People actually believe that racing cars takes more physical skill, mental concentration and has a higher risk.
Having driven race cars for a number of years - I don't want to get into a "my Dad can beat up your Dad" pissing contest as to which sport is tougher or more dangerous - but let me tell you, driving race cars is no picnic. In fact, it is downright brutal. And cars with a lot of downforce, like Indy or F1, are off the charts.
And you want to see focussed concentration? Watch the cockpit footage of a WRC driver at work. No blinking!
It's a different discipline than pro cycling. It stresses different abilities and capabilities. Both are tough, in their own way. Neither are in any way "easy".
One thing that some of the media have missed about this fatal accident is that he didn't just fall off the bike and slide across the road. If you see the pictures of the crash site, you'll see he fell off a retaining wall and fell 20m onto another roadway. At 3m per building storey, that's like falling seven floors - and not a case with a high survival percentage no matter what you are doing. Throw an NFL linebacker in full kit off a seven storey building, and that will not end well.
So this isn't a "typical" bike crash. More's the shame, because a "typical" crash would have broken some bones and stripped off some skin, but he'd still be able to race another day.
DG