Road Bike Racing - GW Video

That was as bad a crash I've ever seen that up and close. Hope Casper is okay.

Hmm....I didn't realize I was in a video....

That was as bad a crash I've ever seen that up and close. Hope Casper is okay.

looked like one nasty face plant.
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/5308/gwlasthc3.jpg

Yeup didnt see, it. Someone post pics.

I'll clip out recorded video post race.

ok, in order.

as it happens, sporz had a TV crew perfectly placed to cover the crash. you knew something was going to happen, and michel wuyts and jose de cauwer were 'ohh oi'ing' at the site of bottles flying out of cages, from the bike bouncing on the cobbles BEFORE there was a crash.

casper's front wheel brushed against someones, and he went down, casuing a chain reaction behind him, taking out about 5-6 other riders, including tyler farrar.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/botto/gw_2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/botto/gw_3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/botto/gw_4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/botto/gw_5a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/botto/gw_5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/botto/gw_6.jpg

a few minutes later...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/botto/gw_7.jpg

another crash just happened, same thing - bottles flying on a cobbled descent.

wonder if the warm and dry weather this spring is contributing to all of these northern classic crashes a little?

Nothing like a duraace crank in the back as you're sliding down cobbles on your arse.

Awesome finish. Tactically played about as perfectly as you could.

holy ****, that crash looks horrible. Thanks for the pics botto.

Yeah the finish was amazing.

The initial crash (this doesn't show the pile up that ensued behind them or the pile up for the second time down the cobbled hill - you'll have to pay your homage to the cycling.tv gods for that!)

http://www.cycleiwakuni.com/gw_crash.wmv ~ 1mb

The initial crash (this doesn't show the pile up that ensued behind them or the pile up for the second time down the cobbled hill - you'll have to pay your homage to the cycling.tv gods for that!)

http://www.cycleiwakuni.com/gw_crash.wmv ~ 1mb

ouch. domino effect: tap, tap, third rider goes down.

The initial crash (this doesn't show the pile up that ensued behind them or the pile up for the second time down the cobbled hill - you'll have to pay your homage to the cycling.tv gods for that!)

http://www.cycleiwakuni.com/gw_crash.wmv ~ 1mb

damn, that looked like it hurt.

another video

http://users.telenet.be/softsell/jimmycasper.wmv

damn, that looked like it hurt.

I literally yelled, Oh Sh*t...

Nothing like going down and having your face dissipate the energy. Ouch!

Aw man....that's gotta hurt.

good thing that jimmy caspar was ugly before the crash.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2006/aug06/indre06/image022.jpg

The initial crash (this doesn't show the pile up that ensued behind them or the pile up for the second time down the cobbled hill - you'll have to pay your homage to the cycling.tv gods for that!)

http://www.cycleiwakuni.com/gw_crash.wmv ~ 1mb

every time i hear cycling commentators in english, i thank god that i know enough dutch to understand the dynamic duo of michel wuyts & jose de cauwer.

That guy from Gerolsteiner that had his fork come off after an earlier crash in FLanders crashed 2 more times at GW.

Yea its the bike's fault. :rolleyes:

That guy from Gerolsteiner that had his fork come off after an earlier crash in FLanders crashed 2 more times at GW.

Yea its the bike's fault. :rolleyes:

i saw one of the crashes today, and you're right: it was the bikes fault. :D

Wow- a face mask might have been helpful there.

Happens nearly every year on the Kemmel descent.

Might be time for a rethink by the organisers.

My local CBS news station just had the previews for the 10:00pm Memphis news and they actually showed the video clip of the crash. What a surprise...

My local CBS news station just had the previews for the 10:00pm Memphis news and they actually showed the video clip of the crash. What a surprise...


the ONLY time pro cycling makes it onto our network news is...

1. massive pileups
2. drugs


....sigh....:(

The news story showed the crash but then they also showed the finish and sort of gave results....Germany first and GB second.........LoL. No mention of anyone's names.

another video

http://users.telenet.be/softsell/jimmycasper.wmv
jesus christ. I'd imagine cobbles are probably akin to a cheese grater

Wow, I saw the pics. at pez, but they did not give that crash justice. Any report on his face? (broken cheek bone?)

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/races07/gw07/gw07-casper.jpg

I feel soo bad for his wheels (mmmmm lightweights)


another crash:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/races07/gw07/gw07-marco.jpg

Wow, I saw the pics. at pez, but they did not give that crash justice. Any report on his face? (broken cheek bone?)


Some fractures to the "eye orbit" (??)

The news story showed the crash but then they also showed the finish and sort of gave results....Germany first and GB second.........LoL. No mention of anyone's names.

i'm surprised that local news is even aware that there are countries called germany and the UK, unless the thought that burghardt and hammond were from germany county, and uk, county. :D

another crash:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/races07/gw07/gw07-marco.jpg


Marco has pretty nice-lookin' legs

Some fractures to the "eye orbit" (??)

Ow

I got my head punched in once and got a depressed fracture of the cheekbone. It hurts.:(

That guy from Gerolsteiner that had his fork come off after an earlier crash in FLanders crashed 2 more times at GW.

Yea its the bike's fault. :rolleyes:

as it turns out, maybe it is the bikes fault. one gerolsteiner guy caused:


Gent-Wevelgem was won by a German rider for only the second time ever, and while T-Mobile's Marcus Burghardt celebrated, other teams and riders had no reason to smile.

