstances they just say, "c'est Dakar". This to me is pure wisdom, and I take inspiration from the way that death is treated as a natural part of life.
I generally agree with the sentiment and also being a lifelong TT fan, I can see the comparison. However, the TT is at the extreme end of the scale. Most cycling crashes you could expect to survive and severe injuries and deaths are thankfully rare. With speeds of 200mph in places on what are basically A roads, death or very serious injury is practically inevitable at the TT but as you say the riders know and accept the risk. Yes cyclists do too but the risk is surely less an probably easier to accept?

Gino Mäder was the cyclist who lost his life as a result of his injuries on stage 5 of the Tour de Suisse. Magnus Sheffield also crashed out in the same corner of a long steep descent.
i agree that descending is an integral part of the sport and an art that only a few can master (see various Tom Pidcock videos on YouTube) but I do wonder if at times more emphasis is put on the inclusion of certain iconic and testing climbs rather than a safe way to get off them.
Some of the road surfaces, width of the road and weather make for treacherous racing with few willing to gamble to gain a few seconds. Great tele but at what cost?