Sarah Storey tells us what we already knew?

Nine-time Paralympic cycling champion Dame Sarah Storey is “not prepared to risk my life” by racing on open roads.

The majority of road races in the United Kingdom take place alongside regular traffic, with marshals marking the front and back of the field.

“You have to keep your wits about you and be prepared to meet a car coming head on when you cross that white line. That’s not ideal,” she told BBC Sport.

“You should be racing on closed roads all the time.”

It’s all too easy to come up with tales of wrong-doing by folk racing on the roads, even for those who’ve never witnessed it first-hand. I wonder if this will be picked up by the general anti-cycling brigade in an attempt to get the practice banned.

if theyre racing on open roads then why would they be crossing the white line?

Because they are raving lunatics and its worth dying to move 5 places up the bunch.

She’s really not helping the sport there, it is perfectly safe if raced correctly. If she had her way most of us would be restricted to closed circuits crits and only the pros would get to ride on the road. She needs to engage her brain before opening her mouth.

All the bigger road races I’ve seen they close both sides of the roads but only usually just before and after the bikes go through, they don’t close the entire course. Is should be perfectly safe to cross the white line but you occasionally see a stray road user who missed the road closure

You have to keep your wits about you and be prepared to meet a car coming head on when you cross that white line.

She shouldn’t be crossing the white line, and understand that its not all about the elites. Without grass route road racing there’ll be no further road racers coming out of the UK.

You can’t cross a solid white line but you can cross a dashed line. Commissaires are really hot on riders crossing solid lines and regularly hand out DQs.

If you can see the road is clear ahead then you can ride on the other side of the road, normally the only way you can move up the bunch or make an attack. But you have to move in as quickly as possible, just like an overtaking car.

I have road raced for 25 years and most riders are certainly more sensible than the average sportive rider. But riders do take chances.

Closed roads would be great and the ideal scenario for road racing. But I can imagine it would upset the locals. I am pretty sure there is a minimum lap distance so the riders don’t come past too often.

You could probably drive along a road race course and see the marshals but you probably wouldn’t see the actual race as they just whizz through once every 30 minutes or so.

Potholes are a bigger issue than riding on the wrong side of the road.

Crossing the solid white line is an automatic DQ. Riding in an unsafe manner, regardless of white line, is also a DQ. I’ve been in races that have been stopped for poor riding and seen plenty of riders DQ’d. BC are very hot on this topic for a reason.

Moving up through the bunch is a much neglected skill, sadly.

I know of time trials on open roads, and obviously sportives, but never seen racing on them though? And the only time trials I’ve done have had a no white line crossing rule.

grass route road racing

Is this the new niche of a niche between Gravel Road and CX? 🙂

Verging on the ridiculous if you ask me!

She’s really not helping the sport there, it is perfectly safe if raced correctly.

Its self evidently not as safe as closed roads so perfectly safely requires some clarification

If she had her way most of us would be restricted to closed circuits crits and only the pros would get to ride on the road.

Have you a quote of her saying that?

She needs to engage her brain before opening her mouth.

She is not alone in this respect

I dont disagree tbh a race should be on closed roads.

Closed roads don’t magically make things safer. And if they are to work they require heavy policing and that comes at a price. Racing on open roads happens up and down the country with little problems, so I just don’t see her point.

If racing can only happen on closed roads then you’ll virtually kill amateur racing overnight.

Sorry but she is talking crap, dragon has it.

Closed roads don’t magically make things safer

I know its the closing them to other traffic bit that achieves this not magic.

That said I think, on balance, I will leave the participants to make their own choice but I think closing them is preferable and safer.

Tbh just riding on roads is dangerous. I rode a Skyride once and was gobsmacked at the driving inches from us.

Used to boil my wee-wee in races when riders would do this into the face of on-coming traffic – usually as the bunch slowed into a bend and they’d been dropped on the last drag so it was the only way they could hold their position. I preferred hillier races where the lazy feckers would get shelled on the first few laps and 20-30 riders who knew how to ride safely. There’s also a problem with many riders who won’t ride any nearer the kerb than the middle of the lane, pushing the bunch out when riding.

