Location: Idaho
Hi all, this happened last weekend. I was racing in a triathlon on Saturday morning and was leading the race in the bike portion, following the race designated lead motorcycle.
With about a mile before the end of the bike segment, a race volunteer watched the lead motorcycle go by and decided to cross the road between the moto and myself. While crossing she looked the other direction, realized that other bikes were heading out on the course still, and tried to double back. I had made an attempt to avoid her by going to the left but when she doubled back I was pinched between the shoulder of the road and her and we collided. I crashed over the handlebars and my bike was significantly damaged. I did a quick evaluation of myself, asked if the volunteer was okay, which she said she was, and got the bike into “rideable” order before hopping on and finishing out the race. This all happened very quickly, as my bike computer shows I was going 24.2 mph at the time I start slowing, and 0mph 2 seconds later.
After the race, I spoke with the race director and a second race organizer separately at their designated info tent after the race. One came and looked at my damaged bike with me. Both gave me the impression that they thought it should be covered under their race insurance and that they would reach out to me on Monday after contacting them. The second individual also told me he thought I should get my bike to my local bike shop for a full detailed estimate and told me outright that they would pay for that estimate.
I also went back out and revisited the volunteer to double check that she was alright, collect bike parts that were laying on the side of the road, and got her contact information. She also verbally told me it was 100% her fault and that she felt terrible but was so glad I finished the race. She filled out a race incident report saying that we had collided.
I emailed the race that Saturday evening to start a paper trail summarizing everything mentioned above. I also sent a follow up 3 days later, on Tuesday, when I heard nothing back on Monday. Finally, on Thursday evening, I got an email from the race saying that they have researched the situation with their insurance, their board, and even consulted professional racers and take no responsibility for the damages since it was a volunteer on an open course. They offered me a refund of this years entry fee and a free entry to next years race as a token of their appreciation for my support and cooperation for their non-profit community event.
The preliminary verbal quote for repairs from the bike shop is $2000-$2500 but they are waiting on some exact part quotes from the manufacturer. My helmet, race suit, and bike shoes were also all damaged, which total around another $750 retail. These costs to me are substantial and while I race on a professional level bike, that came from years of hard work and saving, and isn’t something I can just go re-purchase without a significant impact to me.
I’m not trying to take advantage of a situation, but would like to be restored to where things were pre-accident. The bike is almost brand new (I got it this winter) and the race kit was all new for this season. I have more races this summer, and no race bike to train or compete on until this is resolved.
Any perspective or advice is greatly appreciated.
Comments
Take them all to small claims court (the race organization and the volunteer). Have all of your evidence regarding the incident organized, and let the judge decide who pays.
Check the entry packet – im guessing you signed a waiver. Offering a next year entry and refunding this year’s entry is actually kind of normal from my research. If you want to go for monetary, you have 2 routes: check with your homeowners insurance if you have it or sue in civil court. If you sue 1) you have to prove negligence, 2) sue the volunteer, 3) you take the risk of being barred from the event sponsor’s future events.