The UCI President David Lappartient and Visma-Lease a Bike team boss Richard Plugge have clashed over the governing body’s trial of limited race radio use at the Tour de Pologne, a war of words, accusations of “fake news” and “complete farce” following a crash on the third stage which left a Cofidis rider lying in a ditch with vertebral fractures.
Nicolas Debeaumarché and Soudal Quick-Step rider Pepijn Reinderink crashed while in the breakaway, the Cofidis pro seen lying injured in a roadside ditch, his team later confirming he was taken to hospital with significant back injuries.
It has been reported by Lanterne Rouge podcaster Benji Naesen, who says “multiple riders” have told him since, that a crash then happened in the same place when the peloton passed around 90 seconds later, an incident riders say occurred because only two per team have earpieces due to the UCI trial, the information about the crash ahead not being communicated in time to spread around the peloton.
Taking to social media, Visma-Lease a Bike’s General Manager Plugge had scathing criticism for the UCI’s race radio trial, calling the stage “chaos” and a “complete farce”.
“UCI cannot continue with this radio ban,” he said. “It turns the race into a complete farce like we saw in the Olympics where riders cannot call the car for basic assistance (in case of a mechanical). Hopefully no one was too badly hurt today.”
Plugge wrote those words in reply to a post sharing the TV images of Debeaumarché after his crash. On top of just two riders per team having an earpiece to hear the warning of a crash ahead, initially on the race radio feed it was communicated that just one rider had crashed, the French pro’s fall missed.
However, responding to Plugge, UCI President Lappartient said he was spreading “fake news” and doubled down on the governing body’s trial reducing the use of earpieces in races, with the aim of reducing distractions and improving safety.
“You are caught in the act of fake news!” he wrote. “Today’s crashes at the Tour de Pologne have nothing to do with the absence of radios and you know it. The riders were taken care of according to standards. Our priority at the UCI is safety. You want to keep the radios on to give instructions, not for safety. Take responsibility for it! Let’s continue working together!”
For teams, riders and fans the images of Debeaumarché calling for help while lying stricken in a roadside ditch were particularly uncomfortable given the recent passing of five years since the tragic death of promising Belgian cyclist Bjorg Lambrecht at the race, the 22-year-old Lotto-Soudal rider crashing into a concrete culvert.
Cycling podcaster Naesen hit back at Lappartient’s criticism of Plugge, saying it was in fact him, the UCI’s President, the one spreading “fake news” and asserting that his conversations with riders left him in no doubt there was an “increased risk of danger in today’s stage” due to fewer riders having earpieces to hear race radio.
It is all part of a UCI trial taking place at selected races this summer, only two riders per team allowed to wear an earpiece in a bid to remove “both a source of distraction for riders and a physical hazard because the radio units are mounted on their backs”.
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Announcing the trial, the UCI said: “This decision is based on discussions on the subject within SafeR, which led to the conclusion that earpieces could be both a source of distraction for riders and a physical hazard because the radio units are mounted on their backs, and represent a risk when a large number of teams are simultaneously asking their riders to move up to the front of the race.
“Feedback from all stakeholders will be gathered in order to study the effects of restricting the use of earpieces and to consider studying other measures that could lead to a change in the way earpieces are used, for example limiting their use to two riders per team.
“An overall evaluation will be carried out within SafeR at the end of the season, before being presented to the Professional Cycling Council then to the UCI Management Committee with a view to a decision on the use of earpieces in the future.”
Naesen replied to Lappartient’s fighting talk: “You are caught in the act of fake news! According to multiple riders at the Tour de Pologne today, there was a crash that could’ve been avoided with earpieces. There was a crash in the breakaway. Race radio told team cars about this corner, to warn their riders.
“Only two riders per team had earpieces, and couldn’t tell more than two people about this by the time the peloton reached the same spot. I know because multiple of these riders told me this. A crash happened in the same spot, in the peloton, that according to multiple riders, could have been avoided.
“Multiple riders have told me today about the increased fear of being left in a ditch with injuries because they can’t communicate with team cars. During the Giro, [Jenthe] Biermans crashed out of radio communication range, and other riders told their team cars, who searched for him and found him.
“During today’s Tour de Pologne stage, race radio missed the fall of Nicolas Debeaumarché, only reporting the fall of Reinderink. Riders were shouting ‘help him’ hoping someone would hear that there was a rider with potential serious injuries hidden in the ditch. Another example of increased risk of danger in today’s stage.”
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