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This is when the end looks like a bell. Strava has to be updated suppose.
Strava has to be updated suppose.
Why does Strava need updating? These were people racing for actual prizes
Was a proper race rather that Strava willy waving
I was too slow
I was too slow
I jumped the horse to post faster
As others have said, much of that could be down to simple errors. But why let that get in the way of the frothing at the mouth and pitchforks.
simple errors
Such as...?
Riding without due care and attention, maybe.
The same simple errors that get us as cyclist run over by car drives not paying attention.
And as I posted earlier it’s the few first close passes that were totally unnecessary and unforgivable
much of that could be down to simple errors
You also don't know what preceded it, eg: is she just around a bend, (and while on open roads I'd still suggest you *should* be able to act / react in what you can see), I could see minor mitigation if you're racing in an organised event, round a bend and suddenly there's a horse a few yards in front.
But if that was on a straight road ......
you’re racing in an organised event,
On an open road...
Triantelopes are at fault here.
Group riding should be banned in Tri, just like any drafting is in Time Trials.
It is, has been for oh I don't know, 30 years. It's only pro/elite level racing on closed roads where riding in groups is allowed and even then only over shorter distances. If your only knowledge of triathlon is watching the Brownlees at the Olympics you would have a false image of what goes on in the vast majority of races. They have 'draft busters' on motor bikes driving around and breaking up packs that form and handing out penalties and DQs. It's done from a racing advantage perspective mostly though so the pointy end gets the most attention. These riders look like middle of the packers so might not have seen a buster all ride.
I got busted once - a case of mistaken identity m'lord. European champs in France. I caught a group of mostly french riders riding in a tight group at the crest of a hill just as another GB competitor dropped out of the back of the group and the buster (French, strangely not interesting in busting the French lads) nabbed the wrong brit. Took it with good grace (not) and in the sin bin doing my time penalty an official told me to calm down and take my helmet off and have a breather. At the end of the penalty I took one step out of the box and another official busted me for not having my helmet on. Not my finest hour.
Actually just remembered - witness to another bit of triathlete asshatery. I did the London triathlon in their not elite but quite good wave. Did really well on the swim and was bashing out the bike when a peleton of folk that had formed behind me swept past. Miffed, I sat up to watch the same group go straight through some poor girl on a hybrid still riding from an earlier novice race. She was dumped on the floor with a broken collar bone. Non of the cockwombles stopped. I did (sounds selfless but as I'd just been robbed of about 45 placed 'racing' was pretty much over for me) and helped her to get to assistance. Bearing in mind London is a non drafting closed road event it would not have been hard for them to miss her.
So yes, triathlon has a problem with crap riders with dodgy ethics and does not seem to be able to do much about it. One of the reasons I stopped (along with now being fat, old and broken)
Such as…?
Blind bend, low sun, use your imagination. Accidents and misjudgements happen, we've all been there so why is everyone so keen to berate these guys in the worst terms? Not because the offence is so very unforgivable but because it makes keyboard heroes feel good about themselves. After all, they'd never do something like that would they? It also doesn't hurt that STW can unite in hatred as these guys are 'out group' being triathletes. Honestly, sometimes this place gives the Daily Mail comments a run for their money. Grow up the lot of you.
Wrote some stuff, got bored, and couldn't be arsed to finish it. Don't know why I bother with this place sometimes (which admittedly isn't often).
you’re racing in an organised event,
On an open road…
Still a legitimate race, where you are 'entitled' to go as fast as you can whilst still obeying the HWC (yes, I know in itself that's a bit of a dichotomy) - have a clubmate that did the event today and the organisers were quite clear that the HWC still applies
I agree that it looks crap and that it needs proper investigation and action. But simply saying that all triathletes (or triantelopes, you japester) are at fault is not correct, any more than one RLJ makes all cyclists RLJ's.
Oh and if you want to hang a label on what's wrong with much of the comment on this thread here it is:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_attribution_error
I don’t see it as a triathlete issue just a bunch of selfish dumb people. Could easily have been any other mass cycle event where people leave brains behind
Blind bend, low sun, use your imagination. Accidents and misjudgements happen, we’ve all been there so why is everyone so keen to berate these guys in the worst terms?
Footage doesn't suggest particularly low sun - certainly not consistently dazzling
They're only doing about 20, maybe 25 mph. There's almost not a bend in existence that's blind enough for that to be an issue and anyway the first couple of riders clearly saw her and moved out a bit to pass, After that the horse had walked about 20 yards further before the arseholes undertook her.
I'm all for benefit of the doubt where it's due, but that's not here. They clearly weren't concentrating
Oh, wait, you said to use imagination too ... what if they'd been transported through a wormhole from another galaxy to a point immediately behind the horse? Yeah, that'd work
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">I’m all for benefit of the doubt where it’s due, but that’s not here.</span>
My apologies, I didn't realise you were actually there.
I'm beginning to wonder if you were
I admit I was wrong about the legalities of road racing, but surely you should still be looking where your going and riding safely round other road users. It doesn't matter what tribe of cyclist they were they're still knobs. If the horse had been a cyclist and the cyclists cars I'm pretty sure they would have been found and lynched by now. I bet the undertaker drives a BMW or Audi as well!!!
Apparently incident is being investigated by Police now.
