'Sad that you have to risk your life' - Camprubí shows broken bike after police motorbike collision

Marcel Camprubí has posted a photograph of his wrecked bike after he and Pinarello-Q36.5 teammate Thomas Gloag were hit by a police motorbike travelling in the opposite direction at Tre Valli Varesine on Tuesday.

The image shows the front fork snapped clean through.

"It is sad that you have to risk your life in a race, one month after a tragic accident," Camprubí wrote on Instagram, signing off with a reference to cars in races and a thumbs-down.

The accident he alludes to is the death of Finlay Tarling, who was killed in August during stage 8 of the Volta a Portugal after a head-on collision with a van. The 19-year-old had been riding for the NSN development team, who have since launched a scholarship in his memory for young Welsh riders.

Camprubí was able to continue. Gloag abandoned and needed stitches in his knee.

Tom Pidcock, who went on to finish second behind Jarno Widar, considered pulling out in response.

"A police motorbike was going the wrong way down the course and crashed into two of our guys," Pidcock said. "I wanted to stop the race afterwards, or even drop out myself, because I was really furious. My teammates were riding in front of me and suddenly they were lying on the asphalt."

Vehicles in the race convoy have become one of the sport's most contested safety issues this autumn. Thor Hushovd, the Uno-X Mobility general manager, told the Domestique Hotseat last week that he has taken calls from riders' parents asking whether the sport is safe, and that organisers should face the same sanctions as teams and riders.

"We see races where you have traffic inside the peloton, inside the race, and that's not acceptable," Hushovd said. "If we do a mistake as a rider or a team, we get fines or warnings or suddenly a red card. Maybe it should be the same for the organisers. Because if we come around a corner and there is a car on the road, there's not much to do."