Do you fall more often in a group than in the past? What has changed in modern cycling compared to just a few years ago? Is it the fault of the materials, as some claim, or of the riders who risk too much?
The theme of many crashes among the Pros it is a hot topic, which is discussed with a certain regularity and which has returned to the fore after the fall at the Tour of the Basque Country 2024, which involved many riders, including some big names such as Roglic, Evenepoel and Vingegaard.
On a rainy afternoon on the eve of the Giro d’Italia we talked about it with Matteo Trentin, starting from this year with Team Tudor Pro Cycling. Matteo has been with the group since 2011. He has experienced first-hand the generational change, but also the evolution of materials of which cycling has been the protagonist in recent years. He has plenty of experience, so who better than him could we address this delicate topic with?
Below we summarize some of the key points that emerged, while if you want to go deeper, below you will find one of our podcasts with the complete interview. It’s ten minutes, it’s worth it because Matteo Trentin said some non-trivial things…
- Falls are not much more numerous than in the past, but people fall at a higher speed.
- Falls involve more riders, because there is less and less selection and everyone wants to stay in front.
- New materials and new technologies are not directly responsible, but they have an impact because they make you go faster.
- Some sections of the race, which might have been fine until a few years ago, are no longer suitable for modern cycling. In this regard we also talked about the much discussed approach to the Arenberg forest…
- Finding universal solutions is difficult, but there are at least a couple of things that can be done…
