Beyond the peloton: reimagining concussion safety in professional cycling through legal innovation

Every time a rider crashes on the Tours de France^[1], a convoy of vehicles sweeps past him or her. Cars from other teams, commissaires, neutral service vehicles, all leave a rider there, chasing on after the peloton. If they did this outside of the Tours, they could be liable to prosecution under French law.

This article examines the nature of road cycling and the distinctive problems it presents in terms of concussion^[2] management policy. It will explain the current concussion protocols in cycling and their limitations.  It will then examine the overriding duties under both French law and the rules of competitive sailing to give assistance, before suggesting a method (for discussion) to use this concept to help improve the safety of cyclists on the biggest stage:^[3]

• The significant risks of road cycling
• The UCI’s Concussion Protocol
• The inherent difficulties in exercising the Protocol
• A comparison to sailing: should cycling have an ‘over-riding duty of assistance’?
• How could it work in practice?