# Lizzie Armitstead accident



## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

WARNING, THIS COULD BE CONSIDERED QUITE GRAPHIC OR DISTURBING







Armitstead crashes hard after winning stage 1 at Aviva Women's Tour - VeloNews.com

Seems she ran into the photographers. Scary situation. Horrible.


----------



## spdntrxi (Jul 25, 2013)

**** like that give photogs a bad name. I used to do sports photography .. Mostly golf and I was always super careful.. But there is always 1 in the bunch and we would all get the look

The person did seem pretty off to the side.. Looked like Liz bobbled a little bit with the celebration


----------



## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

Ow, that's nasty. I wish her the best.


----------



## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

BBC Sport - Armitstead out of Women's Tour after crashing into photographers

Lizzie Armitstead out of hospital after Women?s Tour finish line crash - Cycling Weekly

She seems to be okay.


----------



## love4himies (Jun 12, 2012)

Thank goodness.


----------



## PBL450 (Apr 12, 2014)

Wow! I'm sorry she is out but man, that looked ugly... I'm so glad she wasn't hurt worse!


----------



## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

spdntrxi said:


> **** like that give photogs a bad name. I used to do sports photography .. Mostly golf and I was always super careful.. But there is always 1 in the bunch and we would all get the look
> 
> The person did seem pretty off to the side.. Looked like Liz bobbled a little bit with the celebration


In this case she ran into the race director. Photos off the hook this time


----------



## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

spookyload said:


> In this case she ran into the race director. Photos off the hook this time


can you link to a pic of the intial contact?


----------



## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

Local Hero said:


> can you link to a pic of the intial contact?


Try this one, taken from here:


----------



## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

This video , from a different angle, shows clearly the bobble @ 9 seconds, as she ended her vistory salute. If you look very closely it appears she got into a complete slide momentarily as she went back to the bars.


----------



## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

I was kinda hoping for a different angle.


----------



## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

If you go back to the stills from BBC Sport I linked and look closely at the sequence, it appears the one who went down with her was a guy whom you can't see but was probably the one low and just in front of the photographer wearing the SweetSpot HOST 14 bib seen in the first of the sequence (you can see the edge of a green bib showing around his left leg), and immediately left of the video dude with the helmet. In the fourth shot in the sequence (see below) you can see him on the ground, in a dark blue shirt, feet in the street, grey shoes with red laces, right arm up. The perspective and a third mysterious hand makes it look like he's grabbing her front fork, and it looks like her front tire nearly rolls over his head. Her front wheel is at the limit left, the rear has come around swinging out to her right, and she's going over and down on the right side.


----------



## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

FINISH LINE. by Gruber Images

Some more images.


----------



## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

32and3cross said:


> FINISH LINE. by Gruber Images
> 
> Some more images.


Great shots. If you look through the series of The Crash, the third and fourth ones shows the guy who took the hit - a photographer in a blue shirt with grey running shoes/red laces. He was down low (squatting or kneeling) and immediately in front of the big guy in the light blue dress shirt.


----------



## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

Great set of images from Jared Gruber... makes me sad looking at them as I really like Lizzie and she's one of the women I really enjoy watching race.

IMO, there should be NO ONE in the racing area... that includes the area after the finish line. I think that bicyclists racing should be treated the same way that motorsports should be treated. Spectators shouldn't be right up against the boards in the final 400m of a sprint finish and photographers shouldn't be out racing area.


----------



## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

TricrossRich said:


> Great set of images from Jared Gruber... makes me sad looking at them as I really like Lizzie and she's one of the women I really enjoy watching race.
> 
> IMO, there should be NO ONE in the racing area... that includes the area after the finish line. I think that bicyclists racing should be treated the same way that motorsports should be treated. Spectators shouldn't be right up against the boards in the final 400m of a sprint finish and photographers shouldn't be out racing area.


Probably right, but by the way she swerved, she would likely crashed into the barrier anyways.


----------



## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

TricrossRich said:


> Great set of images from Jared Gruber... makes me sad looking at them as I really like Lizzie and she's one of the women I really enjoy watching race.
> 
> IMO, there should be NO ONE in the racing area... that includes the area after the finish line. I think that bicyclists racing should be treated the same way that motorsports should be treated. Spectators shouldn't be right up against the boards in the final 400m of a sprint finish and photographers shouldn't be out racing area.


