Please Be Safe

Today comes news of a terrible crash near Calpe, Spain where a driver plowed into the Giant-Alpecin team during their training ride, causing a reported eight riders from the team to be hurt to some degree. John Degenkolb is said to be at risk of losing his left index finger. Chad Haga has been in surgery to repair deep wounds around his chest, neck and face, and suffered a cracked orbital bone that will also require surgery, though his family tweeted that he's stable and not in danger. Warren Barguil is said to have a broken wrist. Nobody, thankfully, is facing life-threatening issues. One report says an English tourist drove into the team, driving the wrong way on a road. [Traffic on Spanish roads is on the right side, England on the left. Possible cause?]

Yesterday Movistar's Adriano Malori went to a hospital in Argentina and was treated for a serious concussion (and a collarbone break) following a crash in the Tour de San Luis, though after being in an induced coma he is apparently improved and stable now. The same crash, caused by a pothole [ahem: CAN YOU CHECK THE RACE COURSE FOR POTHOLES PLEASE?!?!], took out Fernando Gaviria, who completed the stage with a fractured arm. Numerous others suffered injuries in the high-speed pileup. I'd heard there was a crash in the TDU as well, but don't know anything about that.

Meanwhile, a number of you are reading this from your snowbound homes on the US east coast, where a blizzard has put a dent in a lot of people's plans for the next few days. Blizzards I can deal with. Race crashes freak me out, but I have to accept them. Training crashes due to negligent drivers I can't accept on any level.

Let's have a better next 24 hours and get back on course for a good cycling year. And let's keep our fingers crossed and offer our good wishes/prayers/etc for the riders who are suffering now, that they come out of these events OK.