Wouter Weylandt crash- doesn't look good

phreak

Obviously this was a terrible event, but I think it has to be remembered that this accident wasn't really a result of a dangerous course. It sounds from the eye witness reports that he was looking behind him to see the position of the pack behind him when he crashed.

RichN95.

squired wrote:

I'm not sure which site I read it on (possibly Velonation or Venonews), but there was an eye witness account of the accident from another cyclist. Based on that account Weyland was riding on his own about 50 metres ahead of a group of cyclists. It was explained that he looked around (I think the cyclist giving the account suggested that he thought Weylandt was probably thinking of waiting for the group). As he did that he brushed a wall and crashed.

It was Manuel Cardoso: "Wouter was dropped and tried to come back to the group. He then looked behind to see if he would be better to wait for other dropped riders (some 20). While looking behind, he hit with his left pedal or the left side of his handlebars on a small wall and was catapulted to the other side of the road when he hit again something. It must have been terrible.”

kieranb

Very sad news, brings to life my and many other cyclists fears of leaving behind a family due to a fatal crash, whether commuting/racing etc.

Also saddened by the news of the death of Shamus Liptrot (see
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/australian-cycling-community-mourns-death-of-shamus-liptrot ). I believe this crash was put on youtube at the time?

To TheYorkshireMan, remember: "One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic."
Joseph Stalin. And has been shown in various studies, the more victims of a crime the less people can empathise. Check out: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/02/ben-goldacre-bad-science-crime-punishment-empathy

Juttzman

Aboslutely Gutted, thoughts to his family and his team.

TheYorkshireMan

Steve_F wrote:

Please show some compassion and leave the thread, it's just not the thread to argue in......

Er, I did say that if others wanted to take up my points in another thread, they were welcome to do so. However many have chosen to continue with the debate here, which is not my doing. That said, I have said my piece and am quite happy to leave things there.

derbygrimpeur

RIP - shocking news and devasting for his family. Surprised to see Gazzetta publishing a picture of his Fiancée arriving at the airport, give the girl some privacy.

As has been said, this could happen to anyone, a momentary lack of concentration. Just hope the well publicised "dangerous" parcours of some of this year's Giro passess without further incident.

rocksteadyeddie

TheYorkshireMan wrote:

Steve_F wrote:

Please show some compassion and leave the thread, it's just not the thread to argue in......

Er, I did say that if others wanted to take up my points in another thread, they were welcome to do so. However many have chosen to continue with the debate here, which is not my doing. That said, I have said my piece and am quite happy to leave things there.

Good.

FransJacques

I recall Weylandts had a pretty bad crash earlier this year - might have been a race in Switzerland? I'll have a look...

I recalled this from this shot where he's sporting some road rash scars: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/photos/ ... lia/173061

Anyone else not really sleep well last night? I was thinking about the fear I rode with on Sunday when my girlfriend was doing her first ever sportive which took in some very narrow and busy roads. I was scared for her safety. If something happened to her in a sport that I got her into I'd never forgive myself. Millar's words about his upset wife, who's coincidentally also 5 months preganant, hit hard about the fear in the back of the minds of all racers' loved ones.

stevec205gti

Was watching online on Italian coverage - missed the accident as I went to have a cup of tea, and by the sounds of things I'm glad I did. As I don't actually speak Italian I didn't hear anything of the incident until later last night - just reading the reports gets a lump in my throat

RIP

dilemna

R.I.P Wouter Weylandt.

Pro road cyclists or any road racing cyclists must be the least protected of any sportsmen and women except swimmers or gymnasts. Just a thin layer of Lycra, mitts, shoes and helmet to protect them.

NWLondoner

A donation page has been launched by leopard trek on their Facebook page.

Please give whatever you can if you feel so inclined

ms_tree

I've no words for this accident except he left doing something he loved and from all accounts went quickly. My thoughts are for those left behind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p610Tdty ... re=related

Says it all IMHO.

KillerMetre

Leopard have confirmed they are leaving the Giro

http://www.facebook.com/notes/leopard-t ... 8327244198

timoid.

Rick Chasey wrote:

TheYorkshireMan wrote:

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

why is the death of many more sorrowful than the death of one?

Loss is not a league table.

blah blah blah.

I bet you're the guy everyone wants at their funeral.

Take your chat elsewhere - it's inappropriate.

Where is the like button on this forum when you need it. Well said Rick.

TheYorkshireMan

NWLondoner wrote:

A donation page has been launched by leopard trek on their Facebook page.

