Giro stage cut short due to snow, freezing rain after riders stand-off

: The 16th stage of the Giro d’Italia cycling race was delayed and shortened due to extreme weather conditions on Tuesday as a standoff between riders and organisers descended into chaos.

Freezing rain and snow in the Dolomites meant that the Livigno stage, which was scheduled to climb nearly 2,500 meters, had to be changed at the last minute.

Deteriorating conditions in the mountains prompted riders to vote to skip the Umbriel Pass and make the dangerous descent, citing safety concerns.

Confusion and anger in Livigno were brought under control before organizers decided to move the stage to a new start 121 kilometers from Lhasa/Las.

Organizers RCS issued a statement accusing the riders of failing to adhere to protocols for starting the race in Livigno.

“The Extreme Weather Protocol Committee met yesterday to decide on conditions for today’s phase,” the RCS said.

“At today’s meeting it was agreed to move the match from Livigno to the town parade. Despite shaking hands, the athletes were not present at the start of Livigno.”

Riders had mixed feelings about Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), calling the organizer a “dinosaur”.

“I think it’s probably one of the worst organized games, and I’m just being honest. This would never happen in 99 per cent of other situations,” O’Connor told Eurosport.

“Sadly, it’s 2024 and dinosaurs simply don’t see the human side of things.”

The shortened stage started in heavy rain, but there were still tough climbs.

Tod Pogacar leads the overall standings, 6 minutes and 41 seconds ahead of Geraint Thomas.

Giro d’Italia director Mauro Vini said organizers had listened to riders’ concerns.

“That’s the way mountains are, sometimes you have to face certain situations,” he told Rye.

“We tried to provide additional safety measures for riders, but we all agreed that if conditions worsened, we would avoid Umbrail Pass. And they did.”

“Obviously, if you ask riders if they like riding in the rain or snow, they’ll say no. Everyone has their own opinion, and that’s normal.”