The peloton raises its voice after the latest accidents: “We want to return home safely”
He cycling It is a sport exposed to certain very dangerous risks for the lives of those who practice it. In everyday life on the open road, coexistence with vehicles makes them very vulnerable. In the race, on the other hand, with the road closed, safety is practically guaranteed, but this summer it has left really sad and worrying images.
The worst episode occurred in stage 8 of the Volta a Portugal. A vehicle did not heed the instructions of the security services, entered the road and ran over the young British man Finlay Tarling (19 years old), from the NSN Development Team and younger brother of Joshua Tarling (Netcompany INEOS). The English cyclist died at the scene.
An important reminder
The tragic event caused a great shock in the international peloton and served to raise awareness of the risks of the road, both in and out of the race.
However, this week in the Italian classics Worrying images have been seen again, although fortunately they have not had a sad ending.
On Monday, at Bernocchi Cupa van from the DHL delivery company He entered the route behind the breakaway group until it was stopped.
The second episode occurred the next day, in Tre Valli Varesineand that did have a direct impact on some cyclists. The riders of the Pinarello-Q36.5 team, Marcel Camprubí and Thomas Gloagsuffered a fall after they were reportedly attacked by a police motorcyclist who was traveling in the opposite direction to the race. Perhaps, it is time to rethink the large number of vehicles in the race.
so far
Given what happened, The peloton said enough and stood down this morning before starting Il Lombardia. In an organized protest, the world champion Brandon McNulty, Isaac del Toro or Quinn Simmons They have been at the forefront. However, it has been Remco Evenepoel who has spoken.
The Belgian, who was wearing the European champion’s jersey for the first time, made a speech referring to a statement published by different cyclists, which had nothing to do with the international cyclists’ association (CPA).
Evenepoel recalled the events of recent weeks and explained that “We want to remain standing for five more minutes to direct our message to the organizations, the public and all those who follow cycling and accept that there are people who die. “That is why we stand still and want to pay tribute and show our respect to all those who have already been involved in these incidents.”
Likewise, he has asked “compete safely and that we can simply do what we like without having to worry about cars, motorcycles and everything that sneaks into the course“.
“We respect the race organizers. We want to race hard and put on a great show for our fans. However, the most important thing is that we want to return home safely to our loved ones.“, concluded the statement.