The crashes on the second descent of Kemmelberg took out many riders: On the cobbled descent, a water bottle was jarred loose, and a Gerolsteiner rider swerved to avoid it, causing a crash that left Unibet's Jimmy Casper lying on the cobbles with blood pouring down his face. As riders braked to avoid Casper, several more nasty crashes occurred, taking out Wim De Vocht (Predictor), Tyler Farrar (Cofidis), Luke Roberts (CSC), Wilfried Cretskens (Quickstep), Andy Cappelle (Landbouwkrediet) and Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner).

French rider Casper was reportedly diagnosed with a severe concussion and a fracture of the bones that make up the eye orbit. The Unibet rider was transferred to the intensive care unit of the hospital in Ypres.

Cofidis' Tyler Farrar suffered severe damage to his kneecap, and will be out of racing for at least one month. Australian Luke Roberts, meanwhile, has been said to be "OK" by his team CSC and ready for this Sunday's final big battle on the cobble stones: Paris-Roubaix.

Wim de Vocht of Predictor-Lotto broke his thumb and suffered scrape wounds all over his body. He will not be able to start at Paris-Roubaix, where Björn Leukemans will replace him.

Wilfried Cretskens (Quickstep) is also out of racing for two weeks, as he wounded his right arm severely in the fall. He and team-mate Kevin Hulsmans, who abandoned Gent-Wevelgem with respiratory problems due to a bronchitis, will not be participating in the 'Hell of the North'.

Within team Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner, Andy Cappelle suffered a crack in the left shoulder and a fracture of the left elbow. His team-mate James Vanlandschoot broke his thumb, elbow and wrist - both riders will be out of competition for two months.

Three Milram riders also had to abandon Gent-Wevelgem. Alessandro Petacchi was lucky enough to only have his bike damaged enough to cause him to drop out. Team-mate Fabio Sacchi was taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg, but x-rays showed that he was only severely bruised.

Petacchi's important lead-out man Marco Velo wasn't so lucky. He broke not only his right collarbone and two ribs, but probably tore all the ligaments in his right knee as well. He'll be in the hospital for at least another 24 hours.

"A bad day for us," concluded Milram spokeswoman Sandra Schmitz succinctly.

"That was all pretty stupid today," said Marcel Sieberg, who was an eyewitness to his teammates' crashes and came to the finish line in a following group. "In the finale, I wanted to go with them on the final sprint but I didn't have the legs for it. Besides that our group was pretty hectic in the sprint and the barriers suddenly got closer and closer. I decided not to bother, I didn't want to crash again."

Gerolsteiner came off a little better. Heinrich Haussler was another Kemmelberg victim and was taken to the hospital with a suspected broken collarbone. It turned out that the young German-Australian had "only" severe bruising on his shoulder, knee and elbow.

Meanwhile, over in Pais Vasco, Haussler's teammate Ronny Scholz didn't even make it to the start Wednesday. He spent the night before in the bathroom with an intestinal bug, and even decided not to fly home on Wednesday, preferring to stay close to the bathroom.

T-Mobile came out of Gent-Wevelgem with no serious injuries, although Servais Knaven did hit the pavement at one point. They lost two riders in Spain, today, though. Adam Hansen dropped out after injuring his foot in a crash during the first stage, and Giuseppe Guerini dropped out, having come from the Settimana Coppi e Bartali in a weakened condition.

Finally, Canadian track cyclist Travis Smith, who crashed in a dramatic run-in with Chinese rider Qi Tang at the UCI World Championships in Mallorca, Spain earier this month will be undergoing surgery to repair two fractures found deep inside his hip joint. Initially, the doctors though he suffered a strain but upon further examination the fractures were discovered and surgery recommended.

The video link is dead now. If you didn't get a chance to see it, head to cycling.tv and watch it there :)

I think there should be an agreement amongst the riders to jettison bottles before the ascent of the Kemmelberg. A feed zone could be set up on the flat road beyond the descent. That carnage was horrendous. "Wilfried Cretskins (Quickstep-Innergetic): deep cuts and road rash to elbow and arms, which required skin grafts from thigh area to cover open wounds ground through muscle tissue to the bone".

<shudder>

as it turns out, maybe it is the bikes fault. one gerolsteiner guy caused:

On the cobbled descent, a water bottle was jarred loose, and a Gerolsteiner rider swerved to avoid it, causing a crash
I don't know...to me that sure sounds like operator error.

I don't know...to me that sure sounds like operator error.

nope. it was a specialized cage. ;)

nope. it was a specialized cage. ;)
Pfft...it doesn't say the Gerolsteiner rider dropped his bottle it says the Gerolsteiner rider swerved to avoid a dropped bottle. I bet it was HH.

Pfft...it doesn't say the Gerolsteiner rider dropped his bottle it says the Gerolsteiner rider swerved to avoid a dropped bottle. I bet it was HH.

he was following a couple of quicksteps.

slowstep is more like it

Looked to me like the skidding Liquigas rider behind the Gerosteiner rider took out Casper. Pretty hard to tell if there was contact or Casper's braking brought him down. Next time down it appeared to be beverage slick cobbles doing the poor bastards in. Guys braking hard on the right side of the road (viewer left) didn't crash. Good thing...Casper had suffered enough injury already.