This weekend, a race moto took down Stig Broeckx (Lotto-SOudal) in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and then another moto wiped out Danilo Wyss (BMC Racing) in the La Drome Classic. On Monday it appears that UCI president Brian Cookson was also hit by a race moto.
According to several witnesses, Cookson was crossing the street in front of UCI headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland, when a race moto traveling at high speed knocked him over. Fortunately, he escaped with minor injuries unlike Broeckx who fractured his collarbone and Wyss who missed out on an opportunity to win in La Drome.
While unable to identify the rider on the moto, the witnesses said it could have been the same one that slammed into Greg Van Avermaet in the Clasica San Sebastian or perhaps the one that hit Peter Sagan and Sergio Paulinho in the Vuelta a Espana or the moto that smacked into Jakob Fuglsang in the Tour de France.
The UCI president was able to get to his feet and return to his office. An hour later, Cookson issued a short statement: “The UCI takes the safety of riders and race officials very seriously. We’re looking it to it, we’re studying things, we’re formulating a plan, we’ve got a process in place,” said Cookson. However no timetable, solution, rule change, punishment or plans were announced.
A police sketch of the moto pilot bears a striking resemblance to BMC Racing Team president Jim Ochowicz. However, there is conclusive proof that he was not in Switzerland at the time of the incident.
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