:-( Talented triathlete, 23, killed during road race after being hit by a car.

Right in the middle of my patch. Seen the flowers today 🙁

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2287779/Junior-Heffernan-death-Top-triathlete-23-killed-Severn-Bridge-Road-Race-hit-car.html

RIP

Such a waste of life and very very unfortunate but the fact there has been no arrest makes me think the guy was on the wrong side of the road or somehow caused the accident himself.

Hef was riding round a bend on the wrong side of the road and then hit an on coming car. Terrible shame for all involved including the car driver.

You can get quite a pace going down that hill and into Elberton.

Wrong side of the road …. 🙁

If the cyclist was on the wrong side of the road, it must be extremely traumatic for the driver and his her family as well.

Condolances to all concerned.

Project + 1 – terrible shame for rider and driver alike

RIP

Not sure this is right but here goes.
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/46709

Very sad news, last weekend.

The petition is well-intentioned but I fear any discussion will simply raise the issue of why racing is allowed to take place on public roads.

sympathies to all concerned …

Just to correct scotroutes – Such events are classed as a time trial, against the clock and not a race (as such) against other competitors (all setting off at the same time).

Pedantic i know but needed saying. Time trials are legal on open roads but racing isnt.

Sorry – I’m imagining the reaction of the “general public” – including the MPs representing them in Parliament should this ever come to be discussed. Neat definitions that are used as work-arounds won’t matter. A bunch of cyclists sprinting for the line is a race.

lasty – Member

Pedantic i know but needed saying.

I really don’t think it did.
Racing against competitors, the clock, strava; it’s all racing and is almost certainly the reason why this poor chap is dead.

I’d be happier with the inconvenience of total road closure than to allow racing to continue on open roads.
It isn’t safe.
Giving civvies on motorbikes the power to stop traffic isn’t the answer either.

Some more info here
http://www.bristolroadclub.com/

It was billed as a road race not a TT

Very sad news for all concerned

Sorry was this a ‘road race’ or a time trial? Also road races are allowed on public roads aren’t they? They certainly used to be. Have the rules changed?

Road race I think.
It was flagged up on roadcc earlier this week. As with most not a closed road, just outriders to calm traffic I guess. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Oh I read the daily mail comments I wish I hadn’t done that…

I wasn’t referring to this particular tragic event. I was merely suggesting that attempts to allow roads to be closed for longer (or at all) for cycle racing are unlikely to be well received by the average road user. Etack Caledonia?

Time trials are legal on open roads but racing isnt.

Wrong. Road racing is covered in it’s own legislation and is perfectly legal so long as certain procedures are followed.
The Severn Bridge RR is a classic season opener event, it’s been running for 40 years.
There are hundreds of road racing events every year in the UK, 99.9% of them pass off with no problems. I believe this is the first fatality in road racing in the UK since about 1969.

I don’t really think speculating as to how or why a rider lost his life while there’s a police investigation ongoing is particularly useful or appropriate to be honest. There are statements to that effect on the British Cycling website and on road.cc:
http://road.cc/content/news/78084-british-cycling-chief-exec-pays-tribute-junior-heffernan-killed-road-race

I can only apolagise for the off topic can of worms …

I understood the regs changed recently but i may be wrong ..

I understood the regs changed recently but i may be wrong ..

Road racing is legal in the UK and has been so for many decades. Road racing is generally organised by local clubs and is run under the auspices of British Cycling (and also The League International, to a lesser extent).
Organisers have to do things like liaise with the police, carry out risk assessments, provide marshals for junctions and hazard points and organise lead cars, motorcycle marshals, etc. All participants in BC road races must have a racing licence, and the race itself is insured through BC.
Organising a road race is quite an operation (one of the reasons Sportive avoid classing themselves as races is to avoid this overhead, I believe)
However, races takes place on open roads (the only fully closed road road racing I’m aware of in the UK is on the Isle of Man, excluding town centre crits). Pro events in the UK have used rolling closures in some cases.

Strangely enough, there are closed roads Sportives in the UK.

My good friend turned back and tried to ressusate him. It wasn’t pleasant and he took it hard.

Just a terrible situation all round.

RIP.

Well KCR has it absolutely correct. Road racing is very much legal in the UK. I’ve been road racing for 20years and run many road races. The vast majority of road races are run on open road with corner marshals and a lead car. Occasionally you might have a motorbike outrider. It’s only when you get to premier calendar levels (I road a couple of these in the past) the you have police outriders, even these are just rolling closures.

Crossing over, particularly double white lines, is pretty much the biggest no-no in RR. It can be instance disqualification from the commissaire. If the unfortunate soul here was on the wrong side then he was putting himself in danger.

Hate to hear about stuff like this RIP.

years ago when I used to do Tri’s myself there was a sprint event at Rother valley country park and the bike leg did a loop around roundabout over the M1 as a turn in the route 😯 ,the last time I did it a bloke who was a front runner got knocked off. He limped into the transition area missing a lot of the skin down one side of his body , not a pretty sight.

Such a sad story. My friend’s brother rides for UK youth and was holding him when he died.

He was apparently a really nice guy, such a shame.

Rest in peace.

It’s a very sad story. Unfortunately time trialling on busy roads is much more dangerous than RR. There are quite frequent fatalities in TT. Horrible.

Tang – make sure your friend gets help before it gets worse

Rip Junior.

He used to come into the shop i work in.

Diane – hes on a really good tight pro conti roadie team with lots of close support and his family are right there.

kcr – Member
However, races takes place on open roads (the only fully closed road road racing I’m aware of in the UK is on the Isle of Man, excluding town centre crits).

It’s because the Isle of Man isn’t in the UK, that’s why we can close public roads for racing of all kinds.