Wonder when she decided not to race in open roads? She’s done plenty of it, won the 3 Days of Bedford ladies race in the past. Only the final day is usually on closed roads.

I organised the first race (men’s cat 3/4) on one of the open road circuits they now use for the 3 Days (the 3 days race organiser was my commissaire). As far as courses go it’s relatively safe and quiet, although not very challenging.

Hmm, she raced on Anglesey a couple of months back, on open roads. Didn’t seem overly fussed then!

Would closed road racing be good? Of course! It’d be ace!
Is it going to happen? No, of course not!
Is the racing scene currently unsafe? No!
The sheer amount of preparation into the route of the race course, the marshalling, the outriders/lead car make it incredibly safe. You would have to go out of your way (ie over a solid while line, or onto the wrong side of the road without looking) for the fact that the road isn’t totally deserted to make it dangerous. You are far FAR more likely to be taken out by poor riding than traffic.

You have to keep your wits about you and be prepared to meet a car coming head on when you cross that white line.

Jeezus Sarah, don’t cross the white line then! Unless you can see far enough ahead to know it’s safe, treat it like the edge of the race course in the same way the kerb/drystone wall on the other side is! Move through the bunch!

With riders over the white line, they have to go somewhere when a car approaches, squeezing left into the bunch and forcing those on the inside to brake. Just as bad as those that chop their way up the inside of bends.

I read her comments as being it would be better/nicer if the roads were closed.

Which I don’t think anyone would argue with.

To be fair, I seem to read more stories about accidents in time trials than in road races.

Whilst I thought going over the white line was a complete no-no, and some common sense has to prevail when taking the choice to do so, it does make perfect sense that in a race situation people are going to take risks to get ahead. You don’t really win by saying ‘no, I’ll just wait….after you…’

You can quote rules all you want, but you can kinda expect it to happen. Ideally roads should be closed.

It’s not the crossing the white line to move up when safe to do so that is dangerous, it’s those that leave it to the last conceivable second in order to make 1 more place that is. People pushing the rules is the problem.

However, I’d argue the terrible state of the roads is much more dangerous. In the spring chicken RR this year it was like riding a minefield. Hopping 20cm deep potholes at 50/60kph is downright dangerous. This was epitomised as I watched a bloke hit one and perform an impressive somersault over his bars.

I think with any sport you have to balance the risks against the enjoyment and other benefits derived from it.

The MSA tightened up the rules on rallies a couple of years back after some spectator deaths. Many organisers are struggling now, and some rallies no longer run. Is this how we want road racing to go? These events are tragic of course and should be avoided as far as possible whilst allowing the sport to go ahead, but you can’t eliminate all risk – at least not without vastly altering the sport.

To take it a step further, riding bikes in a bunch is dangerous. We should all race on turbo trainer based computer games.

Very odd article from BBC Sport. Does seem to be a random set of quotes from SS all strung together, with very little in the way of explanation of how grassroots road races work (something I doubt the general public have much knowledge of).

However, this sums up what is wrong with how some (not a lot, but a reckless minority) folk behave in RRs:

“You have to keep your wits about you and be prepared to meet a car coming head on when you cross that white line. That’s not ideal,”

No you effing don’t, you just only cross the effing white line WHEN THE ROAD IS CLEAR/IT’S SAFE TO DO SO. I try and treat it in the same way as I would overtaking in a car – go down the outside only when you know you’ve got room to complete the move, and room to pull back in (either a space in the bunch, or at the front).

BC don’t help the situation by not defining the rules as clearly as they could. Where there is grey area (what counts as a “safe” overtake?) people are always going to push the margins.

No you effing don’t, you just only cross the effing white line

You don’t cross the white line. You may cross a broken line, and may ride on the other side of an unmarked lane, but only if it is safe to do so. Cross a single white line in a Surrey League Race and your race is over.

Road races are subject to ordinary traffic laws Accredited Marshals and the National Escort Group have the power to stop traffic.