Race Directors safety concerns

The Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg Virginia bike crashes remind us to "preview" triathlon and bicycle race courses for strategy AND safety

The cycling crashes during the summer’s triathlon in Spotsylvania remind us of the importance of participants’ “previewing” the course before a race. Putting on a running, cycling or triathlon race requires planning, manpower and money. Yet even the most thorough race committee cannot foresee every potential pitfall or weather pattern. In the Fredericksburg area race, rain had caused some sand to wash out onto the bike course. Several cyclists were caused to crash due to the combination of speed, sand and bike control. The injuries these bikers sustained by wiping out on the pavement were devastating.

One of the cyclists contacted us at ABRAMS LANDAU because the crash caused severe brain injury. However, racers are expected to be familiar with the course, and going out, for the first time, full tilt during a race, is problematic. In sports, participants are said to have “assumed the risk of harm” by undertaking strenuous athletic activity. Such “Assumption of the Risk” usually precludes recovery for personal injuries, even in cases of permanent head injury and brain damage. This “voluntary assumption of risks” that were known or should have been known upon reasonable inspection (or the exercise of reasonable care) is usually an absolute defense to a personal injury lawsuit in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Bottom line, try to walk, drive, ride or jog the race course BEFORE racing. You will have the advantage of knowing the turns, hills and details of the race course, AND you will have reduced the chances of injury to yourself and others.