Woods attacks ASO: “Blood, broken bikes… those are the things they like to sell”

The topic of crashes is always one of the hottest at the Tour de France, and this year — especially following the withdrawals of some big names like Philipsen and Ganna — it’s been widely discussed. Speaking out on the matter was one of the most experienced riders in the peloton, Michael Woods, who directly criticized ASO, blaming them for wanting this “spectacular” side of cycling.

These were his words on his personal website:

“So far, I’ve managed to stay safe. But having spent a lot of time at the back of the peloton, I’ve seen quite a few crashes firsthand, and once you’ve seen those things, it’s hard to get them out of your head. Already during the race presentation, before the Grand Départ, ASO showed the highlights video for the 2024 edition: there were victories, epic moments, and, of course, crashes.

No matter what they say, they love crashes. Despite their efforts to make cycling safer, if you look at what they promote, you realize that blood, broken bikes, and some poor soul getting into an ambulance are the things they like to sell. And what struck me during that presentation was that one of the ASO executives, after talking about their safety efforts, emphasized that many of the crashes are the riders’ fault.

Something was said like ‘riders need to take greater measures to reduce risks, and if that doesn’t happen, in the future they should be forced to wear protective gear.’ He said it as if it were some kind of punishment, and that says a lot about how little people on the outside understand what riders want and, more importantly, how the world of sport works. If there’s a line to reach, athletes — in any sport — will push themselves to the limit to get there, especially if there’s a lot of money and high stakes involved. It’s up to race organizers to decide where that line should be and to adapt it based on what they want their sport to become.

For ASO to tell riders ‘you need to take fewer risks’ is like the NBA telling Steph Curry ‘you need to shoot fewer three-pointers.’ Nothing changes. If the NBA wanted fewer three-pointers, it would move the line back, and if ASO and the UCI really want safer cycling, they need to do the same thing.”

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