There will be a hole in the honor roll Through the Varesine Valley next to the “2024” entry. The cycling race was suspended and then cancelled as we take the usual route through the streets of the province of Varese. Too much water fell in the last few hours, which could endanger the health and physical condition of the runners. A real shame, because of the parterre de roi at the beginning, including the Olympic championship Remco Evenepoelwinner of the Vuelta Primoz Roglic and above all the full master of the year 2024, Tadhg Pogacar, who already won the Giro, the Strade Bianche and the Giro dell’Emilia in Italy this year. It was the runners themselves who asked the organizers for the cancellation for security reasons, shared by the whole group. This is a first for the event, which is now in its 103rd edition. The women’s event, also shortened, was replaced by Cedrine Kerbaol of France finished and won in front of Silvia Persico.
Pogacar: “Down the hill you wouldn’t see the road”
In the press conference, on behalf of the group, the same Tadej Pogacar spoke about the reasons for the choice, received at the start of the third lap after running almost 60 km: “In the downhill stretch before the finish line, a lot of water had accumulated, not only the one that was falling, but also the one that had previously been collected on the street and then poured into the scene, even coming out of the dungeons. Couldn’t even see the surface of the road under the blanket of water. There were many punctures and damaged wheels, so we made the request. We could have finished the race, but you never know what could happen in these situations and today there were risks associated with the route and the weather“. When asked about the failure to neutralize some laps, waiting for the weather to improve, the Slovenian answered: “I’m not a meteorologist, but I spend many hours of my life on a bike. The weather can improve in an hour, but the water does not go away from the streets.”