Touch day of reflection after a Historical day, for the negative, lived yesterday in the Giro d’Italia. And after the grotesque come the apologies… And it is that after the thirteenth stage, ending in Crans Montana, the president of the ACCPI, the equivalent of the CPA of Italy directed by Cristian Salvato, apologized to the organization and fans for the modification of a stage that in no case had extreme weather conditions as claimed by most teams and cyclists.
“You have to record that there was no bad weather. The most up-to-date sports group apps gave bad weather and we relied on them. Today we have to apologize to the fans and the organization. We all know that the weather on the mountain can change suddenly, this time it has improved and the stage has taken place in ideal conditions”, Salvato acknowledged in the RAI microphones, who urged to modify the current UCI protocol to avoid new situations like yesterday: “The meteorological protocol, which the Italians mainly want, is a first step, but one more step is needed and the UCI must face it: there is no certainty about the limits, everything is left to free interpretation, and also it is not always easy for us to talk with the runners”.
Recognized the error, it is time to analyze. What exactly does the UCI protocol say about extreme weather conditions? These are the factors that determine it:
- freezing rain
- accumulation of snow on the road
- Strong winds
- Extreme temperatures
- Poor visibility
- Air pollution
However, any reasonable person reading this may be asking questions like: how much snow should accumulate?; What speed determines that a wind is strong?; what is an extreme temperature and if it is only for cold or heat? Endless questions that reveal a certainty: the protocol is absolutely imprecise. The runners accepted last Thursday, the day before the stage, points 1 and 4 of said protocol, as explained by Adam Hansen (CPA president) during the controversial morning yesterday. But, as we have said, there was neither freezing rain nor extreme temperatures. It should also be noted that the UCI specifies the procedures that can be carried out once said protocol is activated of extreme conditions:
- no action
- Modification of the place of departure
- Departure time modification
- Modification of the place of arrival
- Using an alternate route
- Neutralization of a section of the stage/race
- Stage/race cancellation
Following these assumptions, actions 2 and 3 of this procedure were activated. Hopefully, to avoid controversies like the ones we have this year in O Gran Camiño and the Giro (where in 2020 the stage in Asti was reduced by almost half due to the rain with a plant from the cyclists included and in 2021 the passage through Marmolada and Pordoi was suppressed due to the cold and rain), are established measurement parameters that specify the speed of the wind, the level of temperatures or the number of millimeters of accumulated snow. It’s time to work on it.
