Caleb Ewan, from Australia, was injured in a crash during the sprint to the finish of the third stage. Image courtesy of APRiders dismounted their bikes at Stage 4 of Tour de France and stopped the race for one minute to protest safer racing conditions.AdvertisementCrashs have marred the past three stages. Yesterday's Stage 3 race was dominated by em.Some cyclists criticised race organizers after yesterday's finish. They created a dangerous finale that left riders with injuries.Philippe Gilbert, a former champion, stated that this route was approved by a lot of people.There was another crash that occurred even before Stage 3. It was probably there. One fan was an idiot and stuck a cardboard sign on the road. She wanted to get the attention of the television cameras and she got it. During the competition, she also caused serious havoc.AdvertisementAlthough the tour announced plans to sue the spectator who caused the pile-up, she is reported to be missing and has fled the country. Ah, well.Today, however, CPA, the international riders association, released a statement prior to the Stage 4 race.The riders discussed how to express their dissatisfaction about safety measures and ask for their concerns to be taken seriously after the Tour de France's third stage crashes. They are frustrated at the inability to prevent unforeseeable events.AdvertisementThe statement asked the UCI (the governing body of cycling) to adopt the three-kilometer rule. It would allow riders to crash within the last three kilometers and earn the same time as their group if they had not fallen.The riders association stated that this could prevent situations such as the ones yesterday.AdvertisementAfter this moment of silence, who knows what, if any, will happen to the athletes?AdvertisementMarc Madiot, a former French cyclist and team manager at Groupama-FDJ Marc Madiot, predicts a grimmer scenario.He said that if there are no deaths, then we have to do something. I don't want to have the burden of calling one of my riders families and telling them what happened. This cannot continue. This is not bike racing.
