This again: Saboteurs throw debris on bike race course

This week, after race officials for the Hyattsville CX had swept the race course, "they returned to find glass from broken bottles hidden along several portions of the trail."

"It wasn't just a couple of broken bottles," said Hyattsville Communications Manager Abby Sandel in an interview. "It appeared to be strategically placed."

Race officials debated wether or not to alert police, according to Chris Millitello, co-owner of Arrow Bicycles and Route 1 Velo.

"I wasn't worried about people getting flats," said Militello in an interview. "I was worried about people crashing and landing on the glass. It's frustrating."

According to Militello, large amounts of glass were found hidden under leaves and dirt at one end of a wooden bridge which leads to the wooded, technical section of the course. Another section further back in the woods also had glass apparently planted there. 

A few years ago someone threw tacks onto the course of the Leonardtown Criterium, and before that the Jefferson Cup had to deal with broken glass. I seem to recall that even this year's Tour de France had an issue with tacks or nails on the course causing many flats. 

Comments

[Michael H.]

Yes, someone threw down hundreds of tacks near the top of one of the hilly stages at the Tour de France this year, just as the riders began a long descent. Many of the cyclists were affected, including some top riders like Cadel Evans.

I think Evans had to stop multiple times because of flat tires in just a matter of minutes.

People who do this sort of thing are cowardly wannabe thugs. I hope they are caught and punished for this.

[7]

Great. I just signed up for Hyattsville CX as my first ever attempt at 'cross. I hope race organizers got everything - and I hope they get the perp(s). It's bad enough that I have to worry about my inaugural race in cold and rain, I don't want to have to worry about some ding-dong spreading glass on the course, too.
.

[friedrich n.]

you people are so pathetic: at the Tour the motivation for the tacks was overtly political.
here in the good ol usa the motivation is the stupidity of the underclass, as they have been shaped by a managerial class that overlooks their needs and exploiuts them...the dc and MoCo county jails are filled with such folks...recall neitszche : man would rather will nothing than not will (in other words, our species will mkae menaing, period. if the condtions dont allow for constructive engagement they then destructive expression is just fine...)

[Michael H.]

The return of "satan". Great. There haven't been many personal insults on the blog lately.

[oboe]

I think if you're quoting Nietzche--and unless you're a tenured professor of philosophy at a place like Princeton or Heidelberg--we can safely assume you are either a 14 year old virgin or the beloved character "Otto" from "A Fish Called Wanda".

[Michael H.]

satan or "friedrich n." or whatever he calls himself/herself always seems to think that political ideology somehow justifies violent or potentially violent or totalitarian acts. Last year, he was seriously demanding that people needed to go to "re-education" camps, to be taught the "correct" ideology and way of thinking (correct according to "satan"). He wasn't even joking about it either. Now he's justifying tacks because those criminals had some sort of political motivation. Yikes!

Or maybe he thinks European criminals are somehow more sophisticated than American criminals because... they are European?

[Kolohe]

@Michael H - at least it's an ethos.

[SJE]

European criminals wear smoking jackets and have exotic pets. Don't you watch any bond movies?