Did André Drege die because of a tubeless tire failure?

A deep dive into the hazards of road tubeless setups

Dear Lennard,

I’m wondering about the safety of road tubeless after the guy died in the Tour of Austria. What do you think about it?

Dave

Dear Dave,

Anyone who has religiously read my VeloNews columns and articles over the years knows that I have long held reservations about using “tubeless-ready” road tires. I will explain in detail why and how it might relate to this tragic death.

Accounting for seven of its eight wins this season, André Drege was the top — and the oldest — rider on the Norwegian-based Team Coop – Repsol, which rides on Continental tires and Hunt and Black Inc wheels. Slovenian rider Jaka Primožič of the Austrian Team Hrinkow Advarics was riding behind Drege and is the only known witness to the 25-year-old Norwegian’s fatal July 6^th crash during the fourth stage, the race’s Großglockner queen stage. The pair had been dropped from the breakaway and were descending the second-category Hochtor pass, a descent of a beyond-category climb, as the Hochtor is a short ascent following the beyond-category Fuscher Törl climb.