2023-09-06 04:49:48
And to say that we praised the quality of the casting of this Vuelta, that we were delighted with the media exposure that the Vingegaard-Roglic-Evenepoel duel was going to offer to the last Grand Tour of the year, often the least followed of the three. After nine days of competition, we cannot say that everything is going as planned. Sporting level, nothing to say. The leaders do not disappoint and the French are even to their advantage, with a surprise victory for Geoffrey Soupe on Friday and a red jersey for a time on the shoulders of the great and beautiful hope Lenny Martinez. But for the rest, there is a strange feeling with this Tour of Spain not spoiled by the weather, it must be admitted, but which also sometimes seems overwhelmed by events at the organizational level.
This Sunday, September 3 again, certain choices have sparked debate. While the finish was scheduled at the top of the Collado de la Cruz de Caravaca, it was decided to freeze the times in the general classification two kilometers lower. Believing that the rain had damaged the road too much, which some images actually suggested, the marshals recorded the times by hand a little wildly, simply helped by two signaling studs. An excess of precaution when the riders were finally able to complete the climb without any problem of mud or other?
“If it had rained like during the day, it could have been catastrophic. Difficult to manage an organization especially in an outdoor sport, ”tempers journalist Guillaume di Grazia, commentator on Eurosport, who refuses to take sides. “It was very slippery and very muddy, so I think the organizers made a good decision by neutralizing the times,” said general leader Sepp Kuss.
This caution, which some equate to amateurism, does not come out of nowhere. It stems from a chaotic first week of racing and a nightmarish weekend in Barcelona. On the first day, some formations denounced a lack of fairness during the team time trial. Night fell very early, which disrupted several teams including the Jumbo Visma and the Soudal-Quick Step, and caused its share of falls.
“We are not monkeys in a circus! »
“It’s not what we expect from a great race”, even regretted the well-off in history Romain Bardet. Instead of settling, the affair became awkward the next day when the finish had to be shortened due to a road drowned in a downpour. Forcing the management to apologize, while ensuring that nothing is decided by improvisation.
“We are not monkeys in a circus! ” was carried away, the first evening, the defending champion Remco Evenepoel, quickly propelled to the head of the sling. Ironically, it was he who suffered the biggest blunder of the week, and this, from Monday… When he had just crossed the finish line first, the Belgian hit the chef head-on press from the local police. “It breaks my balls. The Vuelta has been gone for three days and the bullshit continues. It’s not normal to find people placed 50m just after the line. It is bullshit. »
Until this Sunday, the hiccups had disappeared and everything was going pretty well, except for a sometimes unfortunate TV production. The security services had even managed to thwart two sabotage attempts by spectators. This new incident must not be to the taste of Amaury Sports Organisation. The owner of the Tour de France also owns the Vuelta, and delegates the logistical and organizational aspect to the Iberian company Unipublic.
The night from Sunday to Monday came to add a new episode. One of the two flights responsible for transporting the riders from Murcia to Valladolid fell victim to bad weather and was forced to land in Madrid. It then took three hours by bus to reach hotels in Valladolid where some did not arrive until 3 am. On Instagram, Romain Bardet joked about the situation. “I think it’s karma, making plane transfers during a Grand Tour in 2023…” accompanied by the hashtag “#timeforchange”.
Capture Instagram Romain Bardet
There are still two weeks to catch up and let the sportsman regain his rights. Heaven willing.
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