Javier Guillén, director of the Tour of Spain, pointed out that the darkness that some teams suffered in the opening time of the test in Barcelona, and were harshly criticized along with others by the champion Remco Evenepoel – “we are not the monkeys in the circus”, said the Belgian -, was due “to an unforeseen and unavoidable natural event”.
“I respect the words of Remco Evenepoel, but it must be clear that for the Vuelta, the safety of the cyclists is important. Yesterday unexpected events took place that surprised us all. Darkness came by a storm that according to the weather forecasts themselves did not indicate that it would be that big,” explained Javier Guillén to EFE.
The director recalled that “there was a schedule adjustment to finish the episode earlier, but circumstances arose which depends on nature and there is no margin of foresight to avoid it”.
“The darkness at the end is something we can’t control, something that happened. What happened was unpredictable. We know that there will be rain, but not that nature will “kill,” Guillén summarized.
The director of the Vuelta also emphasized “the efforts made by the city of Barcelona for the proper development of the stage and their 100 percent participation”.
The preliminary time trial of the 78th edition of the Vuelta ended with several teams reaching the finish line in the dark due to rain accompanying the teams throughout the afternoon.
Race favorites like defending champion Remco Evenepoel spoke harshly at the finish about the darkness that “endangered” the integrity of the corridorsaccording to the Belgian.
“We can’t change the rain, but we can change the time. We ride in the dark. We’re already pushing our limits as professional racers. We’re working hard to win and these conditions are really ridiculous. It’s so dark and scary all of us. they will criticize again but that’s it. The organization should think about our safety. It is very dangerous, ridiculous, we are not monkeys in a circusEvenepoel said angrily.
Slovenian Primoz Roglic accepted the challenge with a bit of humor. “The exit ramp reminded me of ski jumping.“, pointed out the triple winner of the Vuelta.
Source: La Verdad
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