Ex-president calls for speed limits to be introduced

Werner Bhend was President of Swiss Triathlon from 2003 to 2007, he took part in cycling races and is an Ironman Hawaii finisher. In his role as association president, he was essentially in charge of the Ironman Switzerland, which partly took place on the same route as the World Cycling Championships competitions in Zurich. He thinks that speed limits should be introduced in cycling.

Werner Bhend, you know from your own experience the route on which Muriel Furrer’s fatal accident at the World Cycling Championships occurred.

Yes, I have passed this part of the route several times as an athlete as part of the Ironman Switzerland; the passage is partly identical to that of the previous World Cycling Championships. There I reached a top speed of around 80 km/h, the professionals of course even more – and that on a route that was not completely closed off. As organizers, we had this passage in mind early on, recognized it as sensitive and looked at it accordingly with the police. Not far from the spot in question, a triathlete fell heavily at the time, but luckily he survived. When I heard about Muriel Furrer’s fall, the memories of that time immediately came back to me.

 

From your perspective, was it responsible to run the cycling portion of the Ironman over this route?

From today’s perspective, especially after the recent death, I would no longer accept this route. However, I know how many parties are involved in this process: police, community, etc. At the Triathlon World Championships in Lausanne, for example, it took months or even years until the course was ready. But you clearly have to defuse such sensitive routes. In cycling this is even more urgent because the speeds are higher than in triathlon.

Was the accident route at the World Cycling Championships too dangerous?

We don’t yet know the exact circumstances of Muriel Furrer’s fall, and perhaps we never will. But if the race in question had been ordered to be neutralized with a speed limit, this accident would most likely not have happened.

A speed limit?

Yes, for example at 50 km/h in steep sections. After all, you don’t win a race on a descent, but on climbs or on flat surfaces. And I’m reminded of Formula 1, even if it can hardly be compared to cycling: after Ayrton Senna’s accidental death in 1994, a paradigm shift took place – safety suddenly had top priority. This has to happen in cycling now, otherwise the sponsors and spectators will drop out at some point. Since Senna’s death, there has only been one fatal accident in Formula 1 (Jules Bianchi, 2014 in Suzuka, editor), but in cycling there have been well over a dozen.

How should neutralization be implemented in cycling?

Today, athletes wear GPS trackers in races to determine their position, but these are used far too little. In the races, so-called red zones could be introduced in which driving is only permitted at the speed limit – and if a racing driver exceeds this limit, it lights up red on the display. Those who fail are immediately given a time penalty; there is a jury for this. Technically, this measure could be implemented immediately and it is not expensive. We have known similar measures in triathlon for a long time.

Which ones, for example?

In tricky passages there is a ban on completing these in the streamlined aero position. Anyone who doesn’t comply will have to serve a time penalty in a so-called penalty box. The sport of triathlon has always been ahead of cycling in terms of safety – so we had mandatory helmets long before that. Last year, after Gino Mäder’s fatal accident, cycling also introduced a sanction system to increase safety: If drivers behave too carelessly during the race, they receive a yellow card, which can lead to disqualification or even suspension.

Who should pay the additional costs for the additional work?

In professional cycling there is certainly enough money to divert a little extra for safety. I know what wages cycling stars like Tadej Pogacar or Jonas Vingegaard get.

However, further down there is a lack of money.

You would have to make gradations there. The highest safety standards must be applied to the professionals; after all, these races are the most dangerous. In junior races, increasing safety would involve a different, less delicate route. And if, for example, heavy rain falls, you would have to define a red neutralization zone. This could even happen spontaneously, during a race.

What do you think about the proposal to integrate airbags into helmets?

Definitely do it if it is technically feasible. But a helmet like this has to be comfortable because the athletes are on the move for hours, it’s not like ski racers who reach the finish line within two and a half minutes.

You could simply appeal to the participants’ common sense before the start of a race.

That doesn’t help at all. Because the drivers do what they want – and that means winning, no matter what. Especially in front of an audience of millions in front of the television.

This is also where the heroization of the particularly daring professionals in downhill runs happens.

The British professional cyclist Tom Pidcock comes to mind, who is shown racing down the Galibier Pass at around 100 km/h in a Netflix series about the Tour de France. He ultimately wins the stage on L’Alpe d’Huez. If you analyze his rapid downhill ride, the result is: If he had driven down more slowly, he would not have been the winner. The example of Tom Pidcock is devastating because someone risked his life and was rewarded for it. But he is the big exception: 99 percent of cycling races are not won because of breakneck descents.