Former Race Director Dermot Dignam, right, and then Route Director Tony Campbell await the decision of UCI Commissaire President Jean-Pierre Coppenolle following a serious accident involving many riders and a vehicle during stage two of the 2010 FBD Insurance Rás. The Commissaire decided to neutralize the race with approximately 30 miles to go as there were so many casualties taken to hospital and no ambulances to see after the remainder of the stage. (Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan - Inpho)
The second stage of the 2010 FBD Insurance Rás took the riders 100 miles from Dundalk to Carrick-on-Shannon on a swelteringly warm May day.
The action had been thick and fast for the opening couple of hours with plenty aggressive racing but very little being allowed get away.
That was until around 30 miles to go when a group of 23 riders broke off the front and managed to get significant time on a fragmented peloton behind.
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It looked to be a pivotal moment in the race with many of the biggest teams well represented in the break up ahead, without race leader Dan Craven (Rapha Condor-Sharp).
But a terrible crash occurred on a steep descent approaching Carrick-on-Shannon when a local man, in a jeep, came out of a laneway and drove against the race.
With the 23-man move already well up the road, those pulling at the front took the full impact, some colliding head-on with the vehicle.
Then race director, Dermot Dignam tells Brian Canty what he recalls of that day.
Race leader Dan Craven (Rapha Condor-SHARP) tries to comfort Ivan Meloro Coco of the Castille y Leon team after the latter had three teammates taken to hospital with serious injuries following the crash. Craven had been towards the front of the bunch with his teammates sharing the chase when the incident took place (Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan - Inpho)
“We heard on the radio there had been an accident," Digman says of first hearing what had happened.
"That was the usual thing, coming over the radio from the car of the chief commissaire.
“We knew straight away from the voices it was a serious incident.
“It’s hard to know sometimes. Accidents and crashes are common but when it’s a third party, it’s different.
“We were up ahead of the break and we were apprehensive when the news came through.
“We’d be in touch with the race doctor throughout the race and that’s how we know there’d been a crash but calling off the stage is usually the last resort.”
The scene of the accident was mayhem, with bikes smashed and bodies on the ground.
Some had even careered down an embankment on the right-hand side of the road.
Several riders tried to get through the scramble of cars and bodies and bikes. More were too traumatised to countenance it.
UCI Commissaire President Jean-Pierre Coppenolle, centre, discusses what to do next with Commissaire Paul Watson, left, and Dignam following the serious crash that forced the second stage of the FBD Insurance Rás to be neutralized 30 miles from the finish in Carrick-on-Shannon. It was the first time in the history of the race that such a measure had to be taken - without restarting the stage. (Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan - Inpho)
“The main concern we had – if we had continued the race – was ambulances," recalls Dignam.
“Both ambulances were required to take the injured riders to hospital and the doctor was also on the way to hospital with them so we had to call off the race.
“It wouldn’t have been the correct procedure to continue.
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“I think that was only the second time in history the race had to be neutralised.
“We had to do it before when the race went off route up in Donegal a few years ago."
The arrows were in the wrong place on that occasion and the riders went down a road they shouldn’t have.
“But then we just stopped the race, timed the break again and left them off with the gap they had originally," Dignam explained.
"We couldn’t do that this time.”
There were a number of serious injuries, with three members of the Spanish Conti team Castille y Leon being taken to hospital. None would start the following day.
The wrecked bike of one of the Spanish riders following the horrific crash outside Carrick-on-Shannon on stage two of the 2010 FBD Insurance Rás (Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan - Inpho)
“There was no permenant injuries,” Dignam, who had a battle of his own to contend with afterwards.
“They were trying to take a case against me and it went for a long time.
"I was getting summoned to appear in court in Spain over it. They eventually decided I should be arrested," he said of what sounds like nasty turn of events, though that never materialised.
“They used to send letters from solicitors to me; official court letters would arrive in the door addressed to me. It went on for a couple of years.
"It was more of a nuisance than anything else but as far as I know it was settled with the (Spanish) federation’s insurers in the end.
“But the team was a bit all over the place anyway. The riders were suing the team and the team were suing us.
“I think in their affidavits to the court it emerged the team weren’t properly insured and that had nothing to do with us.
"It was a problem within the team. Once you’re a Conti team, which they were; they had to be insured and they weren’t.
“It was probably more the guys in the team were out of work and their bikes were wrecked and they probably felt they were entitled to something.
“It was just a terrible thing to happen. I didn’t even see the crash thank God but I heard riders who did see it were shocked. It was just a freak accident.”
The race would restart the following morning and continue all the way to Skerries.
UCI Commissaire President Jean-Pierre Coppenolle speaks to Mark McNally of the An Post Sean Kelly team who had been in the break that day when the race was neutralized (Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan - Inpho)
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