Safety concerns from multiple riders were "ignored" in the Italian one-day Tre Valli Varesine on Tuesday, according to Lidl-Trek's Brodie Chapman, who raced in heavy rainfall.
The 1.Pro event was shortened from 136.3km to 108.7km due to the extreme weather, and was won by Cédrine Kerbaol (Ceratizit-WNT), one of just 35 finishers from a 131-strong start list. Later in the afternoon, the men's event was cancelled mid-race because of the incessant rain.
In a series of posts shared on X, Chapman, who did not finish the race, said commissaires "wound the window back up and drove off" when she tried to voice safety concerns.
"As riders we always want to race," Chapman wrote on X. "Today however in the women's race multiple riders expressed to myself and amongst eachother the same feelings as expressed re:safety, and precautions in light of recent events.
"You could see that many riders felt the lack of visibility and holes filled with water weren't safe. We tried to alert the Commissaires but were ignored. In the end I preferred to say something in the race instead of online.
"Some riders have spoken with directors etc to pass on, we dropped back to comms car to tell them but they wound the window back up and drove off. It's possible they didn't hear me clearly. Perhaps in that moment it was difficult to unite the peloton."
as riders we always want to race. Today however in the women’s race multiple riders expressed to myself and amongst eachother the same feelings as expressed here re: safety, and precautions in light of recent events. (Continued)October 8, 2024
The peloton's safety concerns came less than two weeks after 18-year-old Muriel Furrer crashed and died in wet conditions during the women’s junior race at the UCI Road World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland.
The men’s Tre Valli Varesine race lasted less than 60km of the curtailed 168.3km route on Tuesday afternoon before it was suspended. Commenting afterwards, world champion Tadej Pogačar said he and other riders spoke with the organisers during the event, and "everybody was reasonable".
"We understand the organisers that we want to race, but I think in the end all the riders made the right decision not to," the Slovenian said.
"In the neutral [start] there was already, I think, seven punctures, a few broken wheels, as we already saw. So the neutral was already extended double."
As the race went on, Pogačar continued, the riders "just couldn't see where we were going. Everybody wanted to stop because more broken wheels and more punctures were coming. It was just a matter of the question of which lap would some guy crash. Those are the worst crashes, when you lose the handlebar and go over the bike.”
Speaking on TV, the race's director, Renzo Oldani, said of cancelling the men's race: "It was a difficult decision. Safety comes first, for the riders and for the spectators.
"This hurts after a year of hard work but I'll try to encourage my staff and volunteers after the riders promised to be back next year."
Cycling Weekly has further contacted the race organisers, who are yet to comment on their decision to continue the women's event. This piece will be updated if they respond.
