Yesterday a car came right against the cluster and at the last moment turned into a side road but in the congestion that arose a crash was caused with several cyclists. The worst went for Maxim Van Gils who was taken to hospital and broke the competition.
– In this competition there are cars everywhere, parked by the side of the road and traffic. It’s dangerous, says van Gil’s stall manager at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Heinrich Hussler, according to Cyclingnews.
Today on the third stage, a car came to the cluster in a roundabout after 17 km and the race was stopped. It was decided that the stage would be neutralized, that is, the cluster would reach the goal together and that no times would be counted.
But then several cyclists had had enough and went to their buses and Soudal-Quickstep, Red Bull-Bora-Bora-Grohe, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, EF Education-EasyPost, UNO-X Mobility and Ineos Grenadiers jumped off the competition. It is all major stables that participate in the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia and a hard blow to the organizer.
– The safety of our cyclists and staff is of the utmost importance. After several incidents with public vehicles that drove into the race track, our cyclists, together with other teams, have decided not to fulfill today’s stage, says representatives of the British stable Ineos Grenadiers.
Three stages have been run by the competition which is decided in France.