The first stage of the O Gran Camino ended early on Thursday afternoon. With about twenty kilometres to go, the weather conditions in Spain were so bad that the jury decided to cancel the race.
Eight leaders stayed in front for a long time but were caught by the peloton. Snow, rain and sun alternated during the stage but on the final climb of the day, the riders were treated to snow once again.
“Stopping was the only right decision”, Jumbo-Visma sports director Frans Maassen said.
“When the race was neutralized, I immediately went to the jury car and asked for clarification. The riders were getting hypothermic. We were completely surprised by the temperature, the cold and the wet. In consultation with the jury and the other teams, it was decided that continuing was not an option. After that, the jury indicated that the stage was cancelled.”
“We still had a lot of climbing before the descent to the finish. That would have been irresponsible under the circumstances. It was a tough decision, but not a single rider or team disagreed with the decision”, Maassen said.
The jury has announced that there will be no general classification following the cancellation of the first stage. Jonas Vingegaard won the intermediate sprint and picked up three bonification seconds.
