Confusion at the Volta Ao Algarve: Cyclists drive in the wrong direction

Confusion at the Volta Ao Algarve: Cyclists drive in the wrong direction

On Wednesday there was chaos and confusion at the end of the first stage of the Volta Ao Algarve when the majority of the Pelotons on the way to the finish line.

confusion in the target claim

The leading Group had been based on the TV cameras, which was based on motorcycles were attached, and ultimately took a wrong junction that she led away from the official home stretch. They finally crossed the finish line on the wrong side of the street.

lack of support for the official

Although route post tried to lead the peloton to the other side of the street, her help came too late. However, some drivers noticed the mistake and the Italian Filippo Ganna celebrated when he was the first to cross the finish line.

cyclists try to end the race correctly

Several drivers who had taken the wrong route were seen in the way they raised their bicycles over the viewers' barrier to end on the right side of the street. Nevertheless, the organizers later decided to cancel the first stage because the "sporting truth was not preserved in the end."

statements of the event director

"All technical information was clear that the drivers should turn left on the last round," said Sérgio Sousa, the director of Volta Ao Algarve, he said . "The fact is that some of them turn to the right in a track that was in parallel to the finish line. It was a wrong decision by the peloton, but it is clear that we did not do enough to avoid this result, which we very much regret."

reactions of the drivers

The Austrian cyclist Marco Haller described the fiasco as a "joke". "You could see that the junction was not blocked by the official on the last kilometer. Obviously, the drivers follow the motorcycles in the racing situation, as they always do," Haller told Eurosport after the end of the stage.

"This is pretty ridiculous for me, because we fought 190 kilometers to put ourselves in a perfect position. In the end it was Basically for nothing. This is a joke; it really needs consequences for the official and the organizers. It cannot always be the fault of the drivers, because we are in the heat of the moment; it is a racing situation, and that's very frustrating."

continuation of the tour

The organizers confirmed that the clock will be reset to zero, while the 177.6 km long second stage will begin on Thursday.