- The entire peloton protested at the start of Stage 19 at the Giro d’Italia on Friday, demanding a significantly shorter course than the 258K planned, in part due to heavy rain. The protest took place after race organizers refused to appeal to the riders’ concerns the night prior.
- The stage came to a stop eight kilometers into the race, after weather conditions worsened. The race, then shortened by 100K, resumed in the afternoon.
- Race director Mauro Vegni voiced his displeasure to Italian media over the cyclists protesting: “We will get to Milan but somebody will pay.”
Stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia was cut short by 100K on Friday due to heavy rain and the entire peloton protesting the unforgiving race conditions.
The riders gathered under tents at the start of the race, refusing to set out.
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The stage was originally supposed to be 258K long, starting in Morbegno and ending in Asti. The riders gathered under tents at the start of the race, refusing to set out. The peloton started after a slight delay, only to come to a halt 8K later because of worsening weather. The riders then loaded onto their team buses to transfer to the new start in Abbiategrasso. The revised 124.5K stage started at 2:30 p.m. local time.
“Reducing today’s stage will not diminish the show, but will allow the immune defenses of the riders not to be put at greater risk,” the rider’s union CPA tweeted.
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However, the riders’ protest didn’t come without warning. The cyclists expressed their concerns about the demanding length of the stage in such weather to organizers Thursday night and requested that it be shortened. Race organizers decided to continue as planned anyway.
“This was presented yesterday with today’s stage being super long in the rain with our immune system suppressed while in a pandemic. It was not accepted,” said Lotto-Soudal cyclist Adam Hansen, who serves as a representative for the CPA, in two now-deleted tweets. “This morning when all the riders were under the tent no one went to the start line and riders started not to [accept] this and a protest started to happen. It was nice to see the riders sticking together as a whole. We negotiated with the organizer to shorten the stage so the race could still happen.”
Later, Hansen clarified in a tweet that he spoke on behalf of the rest of the riders, when he said the stage should be shortened.
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According to Reuters, race director Mauro Vegni was outraged by the protest before the start of Friday’s stage, and directed some rather insensitive comments towards the riders afterwards.
“We will get to Milan but somebody will pay,” he told Italian broadcaster Rai. “This left a very bad impression and obscures everything we have done.”
“We have carried out the Giro in a very difficult situation due to the health emergency, guaranteeing work for the riders and teams. Today they have hurt themselves and cycling,” Vegni continued.
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The weather hasn’t been the only challenge the cyclists have had to endure. Prior to today, and over the course of the Giro, many of the cyclists and their teams have also cited concerns over what they see as inadequate health safety measures.
Indeed, the race has been plagued by numerous positive Covid-19 tests: Mitchelton-Scott’s Simon Yates was the first rider to test positive on October 9 after running a mild fever; Sunweb’s Michael Matthews and Steven Kruijswijk both tested positive on October 13, prompting Kruijswijk’s entire Jumbo-Visma team to also withdraw; the entire Mitchelton-Scott team also withdrew after four staff members tested positive on October 13, along with one staff member each from Ineos Grenadiers and AG2R-La Mondiale; Testing carried out on October 19 showed a positive result for UAE Emirates’s Fernando Gaviria and another AG2R La Mondiale staff member; and lastly, testing carried out on October 20 and 21 showed one positive result for an Astana Pro Team staff member.
Given that so many within the race’s “bubble” have contracted Covid-19, team EF Pro Cycling sent a letter to race organizers over a week ago asking them to end the race early—but to no avail. Race organizers have increased the frequency of testing, but still show no signs of ending the race early.
At the end of Friday’s revised stage, Team CCC’s Josef Černý took the win. The Giro has just two more stages to go, wrapping up in Milan on October 25.
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