UPDATE: Another seven riders have been chucked from the Giro Next Gen.
On Thursday morning, the organizers announced more cyclists that held onto cars and motos during Stage 4 of the Giro Next Gen. Some of the notable riders added to the hit list include Noah Hobbs from Grouparama-FDJ’s continental squad, Tijl De Decker, the leader of the Lotto-Dstny development team, and Davide Persico from Team Colpack-Ballan. With these additional seven, the total number of disqualifications has grown to 31 riders.
On Wednesday, 24 riders were disqualified from the Giro Next Gen for holding onto team vehicles. The act was captured on video and subsequently shared by the Italian website Tuttobiciweb . The race, also known as the Baby Giro, is a stage race similar to the Tour de l’Avenir; they are both u-23 versions of the famous Grand Tours in Italy and France. The Giro Next Gen is eight stages long, and takes in some of the well-known climbs and roads of its bigger brother.
How long can you actually hold onto a sticky bottle in a pro race?
The footage shows riders using cars and race motorbikes to ascend the challenging Stelvio climb during stage 4 of the race, a tough 118 km from Morbegno to Passo dello Stelvio. It was the first real test for the riders after three relatively easy days of flat riding.
Jumbo-Visma’s Johannes Staune-Mittet beat Alexy Faure-Prost of Circus-ReUz Technord to take the win on the legendary ascent, with Staune-Mittet taking the pink jersey over Hagens Berman Axeon’s Darren Raffer by 18 seconds.
Some fans are saying Fillippo Zana used a sticky bottle to win Stage 18
The greatly reduced field will head to Stage 5 on Thursday, from Cesano Maderno to Manerba del Garda for a total of 159 km. Additionally, four directeurs sportifs who were driving the cars have been removed from the race.
24 atletas foram desclassificados do #GiroNextGen (Giro para atletas jovens), por pegarem carona nos carros ou motos.https://t.co/V3Xuse0k4l pic.twitter.com/mGaXjT3eh7
— O País do Ciclismo (@opaisdociclismo) June 15, 2023
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