Stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia shortened after rider protest
Organizers planned for stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia to run for a total of 258 kilometers, but the Giro peloton instead rode 124 kilometers on Friday after the stage was shortened due to a rider protest.
At the beginning of the day, when the Giro peloton was due to be on the start line, riders were instead taking shelter under tents. A combination of the seven-hour transfer after stage 18 and the horrendous weather in the stage 19 start town of Morbegno made for some discontent in the peloton.
The conversation about the stage started when the race organizers announced an additional 5km due to a bridge collapse. CPA union representative Adam Hansen along with a few of the other teams raised concerns about such a long stage in the final three days of the race, coupled with long transfers and early starts.
Starting a few minutes late and riding in heavy rain, the peloton completed the opening 8km of the original route in Morbegno before halting. The race was then moved to Abbiategrasso, 135 km into the original route, with riders boarding team buses to make the trip.
Mauro Vegni, the race director, was furious about the protest by the riders to shorten the stage. He went so far as to threaten legal action against the riders for standing up for their own well being, saying that “there has been no real respect shown to everyone involved on the rest of the stage. We think that there will be consequences because of the behavior of the riders today. I don’t think there really are excuses for them not to do it today. Whoever brought these proposals needs to show proof it was discussed last night otherwise I will get lawyers involved.”
Adam Hansen pointed out on his Twitter that a shorten stage 19 was proposed the evening of stage 18 but was rejected by the race.
Just to clear things up. 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.
This morning when all the riders were under the tent no one went to the start line and riders 1/2 https://t.co/GiG8KCZbKn
— Adam #Vegan Hansen (@HansenAdam) October 23, 2020
This is not the first instance of discontent at the Giro. Riders and team managers were worried earlier in the race about the compliance of the race to the UCI’s COVID-19 protocols. After the first rest day, there were more positive tests among the riders, staff, and police motorbikes involved with the e-Giro than in the whole country of Australia that day, causing two teams to leave the race completely. On stage 4, a helicopter blew barriers into two riders.
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