The Giro cuts its stage to 75 km at the request of the cyclists

The 106th edition of the Giro d’Italia begins to be mortally wounded. What was to be experienced as a real party, a show in the heart of the Alps, will be remembered as a sad day in the history of the Corsa Rosa. The cyclists met last Thursday with the Association of Professional Cyclists (CPA) and The decision to modify the route of the twelfth stage due to the rain and low temperatures expected on the ascent to Gran San Bernardo came out in favor, by majority. port that days before already underwent a modification when the organization of the race was forced to reduce it by 9 km due to the intense snowfall recorded in the area for months.

Finally, in the early hours of the day of maximum uncertainty, the Giro organization decided to cut the twelfth stage down to only 75 of the 199 km it initially had. Regarding ports, only the Croix de Coeur will be ascended (the departure will be on foot from this port, around 2:30 p.m.) and a hilltop finish in Crans Montana. The general feeling was satisfied, but there were opinions for all tastes. The leader, Geraint Thomas, was satisfied in the Eurosport microphones: “There are many cyclists who have fallen ill and if we want to arrive in Rome with at least 50 cyclists, then it is a good decision. It will be a tough race, even so, but we won’t be riding in the cold for more hours.”

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The opinion of the pink jersey contrasts with that of the Italian Gianni Moscon, that he was in favor of leaving the stage intact: “Yesterday afternoon there was talk that there would be bad weather, changes and a different stage. Several hypotheses have appeared this morning and we must thank the organization for thinking of the cyclists and for designing a great stage. It’s true that the weather is bad and we’re tired, but I don’t think the conditions were in place to shorten the stage. I think you could run and if someone wanted to stop they could. We are not guided by a doctor to be professional cyclists. If you don’t like it, change jobs.” Moscon, curiously, was already one of the runners who, in the middle of the snow, pushed forward in the O Gran Camiño stage that last February the cyclists stopped due to the low temperatures.

It remains to be seen if that moment set a dangerous precedent, but the truth is that today weather conditions did not pose a serious risk for cyclists. Temperatures around 0º in the last kilometers of the San Bernardo, yes, but once you have passed the tunnel that leads from Italy to the Swiss side of Valais, the road is perfectly dry under the sunny day that shines in Switzerland. Unfortunately, it is not the first time we have seen a similar event, since in 2020, without going any further, the stage with the finish line in Asti was cut (from more than 200 it went to 124 km) at the request of the cyclists before the falling deluge. I wish the battle in crans montana make up for a gray day for cycling.

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