SafeR est la structure dédiée à la sécurité dans le cyclisme sur route masculin et féminin, réunissant des représentants de toutes les parties prenantes du cyclisme sur route. Cette conférence de presse était l'occasion de faire le point sur les initiatives lancées jusqu'ici et les différentes actions qui seront mises en place prochainement, permettant ainsi aux médias d'approfondir certains points.
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SportTranscription
00:00So, thank you very much for joining us today.
00:06So we appreciate the effort to connect across different time zones.
00:11And we hope this session will provide you valuable insights into the work that already
00:16has been done to enhance the safety of our sport.
00:21And now hand over to my colleagues, starting with Matthew Knight, who is temporarily coordinating
00:28the SAFER project.
00:31Matthew, the floor is yours.
00:35Thank you, Peter.
00:36So over the next 15 slides or so, I'll show some details of the projects we've been working
00:44on, explain the structure of SAFER, the database, the achievements that SAFER has made and are
00:52in force for this season.
00:54So I'll jump right into the first topic.
00:58This slide visualizes the structure of SAFER.
01:02So on the left, you see that SAFER is made up of IOC, AIGCP, the CPA, CPA Women, and
01:09the UCI are the four equal partners of SAFER.
01:15SAFER itself is composed of three bodies.
01:18So you have the SAFER board, which oversees the activities.
01:24And then you have the SAFER commission, and then the SAFER case management.
01:28So that's how SAFER functions.
01:31And then really, it is the final step then is SAFER is making proposals, and those are
01:38then given to the UCI.
01:40So that is a very quick snapshot of how SAFER works.
01:45The next slide is much more detailed.
01:48This gives the specific actions of each of those bodies of SAFER.
01:54So you see the board, it's really the oversight of the budget, the appointments of the analysts,
01:59the overall strategy.
02:01The composition is listed there.
02:03This is published on, there is a SAFER page on the UCI website.
02:08So these names are repeated.
02:11What you'll see, it's a distribution amongst different organizers.
02:16The teams and riders have their representation along with the UCI.
02:22The frequency of meetings, about four times a year.
02:27So that is really the overall activities of SAFER.
02:31And then moving towards the commission, there you get into the technical elements.
02:37So advice on regulations, on commissary decisions, on equipment, education, deciding which events
02:43to attend.
02:44So there you see, again, you have organizers and representatives across different organizations,
02:50whether it's ASO, RCS, Flanders Classic, UniPublic.
02:56And again, the teams are represented as well, riders, and then the UCI has two representatives.
03:03Also myself, formerly a SAFER commission member, but as Peter mentioned, temporarily
03:09overseeing the project.
03:11And there, the frequency of meetings is more frequent.
03:13It's really monthly meetings to provide guidance and overall vision on the priorities of what
03:20SAFER should be actively looking at.
03:24So I'll give examples of what took place last year.
03:28Monitoring the progress of different projects, different tests that were put in place.
03:32And then ultimately, it's those recommendations on regulation changes that go to whether it's
03:37the Professional Cycling Council, or the UCI Equipment Commission, or to commissaries.
03:44That is certainly via the SAFER commission.
03:47And then finally, the case management element is the weekly meetings that take place.
03:53It's more active, so there's daily communication as needed.
03:56So examining race incidents, recommending any proactive measures if needed, and then
04:04to use the race incident database as its main tool to collect that information.
04:10And as you see, the analysts, so Adam is an analyst for the riders, Alessandra Capoletto.
04:19The teams, so Dan Martin and Rubens Bertagliati, and the organizers, Romain Cobain.
04:26And UCI is there as observers.
04:29So that is really the more active daily element of SAFER.
04:35So it's the weekly meetings, really monitoring actively the race incidents, but also proactively
04:42anticipating any issues that may arise.
04:47So that gives you a very broad overview of who is within SAFER, how active it is, and
04:56what it is working on.
04:59So what SAFER is working on is really captured in this slide.
05:04So in almost a year ago, so around April of last year, SAFER and the SAFER board approved
05:12these 27 deliverables organized in these five columns.
05:17So work on regulations, organizer guidelines, commissary decision making, equipment, and
05:24education as the five pillars of activities and regulation changes of work that SAFER
05:33needs to focus on.
05:35And this list was collected via feedback through all the stakeholders.
05:41So it really is a very broad list of different initiatives.
05:45Some have advanced much more quickly.
05:48So there are quick wins that have already been achieved.
05:51For example, the yellow card system is in force.
05:54The minimum number of ambulances were increased.
