And now, retired Dutch pros Tom Dumoulin and Stef Clement have thrown their own left-field ideas into the mix, with Dumoulin calling for the ‘normalisation’ of protective race clothing and Clement arguing that prospective pros should complete a proficiency test before entering the peloton.
“There is no proficiency test that you have to pass before you can become a professional cyclist,” Clement, who retired in 2018, told the Cycling Gala in Utrecht this week, during an appearance as an analyst on cycling talk show De Laatste Etappe (The Last Stage), Wielerflits reports.
“You demonstrate that you’ve got the skills to perform incredibly well on an ergometer, and then you’re let loose. That’s like being allowed to drive a tractor in Formula 1 with a driving licence, and then we just see how it goes.
“I’ve often heard that I couldn’t steer myself. And in hindsight, I think they were right. But of course, there are quite a lot of people like that in the peloton,” laughed Clement, who spent 13 years as a pro from 2006 to 2018, riding for LottoNL-Jumbo in its various guises, as well as IAM Cycling and Bouygues Telecom.
2024 Tour de France peloton (credit: ASO/Billy Ceusters)
The show’s presenter then brought up, rather uncharitably, Jay Vine, the UAE Team Emirates climber who earned his spot as a pro through the Zwift Academy.
“Well, I think we could have prevented a lot of crashes,” Clement responded. “It would have been better for him if he had taken a little crash course.”
Meanwhile, Dumoulin, the winner of the 2017 Giro d’Italia, who was also part of the panel, argued that protective clothing, such as knee pads, should become a staple of every pro’s kit, pointing to the rule change mandating the use of helmets in races two decades ago as an example of changing norms and safety expectations.
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“Cycling is the only sport where you go downhill at 100 kilometres per hour without any protection,” the former Sunweb leader, who is currently building a healthy reputation as a runner, said.
“Do you think a motorcyclist enjoys wearing a full suit with knee pads and all that? No, of course not. But it’s mandatory.
“A full motorcycle suit might be going a bit too far in cycling, but surely we should be required to wear some kind of protection if everyone has it.
“At some point, you get used to it. These days, it’s normal to wear a helmet, while we used to think that was ridiculous. Let’s make it normal that we wear protective clothing.”
This isn’t the first time Dumoulin has called for a radical shake-up to cycling’s approach to kit and equipment.
Speaking to commentator José De Cauwer in April, the former time trial world champion said introducing back brake lights and padded kit for riders are “two super simple measures” that would make the sport safer.
Tom Dumoulin wins 2017 Giro d’Italia (credit: LaPresse)
“One: why the f*** don’t we have traffic lights on our bikes yet?” the 35-year-old asked. “Just a small red light that lights up at the back when you hit your brakes. Mandatory in traffic, but not in the race. It would certainly make a difference.”
He continued: “Point two: protective clothing. Of course it sucks to ride with padding on your shoulders and hips, but surely the industry should be able to make something that is nice and comfortable enough?”
Reflecting more generally on the dangers of riding as a professional, Dumoulin told De Cauwer: “I noticed that last week when I rode an amateur gravel race in the United States. On the first descent I suddenly saw race numbers everywhere on the outside and underneath. Suddenly I got scared.
“I realised that as a rider I had taught myself to suppress that fear. As a rider you can go into a mode to block everything, but in an amateur race I didn’t want that at all. That’s how it really hit me now.”