2023-06-11 13:32:19
Bad publicity or healthy decision for the future? Probably a bit of both. The second edition of the Tour of the Pyrenees, a women’s race placed just before the Tour de France, ended prematurely this Sunday, before the third and final stage. This cancellation follows a rebellion from part of the peloton, angry and worried about their safety after two sometimes chaotic days of racing.
The decision was announced by the UCI this Sunday morning, just before the start. The case dates back to Friday. On several sectors of the race between Argelès and Lourdes, and in particular in the final, the runners had to face a course strewn with cars in circulation or tourists walking on the edge of the sidewalk in the heart of a village. Some video excerpts may seem striking compared to the men’s circuit and the images of closed roads. Forced to bypass these vehicles at full speed, the sportswomen alerted the organization of the event.
If the second day went a little better, the peloton still chose to neutralize the race until the final ascent. Several racing motorcycles having interposed themselves dangerously between the riders, according to the specialized site Escape Collective. The French Audrey Cordon-Ragot took the floor in the middle of the stage to explain the content of the discussions to the rest of the riders.
But while an emergency meeting was organized on Saturday evening, the vagueness still reigned when we woke up. Several teams then took the decision to leave the event without waiting for the verdict of the authorities. In particular Bizkaia Durango, Israel-Premier Tech Roland, Canyon-SRAM, or the Jumbo-Visma: “What a pity that the race ends like this. Not an easy decision. The situation on the second day was significantly better than on the first stage, but safety is a condition to be able to practice the sport responsibly,” the Dutch outfit said on Twitter.
An hour earlier, the runners’ union, the CPA Women, had also supported this sling. The security issues have “generated significant panic within the peloton and caused a media storm which gives a bad image of women’s competitions”. According to the structure, 17 teams wanted to stop, 7 wanted to continue.
“The whims of spoiled children”
On the side of the organizers, anger prevails. Elisabeth Chevanne-Brachet, co-director of the CIC Tour Féminin, regretted this cancellation on Sunday noon: “We have been struggling to develop the women’s circuit for four years. The UCI’s decision was to prefer to hear ten athletes who reported the facts to CPA Women, the athletes’ union, and asked to cancel the race. The adviser gave his verdict to the president of the jury ”, indicates the one who tried to keep the race under the control of the French Cycling Federation, in vain.
“The girls do not realize the visibility offered by the TV broadcast (the Channel L’Equipe, GCN Eurosport) and the future of women’s cycling, where races are being canceled”, lashed out the director Chevanne-Brachet, very disappointed.
Pascal Baudron, another race director, uses much cruder words. Near the New Republic of the Pyrenees, he denounces the “whims of spoiled children”. “What happens is that the girls have requirements that are not in line with their level. They imagine that they are on the Tour de France and that all the roads must be closed, that everything must be locked. But in France, you can’t do that,” he says.
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