A lack of respect causing chaos, says Orica-GreenEDGE director Matt White

A LACK of respect has made cycling more dangerous, says Orica-GreenEDGE director and former Tour de France competitor Matt White.

Tour De France

A LACK of respect has made cycling more dangerous, according to Orica-GreenEDGE director and former Tour de France competitor Matt White.

The Australian Olympian is alarmed at the staggering number of crashes on this year's Tour de France.

There were four falls alone on stage six, taking the overall number of pile-ups into double figures.

Three riders were forced to abandon the Tour after today's carnage and there is growing frustration in the peloton over the cavalier attitude of some riders.

"It's getting more and more (dangerous) over the last 10 years, it's a combination of things," White said.

"It's maybe some of the equipment, everyone is on carbon wheels.

"There's a lot less respect in the bunch than there was 10 years ago.

"Then the whole thing with the leadout guys clashing with the guys who are riding general classification in the last 5km, that doesn't make it any easier for the sprint trains."

White said one of the main issues was the arrogance of inexperienced cyclists.

"The young guys these days have a lot less respect than five years ago and they're a lot more cut-throat in these finals," he said.

"Everyone thinks they're (a) sprinter ... and there's realistically five guys who can win that bike race.

"But there are 30 guys who think they can.

"That creates lot more stress and tension that doesn't necessarily have to be there.

"It's bike racing, everyone can take their chance, but it will settle down after today."

White says the Tour's entry into the mountains tonight will help calm the race.

"The typical sprint stages are over for the first week and general classification will be sorted out pretty well in the next 48 hours," he said.

"It will be a little more relaxed.

"The first week of the Tour is always crazy, but in the last five or six years there have been more crashes than in the past, that's for sure.

"It was a crazy (finish) due to that crash.

"It stayed very, very fast from then on in and it was a hectic final."