Remco Evenepoel stood before the crowd in Bergamo as the Giro di Lombardia was meant to begin and made the case for a pause. ‘there are too many incidents happening with vehicles in the race’, said the double Olympic champion.
Organisers completed their countdown and waved the starting flag. The peloton did not move. Riders had staged the protest over safety concerns after a series of incidents involving vehicles on race courses.
Evenepoel invoked the death of Fin Tarling, the British cyclist who died in a collision with a vehicle at the Volta a Portugal in August. ‘Unfortunately we lost the life of a brother and a colleague, so we want to make this statement to show to the world that we cannot keep accepting the fact that guys are getting injured or literally dying in what we like the most to do’, he said.
Five minutes later, a second starting flag was waved and the riders set off for Como.
The action came after Thomas Gloag and Marcel Camprubi were struck by a police motorcycle travelling in the opposite direction during the Tre Valli Varesine race earlier this week. The CPA, which represents professional cyclists, said: ‘This week alone, there were multiple incidents of vehicles on race courses’.
The union called on the UCI to ensure organisers ‘take responsibility’ and ‘act’ to improve safety standards. ‘Riders race at high speed with little protection, and we depend on the UCI and race organisers to secure the roads. That responsibility is not being met’, the CPA said.
The dispute over course control came at the last of the season’s five Monuments. Once the race was under way, Paul Seixas, a French 20-year-old, won the Giro di Lombardia.
Seixas broke away with 19km remaining and rode solo for over 18km. He finished 48 seconds ahead of Spain’s Enric Mas.
The victory made Seixas the youngest winner of the Giro di Lombardia and the youngest winner of a Monument race since 1944. He had finished seventh in the same race on his Monument debut last year, and won the title in only his third appearance.
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