{"id":193935,"date":"2023-09-15T04:32:18","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T04:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=193935"},"modified":"2023-09-15T04:32:18","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T04:32:18","slug":"adam-hansen-riders-and-organizers-are-more-safety-aware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2023\/09\/15\/adam-hansen-riders-and-organizers-are-more-safety-aware\/","title":{"rendered":"Adam Hansen: Riders and Organizers Are More Safety-Aware"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year\u2019s 2023 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a has so far been exciting, controversial and turbulent, with much of the controversy coming at the beginning of the three-week race. Race organizers had scheduled stage 1, a team time trial, for the early evening, so that the end of the stage could be presented live on the evening news. Clearly, based on their experience of summer daylight in Barcelona and the weather reports, they had assumed that the stage would present no safety risks to the riders.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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But climate change has made it difficult for weather forecasters, and by the time the first team \u2013 Caja Rural Seguros RGA \u2013 rolled down the starting ramp, thunder sounded overhead and rain had begun to fall. That rain turned into a torrential downpour that made the road surface extremely slippery and darkened the course. By the time the last team \u2013 the Soudal-QuickStep of defending champion Remco Evenepoel<\/a> \u2013 started out it was midnight-dark and conditions were clearly hazardous.<\/p>\n

Evenepoel made his feelings known as soon as he crossed the finish line, pointing at the sky and using an expletive. \u201cIt\u2019s like riding your car [at] 20kph on the highway in the full dark and no lights,\u201d Evenepoel later complained<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s super dark and super sketchy on these roads, in my eyes it\u2019s just ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rain had also changed conditions on the Category 3 climb and descent near the end of stage 2, which finished in Barcelona. Before the stage began, riders were seen to be consulting about their stance regarding the running of the stage, with Jumbo-Visma\u2019s double Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard particularly active. The organizers eventually decided that the times for the general classification would be taken with 9 kilometers to go, but that riders could race to the finish line for the stage win if they wanted to.<\/p>\n

Stage 3 was marred by Evenepoel\u2019s crash after crossing the finish line first. His speed took him into a group of soigneurs and other assistants standing about 15m behind the line, and he hit the ground, leaving him with blood streaming down the right side of his face. \u201cThat\u2019s three days in a row [of safety issues],\u201d he grumbled.<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udcf8 FOTO DEL D\u00cdA | PIC OF THE DAY \ud83d\ude0d <\/p>\n

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#LaVuelta23<\/a> – \ud83d\udcf8 @cxcling<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/B76BN52DD0<\/a><\/p>\n

— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) September 14, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n