After a chaotic opening TTT for the Vuelta a España on Saturday, the race looked set to be battered by a fresh round of controversy on Sunday’s stage 2 over where GC times should be taken in the finale.
As teeming rain hit the Vuelta again and amidst fears of a repeat of Saturday’s mass crashes, organisers announced mid-morning that GC times would be taken at the summit of the category 3 Montjuic climb, some four kilometres from the finish.
However, leading riders expressed dismay that the effective overall neutralisation would not take place at the start of the hilly, twisting finishing circuit, which riders enter around 8 kilometres to go.
Having slammed the organisation the night before what he called an excessively dangerous TTT course run in darkness in Barcelona city centre, as the rain beat down on Sunday morning in the coastal start town of Mataró, Remco Evenepoel was once again a vocal opponent of the measures.
“It makes no sense to take the times at the top of the climb,” Evenepoel told reporters, “We asked to take the time at the start of the circuit but they completely ignored it, they blew off that request.”
“I feel after yesterday the bunch deserved a bit more respect from the organisation but it looks like they are still not listening to us. So, yeah, “ he concluded ironically, ’another day in paradise.’
“We tried to ask them to take the time gaps at 7.8 kilometres so even after yesterday we don’t get a bit of respect from the organisation and the UCI, so it’s a shame. But now we have to race.”
“Taking the time at the top of Montjuic makes no sense at all, because they still keep the bonuses [at the finish, four km further on – Ed.] so if you still have a gap at the top, then you go with it to the finish line. It changes nothing.”
Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) has already said that he will try to persuade the riders to ‘take it easy’ from eight kilometres to go, and Evenepoel agreed. “I think we should, that’s the only way to make the organisation realise they should listen to us. Especially after yesterday they should listen to us, but it looks like they don’t care.”
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