With more than a hundred kilometers to go, the peloton decided to put their foot on the ground and abandon Tre Valli Varesine. This was due to the extreme rainfall and therefore particularly dangerous racing conditions.
“At the neutralised start there were already seven flat tyres and a few broken wheels. We tried to race, but on a descent I was in second position. That was behind my teammate Alessandro Covi, but I couldn’t even see where we were going”, Tadej Pogacar said.
“Everyone wanted to stop. It was just waiting for crashes. The only question was: in which lap? The worst crashes happen when you no longer have control over your handlebars. I know a lot of friends in the peloton who have suffered a concussion this year. That is something we have to be more careful with in the peloton”, the world champion added.
“We understand that organizers want to see a race, but in the end the riders made the right decision. We think it’s a shame that the race is not going ahead, but that’s the way it is.”
“Fortunately, we all remained calm and reasonable. I saw how hard it was for the boss of the organization. There were tears in his eyes. This race means a lot to him. But if you can’t race, you can’t race. They understood that right away. I am really grateful to them for that.”
