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Crystal City Classic Pileup

Written by Saris Mercanti
28 Comments
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The Air Force Association’s Crystal Cup is a classic case of poor planning.

The drama begins 33 seconds in, just out of view the camera, when a member of the lead pack clips the race marshal. The lead car, a white Chevy Volt, manages to avoid hitting either the downed official or rider. While spectators and officials rush over to the victim, the main peloton is now headed towards the scene at roughly 30 MPH. This group of riders either doesn’t see or blatantly ignore the officials trying to direct them around the accident, and one, Pro Tim Rugg actually attempts to bunny hop the downed course marshal.

According to his race report, the course marshal is fine and he walked away with some bad road rash.
Saris Mercanti
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CXisfun
CXisfun
11 years ago

The goddam “pelaton” never watching, always “me, me, me”. Come on guys, really? “pelaton”. Christ.

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Hashbrowns
Hashbrowns
11 years ago

Very ambiguously worded final paragraph. You make it sound like the course marshall wrote a race report, and that “he” (looks like the course marshall was a woman, though I suppose I could be wrong) -the course marshall- walked away with bad road rash.

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Ed R
Ed R
11 years ago

Ya gotta love that the same guy who wrote the race report with the ” It was crazy but I’m ok so it’s cool” theme also posted a clip of him almost running into a parked moto official the day before.

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generalee
generalee
11 years ago

that course layout needs to be seriously re-thought out.
it shouldnt be that hard to bunny hop 8 inches off the ground clipped in…

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Xris
Xris
11 years ago

In what world is a loop that forces a peloton back towards itself a good design for a race course? That has got to be one of the worst planned courses I’ve ever seen. Lucky nobody was seriously injured at all.

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Gideon
Gideon
11 years ago

I heard someone say “stay left.”

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Dan
Dan
11 years ago

“Stay left” at 1:30. Classic. The race course designer is a top “Snake” gamer.

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DJ
DJ
11 years ago

I’d like to see generalee try and bunny hop while skidding. Not every road cyclist does trials riding on the side.

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Miami
Miami
11 years ago

It’s more a case of the peloton leaders moving a bit late, and the high speed causes guys 15 or more back to get stuck in a terrible place – trying to follow the wheel in front of them, but seeing their arc is about to take them into a Sheriff, or motorcycle.

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CXisfun
CXisfun
11 years ago

I love the “stay left” references. Oh wait, I mean “stay to my left but to YOUR right”….”no, your other right…I mean left”.

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Jimmie
Jimmie
11 years ago

Has anybody wondered why the course was set up so that the three lead riders ended up going head on with the slower members of the peloton?

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CXisfun
CXisfun
11 years ago

Jimmie: the course is two way for one section. Without any type of separation. At all. WTF.

http://www.cyclingclassic.org/crystal-cup-course.html

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wildbill
wildbill
11 years ago

I love how the rider in all white that comes in the frame on the far left at 1:12 just drifts to a halt right before the Chevy Volt. Looks like he is on ice.

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yep
yep
11 years ago

Am I the only one wondering why the race marshal didnt make any attempt to get up out of the road? I know he/she was probably shook up, but if they only ended up with road rash, surely he/she could’ve hobbled out of the way.

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grog
grog
11 years ago

Gotta love how all the cop motorcycles park BEHIND the person on the ground. “hey, i know you’re on the ground in pain, but they might scratch my ride, man!”

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AK
AK
11 years ago

I know I am piling on here, but this course design is horrendous. If they are going to have two way traffic, then at least put in some barricades and/or enforce a course line. The racers turning left off 20th onto Crystal are going wide and riding head-on into oncoming racers. And then to have an official standing on Crystal waving riders onto the correct side of the road? this is insane. Then after the official gets hit, they try to direct the southbound racers onto the other side, again into oncoming traffic. crazy.

Finally – what the hell is up with these racers – it’s an accident blocking the whole lane with people on the ground – there wasn’t even a hint of slowing down or neutralizing the race. Come on guys.

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Jake
Jake
11 years ago

Could the race organisers not meet with traffic management and find a few extra orange cones and a few hundred feet of plastic tape? Not that tricky to set up. As if, stay left of the centre line is gonna work :p

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Alex
Alex
11 years ago

Course comissaries need to have their licence revoke ASAP. Americans need to mature into a real cycling nation and this [deleted] is killing your growth. This isn’t bike racing. There is no fun here, that lady was an idiot for even thinking she could deal with that turn, alone without divider. Revoke !

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Eric
Eric
11 years ago

Epic race fail. “Stay left, left, left!” Crunch!

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karl
karl
11 years ago

glad the official is ok ? how about the racers who were on an inherently dangerous course, that the officials could not see even though they were on it ? good thing no one is really hurt there is no way the officials are not liable for allowing that course to be used

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Jon M
Jon M
11 years ago

@Alex. Amen to that!!

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Andy
Andy
11 years ago

Even if the race organization at large were guilty, it seems to me that the Marshall was clueless… First, no high visibility gear, secondly, remaining too close to the peloton, and third, laying there uninjured in the middle of the road with her head looking around making no effort to get out of the way knowing full well there was a steam train heading towards her….

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NASH
NASH
11 years ago

Agree with Andy, no high vis, shouldnt be that close to teh riders in the first place and then the guys on the bikes wearing black and white stripped tops what were they on their way to ref at a baseball event.

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dale
dale
11 years ago

! What a shit show.

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deboat
deboat
11 years ago

This is a FAIL so many times over!!
The rider that tried to bunny hop, well nice try but FAIL!
The fat Sheriff that walks onto the road without looking. FAIL!!
And FAIL to the riders for even starting to race that course.
Next week will be a track race going in both directions!!

I do feel for the he/she Marshall, possibly a riders girl/boyfriend trying to help without a clue.

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Captainsnappy
Captainsnappy
11 years ago

As soon as I started the video, I was wondering “why the eff is that marshal in the middle of the bloody road”??

It wasn’t a question of IF they would get hit, it was a question of WHEN would they get hit.

Laughable planning.

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lolo
lolo
11 years ago

Please stop being so annoying. The people in the accident, besides the rider, are both SHE.
And the driver, only stops for a sec to see the cyclist.

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Brendan
Brendan
11 years ago

@Grog, it’s 2-way race traffic, so by the time the moto cops park, they technically are in front of her.
But yeah, terrible course layout, major lack of cones/barriers, criminal negligence asking a course marshal to stand in the middle of 2-way traffic, bad decision by the marshal to not scramble to safety (forgivable), critical faux pas by the sheriffs/official to point right and shout “left!”
That’s quite a lot of failure packed in to a 2-minute video.

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