Sam Bennett has praised the new finish-line set-up at E3 Saxo Bank Classic today, where a new system of barriers looks like a big step up on what has often gone before.
"This is absolutely fantastic to see," said Bennett. "Big respect to E3 Saxo Classic with these upgraded barriers. I would love to see more of this."
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When a finish-line crash occurred on the opening stage at Tour de Pologne last year, the safety infrastructure effectively crumbled, with Bennett's Deceuninck-QuickStep team mate Fabio Jakobsen crashing through the barriers and suffering career-threatening injuries.
Since then the UCI has promised to improve safety and the finish-line set-up at E3 Saxo Bank Classic in Belgian today looks like the start of that process.
The new barriers tilt backwards and are solid while they also keep spectators a little further away from passing riders than traditional crowd control barriers would.
The new set-up should put an end to riders clipping spectators or items of clothing, as happened to Peter Sagan at Paris-Roubaix in 2017 and when Matteo Jorgenson crashed at Tour de la Provence in France last month.
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