h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I could not work out why so many riders were falling in various stages of this race. Then I saw the race in The London Olympics
and the riders were falling in the wet conditions. It takes a lot of courage to get back on the bike after those falls. So impressive!

Greg,
Sorry, I overlooked this comment.

There wasn't any rain during the stage of the Tour de France that we saw, but I read that some riders were knocked off during a collision with a dog that got loose.

Last year, there was an accident when some riders were involved in a collision with a press car. They ended up in a barbed wire fence and got some nasty lacerations. I think collisions in the sprint stage are quite common.

I think there was some rain in the earlier stages of this year's Tour, which would make it more likely that riders would come off.

Sorry I've been sick with the flu. Its winter here in Sydney and everyone is coughing. I was wondering if those falls were entirely
caused by accidents and/or the wet. In the USA they have people who take one for the team. Is this the same in the Tour? After all those allegations about Lance Armstrong, you start to develop a very cynical attitude to all professional sport.

I don't know about deliberate falls in the Tour de France. You'd have thought it would be risky to stage falls at the speed those men ride.

But I tend to agree with you about professional sport. Money corrupts sport.

Yes it is sad that a sport you love can be tainted with corruption. The betting on sports contests does not help and the use of performance enhancing drugs is just sad,