Five-time track world champion and former World Tour road racer Theo Bos has an interesting proposal to make road sprinting safer by instituting some rules adapted to track events.

Boss told AD.nl (opens in new tab), "In bunch sprinting, the official interpretation is a bit loose and there are few rules that everyone understands and everyone can enforce.

In 2020, several alarming incidents occurred, including Fabio Jacobsen's horrific crash at the Tour of Poland. The Jumbo-Visma rider deviated from the line to cut Jacobsen and admitted fault, but other riders tried to blame the race organizers and the UCI for the inadequate barriers that exacerbated Jacobsen's injuries.

The horror of the incident did not stop the aggressive behavior in the mass sprints in the second half of the shortened 2020 season: Pascal Ackermann hit a rider in Scheldeprij, causing a crash, and Peter Sagan, in a Tour de France sprint relegated for bumping his shoulder into Wout van Aert, Sam Bennett was disqualified after colliding twice with Emils Liepins in a stage at the Vuelta a España, and Jorian Dufour hit Lorena Wiebes into the wall and won the Drydage Bourges des Pannees lost.

The boss says that a few simple rules would make sprinting safer. He suggests making the narrow pavement along the edge of the barrier the equivalent of a sprinter's zone on the track. For the last 300 meters of the sprint, no overtaking is allowed within that zone. The rider leading in the sprint zone may not leave that zone.

"This will prevent riders from crossing the road, not only sprinters but also lead-out riders," Boss said. 'If you're at the front of the peloton at the 300m sprint section, stay there. If you leave there, you will be relegated. If you overtake a rider from behind, you are allowed to leave the box, otherwise you cannot pass in the box."

Similarly, passing inside along the barriers is also prohibited. You will also not be allowed to jump into small holes, as Sagan did in the Tour. But there will also be no more situations where the rider in front of you closes the door. Anyone passing between a rider and the barrier in the sprinters' section will be demoted."

Boss also recommends further safety measures: the last 300 meters of the sprint should be a straight line, barriers 2 meters high should be lined up so that fans cannot hang over them, and the barriers should be flush with the ground, with no feet sticking out.

He also suggests that a line be drawn down the middle of the path so that sprinters know they are sprinting straight ahead, and that they not be allowed to dart across the center line from the barrier zone, similar to keirin, where crossing two lines results in disqualification

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UCI judge Joey Elmens told AD.nl that the bosses have a valid point, but that a two-meter fence is probably not practical for most organizers.

"It is good to see such a proposal coming forward. Race organizers play an important role in the success of the initiative, so I think it is important to involve them," Elmens said.

"I think Theo's point about the last 300 meters being a straight line is valid, but the specific dimensions of the straight road would have to be explained in more detail."

"The lines on the road can provide support to the athletes and UCI Commissioners to determine if the sprint is going in a straight line. Straight lines are important to me, but the focus should be on hindering or endangering others."

The boss agrees that the proposal is a big change and will take time for sprinters, officials, and fans to get used to it.

"But this is clearer. It works on the track as well. Every young cyclist learns that as soon as they start racing on the track." Bullshit rarely is."