John Degenkolb and Jonas Vingegaard united in calls for better race safety
Riders want better protection, with the German calling for a fully independent system to oversee race conditions
A day after the farcical scenes at the Volta ao Algarve, the topic of conversation remained centred on the finish of stage 1, after the majority of the peloton were diverted off the course in the final 1km and guided down a slip road congested with cars and fans.
The stage initially ended with Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) crossing the official finish line in first place. However, the race commissaries stripped him of his victory, voiding the day’s racing at the seafront town of Lagos.
Read more: 🚨 Chaos in Algarve as majority of peloton takes wrong turn in sprint finish
When asked about the situation, the Italian issued a scripted response at the start of stage 2, but other riders were more forthcoming. Veteran John Degenkolb and two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard openly discussed rider safety and race responsibility.
“I’ve personally not seen this before, that so many guys took the wrong way, and that also shows that the parcours was not clearly indicated in the right way,” Degenkolb said at the start of stage 2 in Lagoa.
“It was clearly not obvious to take the left side, and this morning, I saw some images where there was an officer with a flag, but he was also on the wrong side. He was standing where the peloton was meant to go,” he added.