05:57The three kilometer rule, as many of you know, is in place.
06:02The sprint protocol.
06:04So those are really concrete examples.
06:07There's many, many medium to long-term projects on the list.
06:13Organizer guidelines, for example, working on improving the current guidelines, whether
06:19it's barrier design, the types of course protection being used.
06:24Commissary decision making is one.
06:27So certainly feedback to improve consistency to work on that.
06:31So SAFER and SAFER case management really has the opportunity to review race incidents,
06:38whether it's rider behavior or what is installed by a race organizer, to provide certainly
06:45constructive feedback, ways to improve, whether it's course design, course protection.
06:51And also establishing which decisions commissaries should make in terms of rider safety or rider
06:59behavior.
07:00For example, lead out riders in sprints.
07:03So there are some really specific cases that SAFER has touched on.
07:07Equipment is a big pillar as well.
07:09So there's a UCI Equipment Commission.
07:12These are concepts that have been brought forward via the families.
07:17The concept of reducing speed, increasing stability is certainly one of them.
07:24There are different ways to achieve that.
07:27The list, as you see there, and also personal protection of the riders, whether it's abrasion
07:33resistant clothing or helmets.
07:36These are all elements that will be continued to be looked into by SAFER and recommendations
07:43going forward.
07:45And then education, again, it's a big pillar on its own.
07:50So with the database, developing resources to provide examples.
07:57The next few are improving behavior of those in the race convoy.
08:00So certainly it's not just riders, but drivers, spectators.
08:06The concept of a super license for young riders or some level of education to put in place
08:13for riders as we see the age of young riders joining immediately world tour races is certainly
08:21a topic that SAFER can continue to work on.
08:25And safety briefings, overall safety briefings.
08:28So these 27, it's a very big list.
08:31As mentioned, some are quick wins, some are longer term projects.
08:36But this gives the guidance for what SAFER should continue to work on.
08:41So that explains the deliverables.
08:45Then the next three slides will just highlight the race incident database.
08:51So the UCI press release started sharing some of these numbers, which we haven't shared
08:56in as much detail previously.
08:59But as Peter mentioned in the introduction, this UCI race incident database is a collaboration
09:04with University of Ghent.
09:06The base of the project was using their technology to automatically create race incidents based
09:14on internet activity, such as scraping the internet and using Twitter at the time of
09:21major incidents.
09:23You'd have a frequency of comments made and be able to already identify those.
09:28The project has continued to grow, but last year, 2024, SAFER being put in place and actively
09:35using the database, you can see the huge jump in race incidents that have been entered.
09:42And this is at the Pro Series and Men's and Women's World Tour level.
09:46So you see that we're around 500.
09:49So that's really the volume of data that we've collected.
09:54Then the next slide, attributing causes.
09:58So the biggest piece of the pie is rider's own mistake.
10:03Incidents can have multiple causes in some cases.
10:07And then as we move down the list, there are trends and issues to look into.
10:13So certainly the point of interest or the pressure on the race as the race is moving
10:19towards key moments in the race, such as positioning and climbs or cobble sections or intermediate
10:25sprints.
10:26There, the frequency is high.
10:30Wet slippery roads is quite high as well.
10:33And moving down the list, it's descents, it's traffic infrastructure, it's other elements.
10:40So we have a volume of data.
10:42We're obviously continuously discussing on how to use this data, how to analyze it.
10:49Can better ways to look at the data be developed, such as attributing the severity?
10:57So one of the pieces of the pie might be small, but when that does happen, the severity is
11:02high.
11:03The frequency, the multiple causes as mentioned, the race tension.
11:09So high speed descents in the wet leading to a climb.
11:13So there you'd have multiple causes in the race where certainly you'd be able to identify
11:19where it would be at risk.
11:22Translating that into actions on the ground can certainly be protective measures by the
11:27race organizer.
11:29Other ways of securing the course.
11:33So this is giving us a strong background, and the volume of input will only increase
11:40in terms of the work of the weekly case management meetings.
11:44So this slide summarizes what I've already mentioned.
11:47So it's the reviewing of the videos, causes, and patterns.
11:53Using this to highlight in the organizer's race reports if there's some safety issues.
11:59Checking if any incidents are related to equipment, monitoring the yellow card system.
12:04So the focus is at the professional level, but the benefit can be for all event classes.
12:10And again, imagining further developments in the software.
12:15We've added the SAFER action field to start capturing what actions and recommendations
12:21SAFER has made.
12:23Linking the database with our video replay van.
12:28So when an incident is logged with our TV commissaire on site, it can automatically
12:33generate an incident.