Blind bend, low sun
Ah, the excuses trotted out by drivers who have piled into the back of someone on a bike and killed them.
Well, that's ok then. Crack on.
I bet they wouldn't have done that to a tractor. Or combined harvester. But I'd pay to see that go-pro footage.
Ah, the excuses trotted out by drivers who have piled into the back of someone on a bike and killed them.
Blimey, next you'll be telling us that you've never had a near miss or made a bad decision yourself.
For the record, I'm not saying these guys did nothing wrong, I'm just marvelling at the level of hate engendered by what could be a very genuine mistake of the kind we all make.
For me it’s how many of them made a mistake not just one odd person lacking attention
For the record, I’m not saying these guys did nothing wrong, I’m just…
…reaching for excuses as to why these guys did nothing wrong? 😉
it’s how many of them made a mistake not just one odd person lacking attention
i just rewatched the video a few times. The early riders do pass at speed but in general relatively carefully, there's a guy at 12s who's a bit too close for my liking, another at 22s who passes very wide and also seems to be sat up and slowed down. At this stage the (bombproof) horse doesn't yet seem too perturbed.
It's 24s on, the first guy in red and black is quite wide but the rest of them all just seem to be in a group at speed and they all pass in about 3-4s, at speed and on both sides. So while it is a number of them it's almost like it's all the same mistake involving a group rather than 6 or 8 individual decisions.
Again, not condoning those 6-8 but we can't condemn even everyone on the video, let alone all trathletes.
So, I agree the solo close passes are actually worse than the bunch, they would have plenty of time to see and take avoiding action. The guys in the bunch, likely on the front couple would have noticed, and those behind probably had a second or 2 to react to the guy they are drafting dodging to one side or the other of the horse.
Responsibility lies with the guys in front for a bad decision - however if they'd braked hard likely the guys drafting would have gone into the back of them and caused a massive pile up.
I ride in the New Forest and for the first time in a decade or so of riding nearly got taken out by a frisky horse - was drafting my buddy, both on TT's. I had no sight on the road but trust him, and he suddenly had to take evasive action - I had less than a second to decide if I wanted to use the brakes or hold tight to the bars and steer when I realised what was happening. I chose steering and passed the horse way quicker than I would have normally done.
Plus if you are racing some of those guys might have been deep in the red / head down / not concentrating / focused properly.
You can definitely see why the horse rider is shaken right up. It shouldn't have happened.
it’s all the same mistake involving a group rather than 6 or 8 individual decisions
Well I guess they decided to ride in a bunch ...
(FWIW, I'm only condemning all triathletes for their poor lifestyle choices)
Blimey. How boring would that video have been without the dickhead cyclists?!
Well I guess they decided to ride in a bunch …
Yep, not condoning their passing at all, just observing not everyone needs tarring with the same brush; not even everyone on the video
without the dickhead cyclists?!
they're not cyclists they're triathletes 😉
Blimey. How boring would that video have been without the dickhead cyclists?!
🙂 I nearly didn't get to the incident when I clicked on it
There was also no attempt to stop and make sure the rider was ok. Yes it is possible they were caught unsighted even though they shouldn't have been but the point where they zipped up the inside, frightened the horse and kept going is where they sealed their asshat prize
they’re not cyclists they’re triathletes
They are cheating triathletes. And not very good at cheating subversively at that!
sidenote - when did horse riders start wearing head cams?
head down / not concentrating / focused properly.
On an open road...
sidenote – when did horse riders start wearing head cams?
presumably there's potential use in showing footage of shitty passes to the police etc just like some cyclists do - or maybe just on a day when you might catch some cyclists misbehaving 😉
I wouldn't bet against video cameras being taken up by horse riders before the cycling masses, given they are vulnerable to the growing vehicle population... And **** womble cyclists too, it would seem.
sidenote – when did horse riders start wearing head cams?
Maybe they can get their rear facing cams going so they can spot the shit they don't clean up....
Horse riders have as much of if not more of an issue with close pass and punishment passes as we do. And have cams for the reasons some of us do.
Cow shit on the road is far worse than horse shit imo
For the record, I’m not saying these guys did nothing wrong, I’m just marvelling at the level of hate engendered by what could be a very genuine mistake of the kind we all make.
It would be extraordinarily generous to attribute their actions to a mistake.
Cow shit on the road is far worse than horse shit imo...
You obviously didn't ride the shared use paths I did today that was covered in their lovely shit
I bet that horse rider deliberately goes around engineering incidents with triathletes. Why else would they have a camera?
Hahaha must not feed the troll
Seriously. Who in their right mind overtakes a horse on the INSIDE!!??? There was a whole other side of the road to use FFS.
I’m guessing they were all in a bunch and the two that went to the left had little choice at short notice.
How much do anyone us look ahead when at the back of a bunch ?
Seriously. Who in their right mind overtakes a horse on the INSIDE!!??? There was a whole other side of the road to use FFS.
I dont think anyone, including the people who did it in that video would do it out of choice. It was evasive action with the only other option being hitting the back of the horse. Finding out too late with too much speed that you have a slow moving horse in front of you and being located at the extreme left of a pack of riders I guess it is the only option left. The fact that they got themselves in that situation is entirely of their own making* in a race where riding in groups is banned.
*Actually slim chance they were riding solo and being overtaken by the other riders and were blocked in but even then slowing down was an option if they had looked ahead.