Oleg Tinkov and Bjarne Riis head out for a ride (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
While stage 17 of the Giro d'Italia got underway on time from Sarnonico, the polemics following the stage over the Stelvio continued, with more details emerging and the teams discussing some form of action in an impromptu meeting in the yard of a house near the start. Although there was silence from the majority of those involved in discussions, Oleg Tinkov, the owner of Tinkoff-Saxo told Cyclingnews that he believed that the stage 16 results should be cancelled and that he saw Nairo Quintana attack on the Stelvio descent.
While new race leader Nairo Quintana (Movistar) turned up dressed in pink from head to toe, many teams were still angry about the alleged attack on the descent by Quintana and other riders after race officials had told teams to tell their riders to stay behind official motorbikes while waving a red flag on the first part of the descent of the Stelvio.
All the team managers and directeur sportif refused to comment after their meeting broke up, saying the AIGCP will issue a formal statement alter in the day.
A second meeting followed on the Tinkoff-Saxo bus between a delegation of the teams, the UCI race judges and race directors Mauro Vegni and Stefano Allocchio.
The UCI judges refused to comment when approached by Cyclingnews, while Vegni and the teams said statements would be issued later. Vegni was keen to make sure the stage started on time.
The only individual aligned to a team and willing to comment was Tinkoff-Saxo owner Oleg Tinkov.
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"The results of yesterday's stages should have been neutralized, they should have cancelled them all," he said after speaking his mind at the start of the team manager meeting.
"That's my personal opinion. I was at the top of the Stelvio because I'd ridden up and I saw Quintana attack while the others stopped to get changed."
"There will be an official statement but I'm just giving my opinion. If this sport wants to get bigger, it has got to change. What happened is incredible. We've got to have clear rules, a more professional race organization. At the moments it’s just a big mess.”
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