12:35And then looking at the possibility to have an automatic email to contact those involved
12:41to even improve further the feedback and input that the database receives.
12:48So that summarizes the race incident database project.
12:52Then I'll switch topics now to the yellow card system.
12:56And we have a video that explains the introduction of this.
13:04SAFER is an independent body that unites riders, teams, event organizers, and the UCI with
13:10the aim of improving safety in professional road cycling.
13:15SAFER recommended the introduction of a new system to further reinforce safety during
13:19professional road races.
13:22Yellow cards.
13:23Let's take a quick look at it.
13:25At races, any person in the race convoy rider, sport director, other drivers and motorbike
13:31riders who commit offenses likely to pose a risk to the safety of the competition could
13:36receive a yellow card.
13:38The 23 race incidents concerned are listed in the table of the UCI regulations.
13:44According to the number of yellow cards received in a given time, the person concerned can
13:48be disqualified or even suspended from races.
13:52Anyone who receives 2 yellow cards will be disqualified and suspended for 7 days, starting
13:57on the day following receipt of the second yellow card.
14:01Anyone who receives 3 yellow cards within a 30-day period will be suspended for 14 days.
14:07Anyone who receives 6 yellow cards within a 1-year period will be suspended for 30 days.
14:13The system aims to make all people in the race convoy more responsible by introducing
14:18the monitoring of bad conduct over time, and consequently encouraging respectful behavior.
14:24Together, we will contribute to improving safety at road races.
14:30So, that video gives a good overview of the system, so a bit of a recap.
14:49They were tested in 2024 on UCI WorldTour and UCI Women's WorldTour events.
14:57In this season, it's WorldTour, Women's WorldTour, and Pro Series Men and Women Continental Championships
15:04and Road World Championships.
15:07The yellow cards are communicated in the Race Communiqué, like a fine used to be as well.
15:14So, it can be a fine plus a yellow card published in the Race Communiqué after the stage or
15:20after the race.
15:21They will be published on the UCI website, so I'll show you what that looks like in the
15:25next couple of slides.
15:27So, it's the 23 race incidents that are now related to safety.
15:33So, during the test phase, there were 21 race incidents where yellow cards applied, and
15:39they're all existing.
15:40So, there is no new sanction created for the yellow cards.
15:43It was adding a level of sanction to something that already existed, either as a financial
15:50fine or a disqualification.
15:53So, it's 23 now because two were added based on the recommendation of SAFER, so two yellow
16:01cards have since been added based on the outcome of the test phase, and suspensions are now
16:07in force.
16:08So, during the test phase, they were not.
16:13So, looking at this, this visualizes the accumulation of yellow cards and two yellow cards in the
16:22same race is a disqualification and a seven-day suspension, and then the accumulation over
16:27time.
16:28So, the three yellow cards in 30 days is a 14-day suspension, and then six over a rolling
16:34period of one year is a 30-day suspension.
16:37And it's important to note it's all actors in the race convoy, so drivers, riders, media,
16:48driving vehicles, sports directors, they're all subject to yellow cards.
16:53And on the next slide, you'll see where it can be found on the UCI website, so they're
17:02now published.
17:03What you're looking at are the yellow cards already given out in the first 12, approximately
17:1012 days of racing, there have been five yellow cards from the Australian races, so that information
17:17is online.
17:18You'll see how it's published, so they're all license holders.
17:22One for a rider, their mechanic, team staff, and sports director, and then you'll see the
17:27period that those yellow cards will be in force, so there'll be those that would be
17:32active for 30 days, and then when that 30 days expires, then they'll just be active
17:36for 365 days, and then when that expires, then it will go back to zero.
17:41But it is a way of monitoring who has yellow cards and who potentially may be at risk of
17:48a suspension.
17:51On this slide, it's an interesting one because it shows the frequency of yellow cards.
17:59So during the test phase, so 2024, there were 31 yellow cards given in 66 race days, which
18:07is just under 50% of race days.
18:10An interesting distinction between men and women, so 29 of those were for men, and two
18:16of those were in women's races.
18:18And then we get to the situation of the test, which was very beneficial on a grand tour.
18:23So there are 22 yellow cards in the 21 stages.
18:27So the frequency, and because it was new at the time, and some training and understanding
18:32needed, the percentage to anticipate will likely be higher than 50%, but lower than
18:39potentially 100% of race days.
18:41And what we've seen so far at the beginning of the year, it's around 50%.
18:46And then the pie chart, again, really demonstrates that it's for everyone in the race convoys.