Please give whatever you can if you feel so inclined

I am sure that all those on here who have been so moved by his death will have already made a very generous donation in order to help his family.

csp

P_Tucker

TheYorkshireMan wrote:

NWLondoner wrote:

A donation page has been launched by leopard trek on their Facebook page.

Please give whatever you can if you feel so inclined

I am sure that all those on here who have been so moved by his death will have already made a very generous donation in order to help his family.

don't be silly, an RIP on a interweb forum is more than enough. Who was it that died again?

amaferanga

TheYorkshireMan wrote:

NWLondoner wrote:

A donation page has been launched by leopard trek on their Facebook page.

Please give whatever you can if you feel so inclined

I am sure that all those on here who have been so moved by his death will have already made a very generous donation in order to help his family.

Just like you've generously donated to the families of the refugees that died?

gilesjuk

dilemna wrote:

R.I.P Wouter Weylandt.

Pro road cyclists or any road racing cyclists must be the least protected of any sportsmen and women except swimmers or gymnasts. Just a thin layer of Lycra, mitts, shoes and helmet to protect them.

I don't think there's much that can be done unless they wear a motorcycle style helmet. In this case it appears he fell flat on his face and only a full face helmet would have helped.

TheYorkshireMan

amaferanga wrote:

TheYorkshireMan wrote:

NWLondoner wrote:

A donation page has been launched by leopard trek on their Facebook page.

Please give whatever you can if you feel so inclined

I am sure that all those on here who have been so moved by his death will have already made a very generous donation in order to help his family.

Just like you've generously donated to the families of the refugees that died?

Mmm, I never claim to have been 'devastated' as a consequence of reading about their death, nor was I moved to tears or felt the need to offer prayers to the sky fairies. That said, show me a donation site that has been set up for them, and I would make a contribution.

Indirectly, I do try to help such people and the main organisation I donate to is Médecins Sans Frontières. Last year I gave them substantially more than I spent on cycling equipment...

I wonder if the 'devastation' people have felt about the tragic death of Wouter Weylandt will stop them watching the rest of the race, especially given some of the dangers the riders will face through the rest of the race? After all, it will probably be 'business as usual' for the riders today.

kieranb wrote:

To TheYorkshireMan, remember: "One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic." Joseph Stalin...

I am not sure that resorting to words of that great humanitarian, Joseph Stalin, does much to undermine the argument that multiple deaths are a greater human tragedy than a single death.

iainf72

TheYorkshireMan wrote:

Indirectly, I do try to help such people and the main organisation I donate to is Médecins Sans Frontières. Last year I gave them substantially more than I spent on cycling equipment...

If we applied your logic to this, we'd be asking why you donate to them. Aren't other charities equallly deserving?

We're all cycling fans. Wouter died doing something we watch for entertainment and this has resonated with everyone. A lot of people cycle as well and it makes them think of their own mortality. There is nothing wrong with finding what happened to Wouter more upsetting or tragic than anything else.

TheYorkshireMan

iainf72 wrote:

TheYorkshireMan wrote:

Indirectly, I do try to help such people and the main organisation I donate to is Médecins Sans Frontières. Last year I gave them substantially more than I spent on cycling equipment...

If we applied your logic to this, we'd be asking why you donate to them. Aren't other charities equallly deserving?

We're all cycling fans. Wouter died doing something we watch for entertainment and this has resonated with everyone. A lot of people cycle as well and it makes them think of their own mortality. There is nothing wrong with finding what happened to Wouter more upsetting or tragic than anything else.

MSF seem to do a lot of good in the world, and are more deserving than many charities I can think of.

I don't doubt that the death of Weylandt would be likely to have a more immediate impact on cycling fans than the death of a boatload of 'asylum seekers'. (We all know what the general attitude is toward such unfortunate individuals). The main point I was making is that whilst such events are often latched on to by people as a way of confirming their belief that they are compassionate, empathetic individuals, even if this amounts to little more than writing 'RIP mate' on an internet forum, in reality human empathy tend to be very limited in its scope.

I also question the sincerity of those who claim to have been 'devastated' by his death and so forth, with such claims often seeming to be little more than empty rhetoric. In my view such statements are also somewhat insulting to those who are genuinely devastated by the loss of someone they loved.

As I said, anyone who continues to watch this race can't have been that much affected by Weylandt's untimely death.

CyclingBantam

Can you please start anoher thread about this?

What is your point Yorksireman as I see nothing other than an attempt to offend people.

