After the yet another Algarve incident, Vingegaard and Degenkolb say something needs to change: "Never seen anything like it before"

After the riders had cooled down, several of them commented on the incident during the first stage of the Tour of the Algarve. The peloton was sent in the wrong direction, and the chaos that followed resulted in the results being canceled. Many riders (and team managers) were furious, mainly because it was another incident this season.

It was indeed a bizarre incident, as John Degenkolb also saw. "I've personally not seen this before, that so many guys took the wrong way," the 36-year-old rider of Picnic PostNL told Daniel Benson. "It was clearly not obvious to take the left side, and this morning, I saw some images where there was an officer with a flag, but he was also on the wrong side. He was standing where the peloton was meant to go."

He's not really angry. "It's just unfortunate because I feel sorry for the organization. If something had happened, if someone had crashed, it would have been a nightmare. But even now, it is a disaster for the organization. It puts cycling in a bad light. That is why I believe in establishing obvious race regulations and how everything should look. The UCI is responsible for taking clear steps to improve the rules and establish an independent authority to maintain these rules."

Read more below the video!

Vingegaard: "Organization needs to take this very seriously"

SafeR, an organization run by the UCI, is currently the most crucial authority dealing with safety. But if it is up to the German sprinter, a new regulatory body will be established. 'Someone must take charge who is entirely independent. We have the TÜV in Germany, and they have the rule book to ensure everything ticks the right boxes. That is something we will need in the future. It is no coincidence that there have been so many incidents now. It is becoming more and more specialized, and we must react now.

Jonas Vingegaard was also involved in the incident. "Something like this should never happen in cycling. The organization and the UCI must take this very seriously. It was unclear which way we should go, and in my opinion, especially in a sprint, the correct route should be indicated." Fortunately for Vingegaard, he did not fall behind: he is now sixth in the GC, 20 seconds behind leader Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates - XRG).

Read also

On the steep and narrow final climb, Scaroni is the strongest but also the smartest: Victory in Classic Var

🎥 Pogacar and teammate tease the approaching and pressing peloton by waving and laughing

Victory number 97 (!) for Kristoff, who's fully focused on number 100: "I could have won more easily"

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get every week the latest news about CYCLING in your inbox!

Subscribe