Soudal-QuickStep rider Jasper Stuyven has criticised Giro d'Italia organisers following stage 2's mass crash and subsequent neutralisation, likening the race director Marco Velo to a "frightened dog" after the race was quickly restarted with no GC neutralisation in the final kilometres.
The Belgian wasn't among the riders caught in the pileup 22km from the end of the stage to Veliko Tarnovo, but he has said that the GC times should have been neutralised over the final kilometres of the hilly run-in.
Instead, the rolling neutralisation continued for 4km as race ambulances and medics tended to those injured in the crash, with racing getting back underway surprisingly quickly with 18km to go.
GC times at the finish counted, meaning the late climb of Lyaskovets Monastery Pass – and its descent – were all raced as normal just moments after the crash.
"There were no more ambulances. But there was still a descent to come that could have been dangerous," Stuyven told Het Laatste Nieuws after the stage.
He was one of several riders – including Jonas Vingegaard, Jonathan Milan, and Filippo Ganna – to speak with race organisers during the neutralisation. He claimed that a neutralisation of the GC times was requested.
"After that crash, we wanted a neutralisation of the times for the general classification, so that the daredevils could still fight for the stage win, but no unnecessary risks would have to be taken on the next descent," Stuyven said.
"The race director said they were looking into it. Whereupon he stuck his head out of the car like a frightened dog, started waving his flag, and shouted 'race'. Only to quickly stick his head back into the car."
In the end, any further disaster was avoided during the final kilometres of the stage, won by Guillermo Thomas Silva in a reduced group sprint.
Vingegaard went on the attack over the top of the climb, later admitting that his move had been partly taken with safety in mind. "Especially with how it unfolded, I think it was the safest way to play the final," he said.
The Giro d'Italia continues with stage 3 to the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Sunday, minus six riders who were caught up in the crash. UAE Team Emirates-XRG trio Marc Soler, Jay Vine, and Adam Yates are all out of the race, as are Ådne Holter (Uno-X Mobility), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), and Andrea Vendrame (Jayco-AlUla).
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