SCHWAZ (Austria) – Maurizio Evangelista, general manager of the Tour of the Alps He welcomes us to the organization's headquarters. We have questions for him that these days are springing up in every debate and resurfacing after every setback. security issue here at Total it's very serious and enjoys very high implementation standards. It's no coincidence that this race has proven popular with riders for this reason as well.
«We put a lot of effort into it – says Evangelista – this is an event that has grown significantly and which, in my opinion, has reached a dimension that is currently a bit of an anomaly in the Italian cycling scene. La organizational philosophy is that of an absolutely professional group, although it's not made up only of people who do this professionally, but also many volunteers. What all these people have in common, however, is that they do it out of passion. We don't work with blinders on between the various departments, but there's a real cohesion, and this gives us a soul that's recognizable even from the outside. The product grows, the consensus grows, the attention grows, and so does the visibility, and therefore evidently it means we are working well».
This aspect also has repercussions on safety. How do you manage this aspect of the event?
We were the first to start, instead of just talking, doing something concrete. We did it with our own idea, which may or may not be shared, but which is the cornerstone of all the work we do. It's pointless, in my opinion, to do what you see at some large demonstrations where there are warning lights and sirens, which serve little purpose. Runners today perform in a way that exposes them much more to dangerFirst, because they go much faster. Second, because the roads they once did no longer exist. The third element is that the cyclist is subjected to so many stresses that come from the equipment, from the bicycle, from what they are told on the radio. He is unable to sense danger unless you give him the basic tools to do so., above all, knowledge. And no one does this (Maurizio shows us the TotA 2024 safety manual, ed.).
How do you report hazards to riders?
We are preparing the path for a whole series of early warning tools. For example, banners we recently made to highlight the curves They serve to visually draw attention. They don't solve every problem, but if the athlete looks up and sees them, they're an added incentive. Another key aspect is obstacle protection. We assume that we can't expect these athletes, who are going so fast and often distracted, to pedal at zero risk. Let's make sure that if the impact occurs it is as little harmful as possible.This is the difference in the concept of safety, the attention to detail. So what we put on the guardrails, the covers we put on certain manholes, on the drops, on the railings, on ledges, are all important details. The riders notice all this and know that when they come here, a certain level of care is taken.
This way you significantly reduce the risks…
There is no mathematical certainty that everything will go well. We ourselves can make mistakes, however, there is a type of commitment, application, investment of human resources that is rather significant and we try to do all of this while also safeguarding the Highway Code. The installation takes place with traffic closed. And this is something you can do in the half-hour between when the traffic closes and when the riders pass. You can imagine it's quite a commitment. There's a team that leads the pack and does this work, and then there's a team behind that takes over.
We're coming off the controversy that erupted after the Tour of the Basque Country. There's been a lot of debate about safety. What are your thoughts on this? Is it fair to hold organizers accountable every time someone crashes?
Every organizer would like it not to happen, it can happen, and intellectual honesty is knowing how much of that event is yours. For example: Pickering The other day he went off the cliff. The rider completely lost his trajectory there. For me he lost his concentration, because there was no logic in that curve leading to such a huge fall... I'm not washing my hands of it by saying that. But we're aware that that stretch of road has been made safe and assessed as best as possible. However, the Basque Country case, beyond the magnitude of those who fell, which obviously greatly amplified the issue, lies in the fact that that rock was there. These are details to note, such as the fact that there was that water drain.I'll say more, from what I understood, the real problem was that there were roots under the asphalt, making the asphalt uneven. The real question is how accurately are these details assessed?
How many inspections do you do to avoid these types of pitfalls?
We'll do five, spaced out over time because obviously there are factors that can change. There may have been a landslide or construction work has begun. Often, after we've applied for permits, we're notified that there's a construction site on a road. Or sometimes, they don't report it to us, and we're the ones who have to notice. In fact, It is no coincidence that our last inspection takes place 7-8 days before the event. I'm not saying that our technical staff is immune from mistakes or that we have 100 percent security, but what I can guarantee is that Our technical staff knows the routes we take like the back of their hand.
The fact that Trentino and Tyrol have very good infrastructure standards may have an impact, meaning the roads are often perfectly paved…
Well, this is a plus point. We never ignore the fact that we live in a privileged situationWe have beautiful locations, which already helps you as a television product. The roads make things easier for us because they're also very well maintained.
There's a lot of talk about initiatives to increase this safety: safety cars, neutralizing certain segments... Do you think these methods clash with the cycling we know?
Everyone must show that they're making an effort, that they're finding solutions to everything. Many arguments collapse in the face of certain trivial obstacles that are neither protected nor monitored. I begin to suspect that certain intentions remain just intentions. Every idea should certainly be respected and considered. I personally I look with perplexity at sports that don't know how to question themselvesIf this danger exists, and this danger exists, if today's riders ride at speeds and with performances that are completely different from those of the past, it's something we need to work on, but we can't distort the nature of a sport. We can't race Paris-Roubaix on carpet; the descent of the Poggio remains the descent of the Poggio with its pitfalls. Every initiative deserves attention, but we must avoid exaggerating.There are more trivial problems that can cause much more harm, and this is the aspect that leaves me a little perplexed.
