Figures he's wearing a POC helmet...

I'm a bit confused by this story.  Seems to have some big holes.  Are the people dressing warmer or covering themselves more in the cooler room or are they just getting used to sleeping with the same coverings in a colder room?  I love a cool room for sleeping, but I don't know if it's effectively any different than a warmer room if I'm under a down comforter.

"[1] Visser, from visser la poignée or to twist the wrist like a motorcyclist accelerating
[2] grosses cuisses, literally big thighs but it relates to swollen or sore legs
[3] when your legs are frozen solid by the cold
[4] se refaire une santé, to recovert
[5] peloton, used in English but the literal translation is platoon
[6] en facteur, to quietly slide off the front of the peloton like a postman, the opposite of a fierce attack
[7] paquet, slang for the peloton. A small paquet is a group of riders
[8] des fourmis dans les jambes, to feel frisky
[9] péter le feu, farting fire or in great shape and confidence
[10] gros cul, a big butt, slang for a sprinter
[11] faire l’élastique, to hang on the back of a group
[12] larguer, to be dropped but a term more normally used when a ship sets sail
[13] coup de cul, a short sharp hill
[14] bidon au miel, literally a bottle of honey but slang for a sticky bottle or help from the team car
[15] faire un trou, to get a gap
[16] boucher le trou, to fill the hole or close a gap
[17] en chasse patate, “potato hunting”, origin’s unknown but it’s when you’re stuck wasting energy between the breakaway and peloton
[18] brûler le ravitaillement, to ride straight through the feedzone without slowing to collect a musette
[19] chantier, a building sight but slang for selective climb or another strategic point where everyone gets to work
[20] exploser le paquet, to blow a group of riders apart
[21] avoir la soquette légère, having a lightweight sock, to feel as if you’re pedalling with ease
[22] jambes en cotton, cotton legs or to feel weak
[23] partie de manivelles, a group ride
[24] en danseuse, to stand on the pedals
[25] les cocottes, slang for the brake hoods
[26] cuit, literally cooked and slang for tired
[27] this one doesn’t need explaining
[28] piocher, to dig but to pedal laboriously with the shoulders rocking as if you’re shovelling
[29] pédaler avec les oreilles, to rock so much on the bike it’s as if cranks are attached to your ears
[30] dans le rouge, to suffer and suggesting you’re above your threshold
[31] braquet d’asthmatique, a gear so low someone with asthma can turn it, it suggests a wheezing rider
[32] avoir tout à gauche, when your chain is on the inner ring and the lowest sprocket, ie to the left
[33] en garder sous la semelle, to “save something under your shoe sole”, slang for soft pedalling
[34] jouer des coudes, similar to rubbing shoulders and jostling for position
[35] fumer la pipe, to be so at ease on the bike while others are struggling
[36] frotter, to rub (shoulders)
[37] flamme rouge, the red kite at 1km to go
[38] les deux jambes sur la même pédale, to be so tired you struggle to turn the pedals
[39] finir sur la jante, to finish on the rim as if you’ve punctured and have to ride slowly
[40] le bon wagon, literally “the good wagon”, the winning breakaway"

“It twisted [1] from the start. I was worried about having big thighs [2] after they were tetanised [3] yesterday but I redid my health. [4]. I left the platoon [5] like a postman [6] and was soon joined to a small packet [7]. I had ants in my legs [8] and was farting fire [9]. It was reduced after a fat arse [10] did the elastic [11] before he was set adrift [12] on the first arse-puncher [13]. Even a bottle of honey [14] couldn’t help him. We’d made a hole [15] and I knew some were trying to fill it [16] but they ended up potato hunting [17] because we burned the feedzone [18].” “The next climb was a building site [19] that exploded the packet [20]. Luckily I had the lightweight sock [21] but I spoke to my team mate who had cotton legs [22]. We had a crank party [23] and many were dancing [24] with their hands on the cooking pots [25]. Others were totally cooked [26]. Then I saw the yellow jersey [27] was digging [28] and soon was pedalling with his ears [29]. By then I was in the red [30] and using my asthmatic gear [31], I had everything on the left [32]. You couldn’t keep anything under the sole [33]. At the top of the climb we were playing elbows [34] and Purito was smoking a pipe [35].” “We did the descent and it was rubbing [36] at the red flame [37]. But I had both legs on the same pedal [38] and finished on the rim [39]. Still, I took the right wagon [40] and I’ll try again tomorrow.”

I don't think exploding frames are causing crashes.  And his example seemd to have no chain of events that could lend credence to his idea.

Here's the one he gives. 

"But when they spoke on the condition they not be identified, their stories emerged. Riders described landing on the top, horizontal tube of the bikes during crashes and ending up on the road after their frames splintered and collapsed. Small spills that used to mean, at best, straightening handlebars often require a bike change. Mechanics say they sometimes return the shattered remains of frames to manufacturers in bags intended to hold a single bicycle wheel."

what happened?  Did they slip off their saddle and then fall through the top tube?  Or did the top tube hit them as they were tumbling with the bike and then on the ground and noticed that the bike was in pieces?

The first possibility is one I have a little familiarity with. Having come out of my pedals a few times in races, I don't know if that's a fair characterization of what might occur.  For example, I was out of the saddle and accelerating at my start at pursuit nationals.  The chain came off.  My crotch hit the top tube.  But after my feet hit the ground.  Would htat have been enough to shatter the top tube and cause me to land ass-first?  I have my doubts.

His comment about mechanics returning frames in wheelbags is a lovely image, but that he doesn't mention that manufacturers often want their busted frames back to see if they can learn anything from the broken pieces.

I also wish he'd bothered to mention that many of these frames have to pass safety standards, and detail whether or not the standards are actually worth anything.

Myles, 

Your theory is separate from Austen's.  It's still possible, though I'd think the bigger issue would be a super light bike with twitchy steering combined with fast wheels could get an idiot with a little fitness going fast enough that he doesn't have the skills to control the bike.