BERGAMO – It wouldn't have happened at the Tour: some are sure, some are wonderingThe French race in 2019 was also stopped on the Iseran. On the descent that led to Tignes, a hailstorm caused an avalanche an hour before the group passedBernal won on the summit and took the yellow jersey. The Giro did the same in 1996, when he quickly placed the finish line at the foot of Colle dell'Agnello, due to avalanches that fell on the passThe race did not arrive in Briançon but in Chianale, with victory going to Pascal Richard. We also manage emergencies well and we create them just as well..
Split riders
A Crans-Montana Runners have claimed the right to decide when to run and when not to run, threatening to strike if their demands were not met. The night before, among the hotels a survey has been circulating and the decision to strike was not shared by everyone.
«It was already started talking about the bad weather and possible changes last night - Said Moscon, interviewed by RAI – to make a different stage than what was planned. It's true that the weather is bad, it's true that we're tired, but I don't think there were the conditions to shorten the stageFor me, we could run, and then if someone wanted to stop, they could. The doctor didn't order us to become professional cyclists.».
The threatened strike
Yet the strike was threatened: the Croix de Coeur was to be eliminated, given the presumed presence of ice on the descentAnd what did the Giro do? To avoid trouble, it eliminated the Gran San Bernardo and left out the Croix de Coeur: For consistency, the riders should have refused, instead they accepted.And then the danger of the descent, which was actually rather bad?
Nobody calls for martyrdom, but the difference between cycling and games that take place on fields marked out by lines is that The races have the road as their terrain and nature as their backdrop. While it may seem cynical, by choosing to be riders, the men in the group have agreed to challenge the elements. And when they are called up for a race, they agree to follow the rules.It happens when teams send back the bulletin. And the regulation, for their protection, also provides the modification or cancellation of a stage. As long as the conditions are right.
The Giro regulations
They don't give you the Giro regulations anymore. Once upon a time, a copy was printed for each journalist., except that few people read it and it ended up in the wastebasket. So now (rightly) you have to ask for it. Read the rewriting of the Crans Montana stage in light of the regulations It's a useful exercise.
«In the event of particular situations occurring that could jeopardise safety conditions or distort the regular running and the consequent technical result of the race – states Article 3 – the Director of the Giro, in agreement with the President of the Commissioners, having heard the opinions of the UCI Technical Delegate, the CPA Representative and the LCP Technical Commission, can at any time decide to change the route of a stage.
«Furthermore, the Director of the Giro, in application of the UCI art. 2.2.029 bis could convene the interested parties referring to the “protocol in case of extreme weather conditions and safety of the riders”. In this situation, decisions can be taken and/or confirmed on the morning of the stage."
Extreme weather
According to the UCI regulations (Annex B to UCI article 2.2.029) the protocol for extreme weather conditions must be implemented in the event of freezing rain, snow accumulation on the roadway, strong winds, extreme temperatures, poor visibility, air pollutionThe list lacks more precise references for temperature, wind speed and visibility and this makes the application of the rule arbitrary. In any case, there was no room for doing so that day.
If on one hand the weather forecast apps used by the teams they announced lightning and thunder from the tops of the mountains the report of the men of RCS Sports showed a completely different reality: then why the Line of Business did he bend over?
The right to strike
The strike is a right. This time it was used as a pressure instrument, a consequence of days of racing in the rain and at low temperatures. And once again, after the poor figure, they read an apology from those who drove it, hiding behind the obligation to accommodate the riders' requests.
«With hindsight – he declared Cristian Salvato, president of the ACCPI and delegate of the CPA – we can say that there was no bad weatherThe highly reliable sports team apps were wrong, because they all predicted bad weather. We have to apologize to the fans first of all, but also to the organizationIn the high mountains the weather changes very easily. Fortunately this time it changed for the better, but There have also been occasions where the organization did nothing and then things changed for the worse., as well as at the Gran Camino this year."
Are an apology enough?
Article 5 of the Giro regulations states that "all participating riders have the right, in compliance with the regulations in force, to compete in all stage, general and special classifications, provided for in the race programme.
"Therefore are required to conduct the race responsibly and to refrain from promoting or participating in collective events that have the character of fraudulent agreements to the detriment of other competitors as well as the meaning of protest against the Organizing Body, of the Commissioners or in any case of other official persons accompanying them".
When the Giro was stopped in the infamous Morbegno-Asti of 2020, the Giro director himself used harsh words. «It was a decision we immediately had to make "Vegni said, "unacceptable. Now let's think about getting to Milan. Then, when we've got our act together, surely someone will pay for this too».
Who paid and how? On the day of Crans Montana, the Giro d'Italia regulations were violated againMauro Vegni and his men have accepted the apology again, the Tour would not have done itSome are sure of it, some are wondering…