18:51So half of the yellow cards were for riders, and then you have a breakdown of team staff
18:57and media.
18:58So it's quite an equal distribution on that side.
19:05And then just coming to my final couple of slides.
19:10So this is a useful one to show the outcome of the Safer Commission recommendations that
19:16have been accepted and are in force in the UCI regulations.
19:20So we have the Sprint Zone Protocol.
19:22So it's the extension from what was known as the three-kilometer rule, which now can
19:27be extended to four kilometers or five kilometers if there's a need, whether it's traffic infrastructure
19:33or some other element in the race where the organizer would like to extend that.
19:38And it also includes the timing extension from one second to three seconds.
19:42So the Sprint Zone Protocol, as tested last year, is now in force.
19:49Then the next one is the minimum ambulances and pro series and World Tour, Women's World
19:53Tour races.
19:54You see an increase from two to three.
19:56Yellow cards, the two that were added, were team assistance in the feed zone.
20:02So now they can be subject to yellow cards as they require a UCI license to be sanctioned.
20:12And then the new one, and based on the work of the Safer Commission and the Sprinters
20:17Working Group to focus on the behavior of lead-out riders.
20:20So that is an entirely new sanction.
20:22And it's very specific to the behavior of lead-out riders decelerating in the sprint
20:27and causing or obstructing the riders behind.
20:31Feed zone regulations, those were new in Australia and certainly a point of discussion as it
20:38is a change in behavior.
20:41The history behind them and the changes that allowed open feeding along all of the course
20:46come from the COVID period.
20:50But as seen that it created unsafe situations, new regulations really going back to the concept
20:57of more organized and more clear areas where teams are allowed to feed.
21:04There's obviously an introduction phase and some adaptation for all involved, so some
21:09flexibility in putting these in place and finding the right balance is certainly ongoing,
21:17but it is in the right direction of improving safety.
21:20And then the extreme weather protocol, the concept of making an in-race decision, which
21:27was another concept added, and again something we'll continue to monitor and work on to ensure
21:32it's effectively being used.
21:35So that's a summary of the work achieved by SAFER.
21:41Then another concept worth mentioning is that SAFER is also looking at studying other areas
21:47within the race, and this one is a barrier study.
21:51So SAFER will fund a second phase of a study that was started a few years ago with an engineering
21:59school in Switzerland to update and improve the regulations and requirements around barriers,
22:06so dimensions, how they're connected, how the advertising panels need to be connected,
22:14the force and impact that they should be able to absorb and protect the riders in a
22:22crash and also the spectators.
22:24So new requirements will be developed and it will be the outcome of this study.
22:31And my final slide, so again a quick summary of the activities of what SAFER will continue
22:38to work on.
22:39So the communication strategy, that's what you're certainly seeing here today with this
22:43press conference continuing to advance globally on that list of deliverables.
22:50Analysts will start attending events.
22:52There may be additional measures to test, and again that concept of quick wins or longer
22:58term projects, so the consistency of yellow cards, the importance of sprint finishes,
23:06the consistency there.
23:09Looking again at the best communication methods within the race and the race convoy, continuing
23:15the concept of race monitoring, monitoring locations and distance tracking, and as mentioned
23:22the barrier study.
23:23So that's a quick summary of all of the work that SAFER will continue to work on.
23:33And now I will pass to my colleagues within SAFER to say a few words on behalf of their
23:40associations.
23:41Yes.
23:42Thank you, Matthew.
23:43Thank you, Peter.
23:44Thank you, Ariel.
23:45It's a pleasure to be here and thank you to yourselves, obviously, because it's a great
23:53opportunity for us to explain to you what has been done in the background.
24:00It's a pleasure to be here with the two main stakeholders as well, with CPA and IOC, that
24:06we've been working closely with in order to make improvements for safety.
24:09So on behalf of the teams, I'm sure you can imagine safety is a very high priority, if
24:18not the highest priority for us that we're looking into.
24:22It's a continuous concern for us.
24:25The assets of our teams are the riders.
24:29One of, if not the most important assets of the teams.
24:33So it's really important for us to create the safest working environment for the athletes.
24:41You know just as well as I do, because we all work in cycling, how challenging that
24:46is.
24:47You know, we're racing in an environment that's not safe.
24:52We're racing on roads, we've got traffic circles, we've got traffic furniture, we have dogs
24:57and cats and we've got kids on the road.
25:00It's a really difficult, challenging environment to make safe.
25:06What I can say is SAFER have been doing a fantastic job.
