The second day of racing at the CIC-Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées should have focused on an epic, hard day of racing for the women’s pro peloton with 82km propelling 24 teams to a final 13.3km showdown on the legendary ski resort, Hautacam. Instead, rider protests over a plethora of safety concerns abbreviated the real racing to just a hill climb.
Back up one day to the opening stage of the CIC-Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées. What should have been a straightforward, flat day of racing for 136 pro women in the field on Friday turned into a minefield of hazards. Random vehicles were allowed to move toward the peloton on a closed course, parked cars and trucks cluttered the finishing roads and pedestrians were allowed to arbitrarily wander back and forth across the field of play. Riders were forced to weave around some traffic in the final two kilometres.
Dangerous outcomes may have been averted in those moments, but lingering concerns and questions about safety generated a firestorm of overnight negotiations, led by Adam Hansen, president of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA). The head of the riders’ union held late-night negotiations with teams, UCI officials and race organisers, saying that the organisers would put “different measures” in place for stage 2, namely additional police motorbikes to sweep the course and eliminate dangers.
“11:30pm and finally spoken to everyone…. There was a call this evening with the Organiser, team representative, @women_cpa and myself. The organiser is putting in different measures for tomorrow to have more Police motorbikes. The teams and the @cpacycling push for guarantee’s for the safety of the women. After the call I spoke to the UCI to update on the situation of our call and tomorrow you will hear more. Good luck and stay safe,” Hansen wrote on social media after stage 1.
He then posted a second Tweet on Saturday morning thanking all parties involved in negotiations – CPA Women representative Alex Cappellotto, teams’ representative Jolien D’hoore, the UCI and the race organiser, Association Française des Coureures Cyclistes. He again said “I hope all goes well.”
His hopes didn’t hold for long. The first 25km of Saturday’s stage 2 were neutralised, making the shortest route of the three-day stage race, originally 96km, even shorter. Riders were still concerned about what safety measures were in place for the second day of racing, specifically the increased…
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