We might get that to happen once people start paying to see cycling and even 1/2 the rate they pay to see motorsport at.


----------



## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

spookyload said:


> Probably right, but by the way she swerved, she would likely crashed into the barrier anyways.


maybe, maybe not.... doesn't change the fact that people were standing in the way and there's NO reason for them to be there.


----------



## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

TricrossRich said:


> maybe, maybe not.... doesn't change the fact that people were standing in the way and there's NO reason for them to be there.


Well not NO reason. there are always photogs and press in the scrum area. It may be that they set the line too close to the finish line. But in every race there are people inside the barriers that are doing a job, team staff, race org, press etc.


----------



## Rich Gibson (Jul 26, 2013)

It seems lately that the area just past the finish line is crowding up with photographers, staff and hangers-on. There needs to be clear guide lines about clear lines for a safe distance past the line.
Rich


----------



## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Rich Gibson said:


> It seems lately that the area just past the finish line is crowding up with photographers, staff and hangers-on. There needs to be clear guide lines about clear lines for a safe distance past the line.
> Rich


indeed. Here's Eddy raising awareness to it.


----------



## Chris Oz (Oct 8, 2005)

If this happened in a work place (other than cycling) there would be an investigation. Riders should not have to look out for people, cars or other crap at the end of a race when they are tired. 

Sure they need to worry about road obstacles and other riders, but they shouldn't have to worry rest. The journos would respect the riders.

Imagine if a camera crew entered a football field and took out a player in the middle of the ground, but it seams OK to happen in cycling.


----------



## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

Chris Oz said:


> If this happened in a work place (other than cycling) there would be an investigation. Riders should not have to look out for people, cars or other crap at the end of a race when they are tired.
> 
> Sure they need to worry about road obstacles and other riders, but they shouldn't have to worry rest. The journos would respect the riders.
> 
> Imagine if a camera crew entered a football field and took out a player in the middle of the ground, but it seams OK to happen in cycling.


In large part the Journos do respect the riders.


----------



## jlandry (Jan 12, 2007)

Looking at the video, does anyone here think that she would have gone down even if there were no one there to run into?
At the moment, everyone is calling out the people crowding the riders, otherwise, it would have been an epic fail.


----------



## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

spookyload said:


> Probably right, but by the way she swerved, she would likely crashed into the barrier anyways.


What are you TALKING about? What barriers?!!

She was in the middle of the road.

The only reason she was "swerving" is to avoid a guy who decided to park himself right in the middle of the road. Of all "blame the victim" posts, this has to take the cake.


----------



## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

why would she "have gone down" anyways? Because she can't possibly handle the bike riding in the straight line in the middle of the road with no obstacles (never mind that there was a huge one here)?

Was this the first time she rode the bicycle - does anyone know? Is she new to this?


----------



## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

She finished her sprint in the middle of the road. She moved eight feet to her left for no reason along the left barrier. Yes there were people there she hit. There is no reason for her to swerve that hard after a sprint with her hands off the bars. My guess is she hit a slick spot or bump in the road. The person she hit was maybe two feet from the barrier, not in the middle of the road.


----------



## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

55x11 said:


> What are you TALKING about? What barriers?!!
> 
> She was in the middle of the road.
> 
> The only reason she was "swerving" is to avoid a guy who decided to park himself right in the middle of the road. Of all "blame the victim" posts, this has to take the cake.


You haven't been paying attention. She was on the left side, lost control, and veered left into those who were standing on the left side. Use the links with video and photos that show what happened.


----------



## BCSaltchucker (Jul 20, 2011)

there probably should have been more run-out area.

Also, this is why they always made us amateur riders cross the finish with hands on the bars - under control on the brakes at all times. So for pros coming in at 60kph+ - more run out area when it is a flat fast sprint finish type.

I do not see it as the photog's fault, and sure Lizzy swerved. But with more run out length, this would not have happened


----------



## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

55x11 said:


> Was this the first time she rode the bicycle - does anyone know? Is she new to this?


How ignorant are you?


----------



## RRRoubaix (Aug 27, 2008)

55x11 said:


> Was this the first time she rode the bicycle - does anyone know? Is she new to this?





32and3cross said:


> How ignorant are you?


I believe you'll find that is sarcasm, not ignorance.


----------

