Since the season resumed in August, the emphasis has been on providing a "bubble" to protect professional cyclists from the coronavirus outbreak, but the long-term issue of rider safety seems to remain neglected.

The latest such incident occurred in the last kilometer of the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia in Villa Franca Tirrena on Tuesday. Luca Wackermann and Etienne Van Empel of Vini Zabou Blado-KTM crashed heavily when a low-flying RAI TV helicopter blew down a roadside barrier.

Wackerman was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Messina, where his team later reported that he suffered multiple injuries in the crash, including concussion, a suspected lumbosacral fracture, and a broken nose.

A representative from RCS Sport, organizers of the Giro, told Cycling News that the roadside barriers in the final kilometer were well connected, suggesting that a RAI TV helicopter was responsible for the crash.

Brent Bookwalter of Mitchelton Scott was an eyewitness to the crash and confirmed that the gust of wind that threw the barrier into the path of the riders was likely caused by a low-flying helicopter, but he believes that RCS Sport must be held responsible for the accident.

"We've seen this happen many times," Bookwalter told Cycling News. 'But at the end of the day, this is the Giro d'Italia, it's run by the RCS, and the helicopters cover their races. If they have no control over anything and the helicopter crews are not responsible to them, who are they to blame?

"The race organization has a responsibility to create a safe environment for us. If they cannot hold the helicopter pilots covering the race, then the race does not need helicopters. Of course, television coverage is important to everyone, but if the race would not be possible without television, then the race is not necessary. This is ridiculous. We're putting everyone in the hospital for silly mistakes that we shouldn't be making."

Bookwalter, who was racing with a back injury from a crash on stage 2, was part of a group of about 10 who were just behind the peloton on the run-in to the finish.

"I remember seeing 800 meters to go and out of nowhere a barrier shot up into the air and crushed the riders in my group. It was a miracle that I didn't fall too," Bookwalter said, adding that the sudden gust of wind was caused by a helicopter, as there was no wind on Tuesday afternoon.

"I'm not an expert on wind or physics, so I can't say for sure that that was the case, but my interpretation is that it certainly looked like that. The wind was very calm and steady.

This was not the first time Bookwalter and his companions encountered road-blown barriers on this giro. On Saturday morning, while scouting the time trial course with Mitchelton-Scott's team, he had to avoid a barrier blown by Sirocco's strong winds that had a major impact on the afternoon stage.

"I think I took off my sponsor's banner in the time trial so that the barriers wouldn't look like a 'kite'. It was pretty scary."

The CPA is the international representative organization of professional cyclists and the official channel through which they urge race organizers to improve safety measures. In recent years, however, there has been growing dissatisfaction among riders with the CPA's governance and the effectiveness of its representation.

Their discontent has intensified in recent weeks, with a group of riders competing in the World Tour petitioning the CPA to adopt a "one rider, one vote" system for elections, rather than the current system of block voting by national associations. The riders are also displeased with the CPA's response to the horrific crash on the dangerous finish straight in Katowice on the opening stage of the Tour de Pollogne.

"Right now I am quite irritated with the CPA. Because there are a lot of issues that we raise and try to work with them on, but they just keep saying, 'We'll look into it,' and they rarely take any action," said Bookwalter, who serves on the board of the North American Professional Road Cyclists Association.

"Talk is a recipe for disaster. It's easy to say 'we'll investigate' or 'we'll get to the bottom of it,' but that doesn't get Luke off the gurney and out of the hospital today."

"When incidents like this happen in racing, there is no sanction and no accountability. Rarely is there even an apology from the race organization or the UCI."

On Tuesday evening, the CPA issued a statement on social media: "Our representatives are investigating what happened today at the Giro. It is clear that whoever caused this serious and unacceptable accident must be held accountable."

The CPA also stated that the "Giro" was "a place where the people of Giro have been forced to live in fear of the consequences of their actions.

The CPA representative for this year's Giro is former professional Christian Salvato, and President Gianni Buño is also participating in the race, albeit in a new role as co-commentator for RAI's Corsa Rosa coverage. (Incidentally, two-time world champion Buño once piloted a TV helicopter at the Giro for several years after his retirement.)

Asked whether Buño's work for the organizing broadcaster constituted a conflict of interest for the CPA president, Bookwalter replied: "I don't know exactly the inner workings of his relationship with RAI and the Giro, but as far as I know, a president working with the organizing broadcaster of a race is a pretty big deal in the sporting and athletes' world. It is quite unprecedented in the world of sports and athletes' associations.

"He needs to be the face of our union. It might be possible, but I don't know if he can do that effectively while wearing his race commentator hat."