'They should be compulsory': Alex Dowsett wades into helmet debate after crash in Tour of Guangxi

Deleted social media post showed damage to rider’s helmet

Alex Dowsett at the finish of stage five of the 2018 Tour of Guangxi (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Former British time trial champion Alex Dowsett has entered the argument on cycling helmets after a high-speed crash last Saturday. The Katusha-Alpecin rider published a picture of a crack in his cycle helmet sustained when he was involved in a crash in the final metres of Saturday’s stage of the Tour of Guangxi.

The post first assured readers he was relatively unscathed in the fall, which came with just 100 metres of the 212.2km stage five, and was eventually won by Mitchelton-Scott’s Matteo Trentin.

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Owen Rogers is an experienced journalist, covering professional cycling and specialising in women's road racing. He has followed races such as the Women's Tour and Giro d'Italia Donne, live-tweeting from Women's WorldTour events as well as providing race reports, interviews, analysis and news stories. He has also worked for race teams, to provide post race reports and communications.