There was apparently a rush in the peloton when Cameron Scott unstuck himself before heading down Gorge Road near the fast finish of Stage 3 of the Tour Down Under.
Details about how the crash happened are sketchy, but one report said Bahrain’s Victoria Supro was traveling at high speed when it ran over a pile of riders in front of it.
Rudy Mollard’s tour ended there. The Groupama-FDJ climber later posted a selfie on social media from the hospital, showing severe lacerations to his face, joints and shoulder.
Luke Plapp (Jaco Allura) finally picks himself up from the ground and pedals slowly towards Campbeltown, only to find half the skin on his back gone, exposed red and raw and paper-thin. His green and gold Lycra jersey was in tatters.
In line with UCI concussion protocols, Bahrain Victorious sporting director Neil Stevens asked Scott specific questions as he parked his team car at the scene of the accident.
The Australian answered some simple cycling-specific questions, including what stage of the race he was in, the name of his start point, and his finish point, then got back on his bike and completed the remaining 13-plus kilometers. , albeit at a slower pace.
However, the next morning, both he and Prapp withdrew before the start of Stage 4. Three Astana Kazakhstan riders involved in the same stack continued, despite walking around cautiously when signing on.
In the second standard post-stage assessment, Bahrain Victorious team doctor Matthew Brown determined Scott had whiplash and a mild concussion. His race is over.
“Then we sit the rider down and do something called a SCAT test, which stands for Sport Concussion Assessment Tool. It’s used in a variety of sports around the world and is basically used to test for concussions. It’s the best available,” Brown said. cycling news At the beginning of stage 4.
“We test their memory, their balance, their coordination, and assess what symptoms they have. And what we are doing in Bahrain, and other teams will be doing as well, is that the We are promoting a rule that requires all riders to undergo concussion testing at the beginning of the season.
“If we had a crash like Cam did yesterday, we did a test last night in the hotel so we could compare it to the test we did at the beginning of the season. We can see if there’s a big difference from the beginning of the season,” Brown continued.
“But basically, if someone experiences a head injury from such a large impact and has a headache, stiff neck, feels sick and dizzy, the risk of starting the race is too high, so we don’t want him to start the race. said “tick” Some boxes need to be completely rested. ”
It wasn’t that long ago that concussions didn’t seem to be taken very seriously in the professional cycling world. The footage of Chris Horner finishing a stage at the 2011 Tour de France, wondering where he was and not even remembering the crash, remains infamous on YouTube.
This compares to other regulations such as the Australian Football League (AFL), which has a 12-day no-play policy if a concussion is diagnosed. I hurriedly asked questions. Concussion doesn’t seem entirely appropriate. Needless to say, this sport is so mentally and physically demanding that during the course of a Grand Tour, no one participating in the traveling circus, concussed or not, is left wondering where they are. You can’t tell where you’ve come, where you’re going, or what day it is.
But Brown said diagnosing and treating concussions and head blows is something the UCI has been passionate about since introducing its sports-related concussion protocol in 2020, and something Bahrain Victorious is taking seriously. He said it was clear that there was.
“We want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to reduce the risk to our athletes,” Brown said.
“The UCI has been doing a lot of work this year, we are doing education sessions within the teams and the UCI is doing that as well, with sporting directors, coaches and anyone who might get to the rider first. Everyone knows what questions to ask to ensure they recognize a serious roadside head injury.
“We all know they are traveling at high speeds and the risk of head injury is very high. So it’s very important that everyone knows how to do a roadside assessment. It worked out really well with Cameron yesterday.”
In a sport where there is constant movement, no time-outs or mid-game substitutions, and literal moving parts, it’s clear that no system is foolproof.
“If in doubt, ignore it.”
Jack Hague believes he may have suffered an undiagnosed concussion in the accident that took him out of title contention at last year’s Giro d’Italia.
“For me personally, the first thing I did was check my helmet to make sure there was no damage, because I didn’t think it was 100 per cent correct,” Haig said.
“And when I saw there was no damage to the helmet, I thought maybe I didn’t have a concussion. But concussions can occur without hitting your head, but it’s inside the skull. I don’t know because it’s just the brain movement in the brain. It’s very difficult, and it’s also a bit of a gray area as to where it falls on the concussion spectrum. A clear-cut determination of “I broke my elbow.” Not.
The 30-year-old had no obvious head injuries from the crash, but admitted he did not feel well until the end of the race.
“We know a lot better about it. There’s a lot of concussion protocols now, there’s documentation in the car to make sure the manager is aware of it, and it’s getting better and better. But , it’s a tough sport to police,” Haig said.
Brown acknowledged that concussions while cycling are difficult to police. Head injuries range from involuntary to no direct visible signs of physical trauma. The latter can be easily dismissed when you’re young and the outcome at a potentially career-defining stage is at stake. However, many of them can lead to far worse consequences later in life, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Brown emphasized that the UCI has a return-to-play procedure regarding concussions, but acknowledged that it is difficult to enforce compared to other sports.
“One of the most difficult things in cycling is the initial assessment of concussions,” he said.
“We have seen a high-profile case in which an athlete who suffered repeated mild head injuries and may not have been able to respond appropriately could in fact cause CTE, which is similar to dementia in the elderly. We all know that.
“If you go to a rider who’s been in an accident, and it’s a severe head injury, they’re going to lose consciousness, to put it harshly. And you know that person is going to the hospital. And sometimes it’s totally okay to bump your head and you can just keep racing and keep going, no problem.
“Those two extremes of that spectrum are easy to manage. It’s the little bit in the middle where they bump their head, don’t quite get it right, get a little headache, feel a little dizzy. Those are the parts that we shouldn’t miss, basically,” Brown continued.
“The bottom line is, if in doubt, ignore them. Especially in a sport like cycling, where strenuous exertion puts you at risk for things like headaches, you want to exclude them from the race.”
“And in fact, if you don’t manage these things properly, you run the risk of developing chronic problems later in life, like headaches, which you don’t want at a young age.”