To come on to a thread discussiog a cyclist who has died and tell people you have never met how they should handle it, how they should feel and that they have no real compassion is rude and leaves me in little doubt about your ability to think/comprehend views that don't match your own.

You don't know what anyone has donated or done as a result of the incident.

Please don't respond to this you utter fool and learn some manners and respect.

Gazzaputt

Please stop feeding the troll.

TheYorkshireMan

CyclingBantam wrote:

Can you please start anoher thread about this?

What is your point Yorksireman as I see nothing other than an attempt to offend people.

To come on to a thread discussiog a cyclist who has died and tell people you have never met how they should handle it, how they should feel and that they have no real compassion is rude and leaves me in little doubt about your ability to think/comprehend views that don't match your own.

You don't know what anyone has donated or done as a result of the incident.

Please don't respond to this you utter fool and learn some manners and respect.

So, you fail to see my point? Unfortunately failing to see the point I am making is a major failing of most of the human race.

Those who wish to see this 'discussion' end should simply refrain from contributing to it, including yourself. I have already said at least twice that I was happy to leave things as they were but then people (like you) insisted on raking over the coals once again.

Hope you enjoy watching the rest of the race. Give it a couple of days and a big mountain stage and I am sure your enthusiasm will return.

Tom Butcher

TheYorkshireMan wrote:

[

I don't doubt that the death of Weylandt would be likely to have a more immediate impact on cycling fans than the death of a boatload of 'asylum seekers'. (We all know what the general attitude is toward such unfortunate individuals). The main point I was making is that whilst such events are often latched on to by people as a way of confirming their belief that they are compassionate, empathetic individuals, even if this amounts to little more than writing 'RIP mate' on an internet forum, in reality human empathy tend to be very limited in its scope.

I also question the sincerity of those who claim to have been 'devastated' by his death and so forth, with such claims often seeming to be little more than empty rhetoric. In my view such statements are also somewhat insulting to those who are genuinely devastated by the loss of someone they loved.

As I said, anyone who continues to watch this race can't have been that much affected by Weylandt's untimely death.

I haven't checked back but has anyone really claimed to be devastated by his death - has anyone said they are going to take years to get over this in the way the death of close family can take years to come to terms with.

If you want to analyse the nature of how people react to death then go ahead - you should realise though that just because people don't feel the need to join you in deconstructing the reaction to this tragedy doesn't mean you are the only person with the intellect to do so - it's just that we recognise the appropriate time and place.

neeb

Absolutely terrible news, my deepest sympathies to Wouter Weylandt's family and friends.

Makes me think about the fear I experienced on steep technical descents in Mallorca earlier this year and how I have set myself the objective of overcoming it, and whether overcoming it is actually a good idea. For the pros of course this is not an option.

TheYorkshireMan - what's wrong is not what you're saying, it's the fact that you are effectively exploiting this tragic event to push your own agenda. Doesn't matter if the agenda is a good one, it's still exploitation. Most people intuitively grasp that this is wrong, and without these sorts of responses there would be no compassion in the world at all. Leave it.

derbygrimpeur

TheYorkshireMan wrote:

NWLondoner wrote:

A donation page has been launched by leopard trek on their Facebook page.

Please give whatever you can if you feel so inclined

I am sure that all those on here who have been so moved by his death will have already made a very generous donation in order to help his family.

I am saddened by WW's death, and found yesterday's stage very moving. However, given that all yesterday's prize money will be given to his family, and I'm sure that a pro rider has rather large life insurance, I'm not sure why any donation from public is required. As such, I will not be donating, but that doed not prevent myself and others from feeling shocked/saddened by this death.

Gazzaputt

Like to add the I wholeheartedly agree with the suggestion on Eurosport that the race number 108 now be withdrawn in future Giros.

P_Tucker

TheYorkshireMan wrote:

So, you fail to see my point? Unfortunately failing to see the point I am making is a major failing of most of the human race.

Your point seems to be that people empathaise primarily with those most like themselves. There are good evolutionary reasons for this, which, based on the intelligence displayed in your posts, I suspect you understand. Whilst one might expect an intelligent rational human to rise above their natural impluses to view the world dispassionately and objectively, I suspect it's not a surprise to you that they don't - after all, the majority of people believe in sky fairies FFS.

As others have said, I do wonder what your agenda is. You aren't going to change the world on an internet forum; I doubt you'll even change one person's mind - no-one listens to anything when they're on the defensive or they don't like the person doing the talking.