Riders have criticized Giro d’Italia organizers amid the confusion and anger surrounding the farcical start of stage 16 in Livigno which, due to extreme weather, was eventually forced to change course and postpone the race.
Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), who is fourth overall in the GC, described them as “dinosaurs” in his pre-race interview, in line with riders’ protest that the planned ascents and descents of the Umbrail pass were frozen and snowy conditions were too dangerous And it’s not worth the risk in modern cycling.
His compatriot Luke Plab (Jaiko Alala) had similar choice words, calling the organizers “a bit of a joke” ahead of the scheduled new start in Lhasa. The frustration was palpable in Plab’s voice, as he wondered how decisions had been left so late despite the riders’ pleas earlier in the race.
“This is probably one of the worst organized races I think, and I’m being honest. This would never happen in 99% of other situations,” O’Connor said. Eurosport.
“It’s unfortunate that it’s 2024 and we have dinosaurs that don’t see the human side of things.”
The riders initially came together after they were supposed to set off from the ski resort and ride neutrally through the Munt la Schera tunnel, instead choosing to head to the new Lasa start location in team vehicles.
This came after the organizers thought they had reached an agreement with the teams to start from Livigno despite the bad weather, but the riders, after voting unanimously as teams to shorten the stage in the previous days, decided to take a stand and not attend.
“To be honest, organizing the race is a joke. We spoke as a racers’ union and we were all together in our vote but they didn’t want to listen,” Plab said. Eurosport.
“It happened a week or four days ago when we talked about the weather and they didn’t want to talk to us at that time or take any consideration.
“It’s really frustrating as riders. We want to work with them. We actually said three days ago that this is where we should start and race but they told us no. Only now that all of this has finally happened are they listening to it we’re here now and that’s good but the way How we got here and how things have evolved is not good enough.
O’Connor went on to challenge Giro race director Mauro Vegni to test the conditions himself after organizers tried to find a compromise and left the decision right until the last minute, even having to postpone today’s race.
“I would love to see him in our position, get out on the bike and start the stage and see his answer after those two hours,” O’Connor said.
“I hope he can experience it because he’ll have a little bit of a sense of what it’s actually like instead of turning on the climate in his car and saying this is great for people to watch.”
With frustration evident following a statement issued by the CPA, the riders’ union revealed that the peloton voted 100% as a team not to contest the Umbrail pass and wanted to ride a shortened stage. Plab wondered whether the safety of passengers was actually being taken care of.
“I think the way the situation was handled yesterday and every morning was very disappointing,” Plabb said. “And it’s hard for riders to really understand how they think about what our safety is because I certainly don’t think our safety is taken into consideration today.”
O’Connor was similarly baffled by the organizer’s push to ride part of the stage as usual with the appalling weather in Livigno highlighting what would happen when they ascended the nearly 2,500m Umbrail pass.
“I still want to ride the stage but I don’t want to ride any further than 2,500 metres. It’s already five degrees and pouring rain and at 2,500 it’s already snowing,” O’Connor said. “I think it’s just clear you just have to start with a touch less and finish, you still have a race to go, you still have a final to go.
Stage 16 has been shortened to 118.4 kilometers of the race, starting in Lhasa in northern Italy and heading to the original finish location of Santa Cristina Valgardina (Monte Pana).
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