STATE OF PLAY

Following a spate of near-misses on the road, pro athletes Emma Snowsill and Jan Frodeno are leading the fight to make cycling safer. But is it enough?

Elites’ call to arms for road safety

“Share the road.” That’s the heartfelt plea to motorists from the 2008 Olympic triathlon gold medallists, Jan Frodeno and Emma Snowsill. The powerful straight-to-camera videos were pushed out on social media following the recent near-death experience of Frodeno, who believes he was deliberately targeted by an enraged truck driver while cycling in Queensland.

It’s poignant not merely because Snowsill is pregnant and the encounter almost left their unborn second child fatherless, but because her former partner, triathlete Luke Harrop, was killed on the road during a training ride on the Gold Coast in 2002.

It’s also the latest in a number of road incidents with triathletes that draw concern and exasperation in equal measure. Britain’s official state of play Ironman record holder Tim Don was hit by a car and fractured a vertebrae days before the World Champs in Hawaii last October. USA’s Matt Russell almost died during the race when a van pulled into his path. Beneath the headlines there are numerous anger-fuelled clips from cyclists’ headcams doing the rounds on social media, typically followed by tit-for-tat comments between anti-cyclist motorists and those who believe in life on two wheels.

It’s a subject that cannot be ignored, yet is approached with a feeling of futility. The lament here is that according to the Frodenos at least, attitudes are deteriorating.

A third of British cyclists have experienced road rage, say Cycling UK, a body that promotes cycling. But while it’s keen to point out that riding is statistically no more dangerous than walking, three in five of us are too scared to take to the roads.

Lionel Sanders, runner-up at the 2017 Ironman Worlds, agrees, candidly stating that, “The biggest reason I ride my bike indoors is because I don’t want to die. I’ve been hit four times [in four years]. One time I woke up in the back of the ambulance, front teeth knocked out, strapped to the board. I just don’t want to die riding a bike.”

The UK government is launching a review of cycling safety that may bring in new laws, including a minimum passing distance for cars overtaking bikes (Cycling UK believes it should be 1.5m) and making it compulsory to wear a cycle helmet. An additional £1.2 billion has been earmarked through the government’s five-year cycling and walking strategy, but while much of this spend is on improving infrastructure and educating cyclists, a more encompassing cultural shift is needed to truly make our roads safer.

To do this, cyclists need to fully understand motorists’ frustrations and vice versa. Snowsill’s answer is that all of us should become both, suggesting that it become mandatory to cycle on the roads before you can take a driver’s licence. It sounds draconian, but given her experience, it’s a view worth considering.

“A more encompassing cultural shift is needed to truly make our roads safer”