For (1) all I have is hearsay. Kensuf told me that the riders on the front said that they pointed out the hazard, but for some reason the information didn't filter back. I'm guessing that it was a big surprise and there was precious little time to react.

It seemed to me that it was just very bad timing as it all happened at that point in the ride where the disciple of the double paceline breaks down and there is a surge up the road in anticipation of the sprint. Most people start looking for wheels to follow instead of hazards, even if they have no intention of contesting the sprint.


For (2) they were "regular" glasses in the sense of not being sport specific, but polycarbonate lenses. Lenses took a terrific beating and stayed in the frames and didn't shatter. That was good. The cut was from the bottom edge of the glasses being jammed hard into the soft tissue under the eye.