Crash robs Silber rider of a win and mars two races
The final stage of the Cascade Cycling Classic was a mess. In the closing kilometres, the lead men caught up with the women’s race. Stephen Bassett, the Knoxville, Tenn., rider on Silber Pro Cycling was in the mix, aiming to repeat his 2016 win of the same stage, a victory that lead him to his spot on the Montreal-based team. At roughly 400 m to go, he and a few other riders had to get past a car from the women’s race in a turn of more than 90 degrees. With about 200 m to the line, he launched his sprint, glanced back to see his gap, and then collided with Whitney Allison of Team Colavita. Luckily, neither rider was seriously injured. Three days after the crash, Bassett was not only disappointed with missing the win under those circumstances, but was also concerned about how others understood his role in the events. “I don’t feel comfortable taking the entirety of the blame for an unfair and an unsafe situation we were all in,” he said. Before he drove for the line, he thought he was clear. His look back was not negligent, but an effort to keep tabs on the others going for the win. Throughout it all, he didn’t get any messages from the officials. “Somebody needed to step up and make the call,” Bassett said. “In the race, we’re at the officials’ mercy. It’s their job to make sure it’s as safe as it can be. I feel that they didn’t do that.” Bassett also felt he was criticized for ignoring the effect the crash had on Allison. (On the night following that stage of Cascade, Bassett had apologized to Allison.) “I’m just not speaking for her,” he clarified. “But it sucks for Whitney. It sucks for the whole women’s race.” Soon after Cascade, Bassett went on to race Tour of Utah, and then the Tour de l’avenir.— MP