25:09I think I've been fortunate enough to be an observer in the case management study each
25:17week, and the amount of work and effort that's been put in from everybody is extraordinary.
25:24It's really unfortunate that everybody can't get on to those calls on a weekly basis and
25:29see what's been done.
25:30But I can honestly and sincerely say that a lot of effort has been put in.
25:35A lot of step forwards have been made and a lot of positive decisions have been made.
25:40Obviously there's a long way to go.
25:43We've got a long road ahead of us in order to make cycling a really safe sport because
25:52of those difficult conditions that we're racing.
25:56But working together with IOC, with CPA, with UCI, I really think we've made positive steps
26:03forward and the transparency of working together I think is something that's been great.
26:09Each one of us has to look at ourselves in the mirror and say, where can we make improvements?
26:16The teams have to make improvements in order to educate their staff, the sports directors,
26:22everybody else involved in the team.
26:24The riders are doing the same through CPA and the organisers are doing the same.
26:28I think that's really important and that's been great to see between all the stakeholders.
26:34Thank you once again and I'm sure there's going to be a lot of questions which we look
26:37forward to answering and it's been great to finally get a message through to everyone
26:43of what's been done for the safety of cycling.
26:51First of all, I would like to highlight the commitment of all the families that are part
26:57of the professional cycling community.
27:00We have been moving forward for almost two years in the complicated challenge of improving
27:06safety in racing and although there have been moments of much debate with a very different
27:13point of view among the families, no one has abandoned the project as we have always
27:20worked from the mutual respect that we have for each other.
27:24So many thanks to Brent Copeland and all the AGCP members.
27:29Thanks to Alessandra Gappelotto and Adam Hudson as representatives of all the cyclists, women
27:35and men.
27:37Of course, thanks to the UCI with Peter Mandenavele, the road department, the legal department,
27:44but especially to Matthew Knight for having managed this project even if it's temporarily
27:51and for achieving with his professionalism and respect that we continue to move forward.
27:58Finally as representative of IOC, I would like to thank all the members of our association
28:03for more than 160 organizers from all over the world for their effort and for understanding
28:11in adapting their work to the new safety standards.
28:17After the thanks, I would like to ask all of you a little patience and understanding.
28:25Cycling is undoubtedly the most beautiful sport in the world, but perhaps it's also
28:31one of the most complex and complicated, especially when the goal is to organize.
28:36We compete on playing fields that are not ours and that belong to all citizens.
28:44And therefore, it's not easy to adapt the rules to a huge diversity of roads, terrains,
28:50cities, towns, villages, street furnitures and endless obstacles that we encounter every
28:57day.
28:58Therefore, when SAFER propose a new safety rule, we do it after much thought and convince
29:07it that it will serve to improve.
29:10But until these rules are not tested in competitions, we don't know if they will have to be adapted,
29:18modified or in the worst case, discarded.
29:21And that is where we need everyone's understanding.
29:26You can only improve by changing, but change requires patience, understanding and respect.
29:33Thanks.
29:39Yeah, everything's been pretty much said.
29:43I'd like to thank all the stakeholders, AIGCP, AIOC, UCI.
29:48Very special thank you to Matthew for leading this project, temporary.
29:53You know, the safety is mainly for the riders, so we very appreciate to be on this.
30:00And the riders really, really appreciate the weekly meetings that we do with the case management
30:05where we review every single crash, we go into the details, we break it into each category
30:09so we can see where most of the crashes happen and go more specific in those areas to eliminate
30:18that.
30:19And that's been really important for the riders.
30:21It's also been important for riders where we did the sprint survey, where we included
30:24the riders.
30:25We surveyed them, we listened to them and then we created a working group and everyone
30:30here was listening to them and understanding their perspective.
30:34There was a survey, another survey that was just sent a couple of days ago about the equipment.
30:39And in this survey, it was key points taken from the riders that you've already read in
30:46the media.
30:47So that was very good.
30:48And the riders being heard.
30:49So, you know, the riders are being very involved in the SAFER project, which is very important
30:54for them.
30:55And yes, it's a lot of work and it's, I think the most beautiful thing is we're all here
31:00and we're all talking.
31:02Sometimes it gets heated, but that's because we're passionate about it.
31:08We can laugh now, but it's true though, you know, because we're all fighting, you know,
31:12for the best of the sport and we all have different angles and different ideas and different
31:18point of views, but we all want the same goal.
31:21We want the races to be safe.
31:22We want the riders to crash less.
31:25And I do believe this, yeah, this program is going in a very good direction.
31:29So thank you everyone here and we look forward to the nice questions coming.